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Artificial intelligence in the Wroclaw Agglomeration - description of the sector and development potential
Artificial intelligence is a technology used both in innovative business and by each of us in everyday life. It develops very quickly and is used in various trades, such as medicine, marketing and industry. According to the reports on AI prepared by the Digital Poland foundation, 85 of the surveyed companies are located in the six largest Polish cities, including the capital of Lower Silesia. Additionally, in the study for the report on the local IT sector prepared by the Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency, companies, regardless of their size, indicated artificial intelligence as a path for the development of their activities.
The significant presence of Wroclaw on the Polish map of artificial intelligence prompted an in-depth analysis of the local sector, which resulted in the report prepared by the Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency, "The AI sector in the Wroclaw Agglomeration 2021", published on September 2, 2021. The aim of the publication was to describe Wroclaw in terms of AI technology, companies producing solutions based on artificial intelligence and their clients, directions of business development, financing research, development projects and specialists on the labor market, as well as the educational offer of Wroclaw.
AI development is already progressing in the region thanks to our universities, the IT sector and projects carried out by leading companies and startups. We wanted to go a step further, so we decided to broaden our knowledge of the local AI sector and collect up-to-date data to support the development of the local business ecosystem. This knowledge is crucial because we want the Wroclaw agglomeration to become a leading hub for AI applications and competences in Poland and Europe. - says Jacek Sutryk, Mayor of Wroclaw.
AI companies from Wroclaw are mainly SMEs established and managed locally
Most of the AI companies surveyed meet the SME criteria. These data are consistent with the most popular business models indicated by the surveyed companies, which mainly define themselves as software houses and startups. The data also showed that businesses are generally established locally. In addition, the fact that the survey did not include responses from Polish AI companies with their headquarters in another city suggests that local tech companies are expanding their activities to other regions of the country, and not the other way around. The above conclusion confirms the observation of Startup Poland: if there is a Polish equivalent of Silicon Valley, it is located in Lower Silesia.
Local AI companies are increasingly focused on product development
Over 50% of the surveyed companies provide AI solutions in the form of products, both in the SaaS and On-premise models. Many interviewees confirmed their plans to further productization of their AI offer. However, the outsourcing of projects and teams remains significant.
The aforementioned productization of the AI offer is associated with ambitious projects and technical challenges. Entrepreneurs perceive this element as crucial for business development and start competing between themselves for AI experts, realizing that they are currently competing for talents from both - the regional and at the international level.
- AI development definitely needs qualified specialists. Poland, and our region, is famous for educated specialists, but the pace of changes requires an increasing number of talents, which set us new goals and challenges for the coming years. - says Magdalena Okulowska, president of the Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency.
Further development of the AI sector in the Wroclaw Agglomeration
Most of the study participants stated that the investment in AI's operations in Wroclaw was a good decision. 70% of respondents lived and had previously operated an IT business in Wroclaw, so adding an AI component was a logical move for them. Other key reasons include good access to qualified employees, Poland's membership in the EU, high-quality business infrastructure and the presence of numerous universities offering courses and study programs in the field of AI. Considering the above-mentioned strengths of the city, almost 80% of respondents plan to increase their investments in AI solutions in the future.
- The results of the research confirm that the enormous creative potential of Wroclaw and the region is an effective basis for the development of AI. Companies not only understand the need for this technology, but see it mostly as a natural and logical direction, especially in the view of the challenges revealed by the pandemics.- comments Magdalena Okulowska, president of the Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency
The publication "The AI Sector in the Wroclaw Agglomeration 2021" is available in Polish and English. You can download it for free:
English version: The AI sector in the Wroclaw Agglomeration 2021 Report
Polish version: Raport Sektor AI w aglomeracji wrocławskiej 2021
The report was prepared by the Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency. The publication's substantive partners are: ITCorner, SoDA, ABSL. Strategic partners are: SDZLEGAL SCHINDHELM, Randstad and JLL. The publication's partner is the City of Wroclaw as part of the "Entrepreneurial Wroclaw" project.