It's clear that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a revolutionary role in our planet’s future. HERE is embracing the inevitable by putting resources into its research and development.

AI isn’t a mythical unknown power of the future – it's already here, functioning as the inanimate genius behind the algorithms that power Siri and Alexa, Netflix, Pandora, and more. And with AI being used to make smarter investment software and more accurate medical diagnoses, it’s clear that the future is already here. However, the technology’s rapid advances are just a hint of what else is on the horizon.

The exact path of the future of AI is difficult to chart, but its importance is undeniable. In the 2020’s, researchers believe autonomous vehicles will become widely adopted, AI will be an industry worth tens of billions, and intelligent machines will become an essential part of our everyday lives. It's crucial to stay on the cutting edge of AI development.

To aggressively begin planning for what lies ahead, and help research the AI technology that will define tomorrow, HERE is proud to announce a €25+ million investment for the establishment of the Institute for Advanced Research in Artificial Intelligence (IARAI) in Vienna. 

To bring their vision to life, IARAI has tapped AI pioneer Dr. Sepp Hochreiter, whose development of “long short-term memory” revolutionized the science behind neural networks, and renowned data scientist David P. Kreil to helm their research. They’re now leading an international search for the top investigators, post-doctoral researchers and PhD students to collaborate.

The IARAI will exist as a private, independent entity. Its purpose – and the charge of its leaders – is to drive AI forward to work on the intricate problems that can only be solved using massive geolocation datasets, deepening the location intelligence needed to enable an autonomous world. By combining their minds with the large datasets and expertise from HERE, we hope to provide the resources that will help develop sophisticated AI algorithms and open the door for the advancement of autonomy.

We’re committed to expanding the means to research AI and resources to further develop it. Whether that involves finding ways to optimize fleet management and city infrastructure, or making autonomous vehicles a reality, we envision the IARAI as a leader in AI developments that will improve society for centuries to come.