BDVA just released its Annual Report 2025. The European data-driven and AI-enabled community continued to expand, remaining cohesive and resilient, and firmly committed to its mission of supporting organisations, the public sector, and society at large in generating value from data and artificial intelligence. Researchers, academics, industry representatives, innovators, infrastructure owners, public sector bodies, and non-governmental organisations collaborated under the BDVA umbrella to advance this objective. By linking communities of researchers and practitioners with policy frameworks, the association facilitated the translation of research outcomes into business applications, while emphasising and realising their societal impact and value. Over 270 organisations participated in these activities during 2025, with the association providing sustainable mechanisms for collaboration and growth.
A total of 27 task forces, led by representatives of member organisations, supported (and continue to support) the implementation of strategic agenda priorities. They achieved this by connecting expertise, co-creating new projects, building synergies across results, and delivering guidance materials, including seven major publications in 2025, alongside practical tools for companies and policy-makers. In parallel, a network of 33 federated regional and national data innovation spaces (i-Spaces) strengthened engagement with smaller stakeholders and innovators across Europe. These i-Spaces provided services such as testing and experimentation, the development of creative and novel solutions, as well as coaching and educational support in data and AI. The association was governed by 28 Directors throughout 2025, supported by a Technical Advisory Board of 14 experts and a multidisciplinary team of 10 professionals forming the BDVA Office.
Throughout the year, BDVA organised a range of regular online and in-person activities, both internally focused and in collaboration with external communities and the wider public. These initiatives facilitated the establishment of partnerships, the transfer of knowledge, the co-creation of innovation, and meaningful engagement with end users. Collectively, these efforts reflect a strong and cohesive community-driven approach.
In its capacity as a private member of the EuroHPC JU, 2025 marked a significant milestone in the development of AI factories. These ecosystems play a crucial role in fostering innovation, collaboration, and technological advancement in AI by integrating computing power, data resources, and expertise to develop state-of-the-art AI models and applications. During the year, BDVA worked closely with host organisations of AI factories, as well as with data spaces and AI and data specialists, to begin addressing key challenges. BDVA also continued to develop and strengthen its collaborations with policy-makers, associations, communities, and platforms. Notable among these in 2025 were its cooperation with the JU and fellow JU private partners (ETP4HPC and QuiC), its involvement in the Computing Continuum, and its collaboration with the AI, Data and Robotics Association (Adra, ASBL).
We invite you to discover all of the outcomes of the Data and AI ecosystem in 2025! Thank you for being part of our journey and we look forward to our continued growth in 2026!