Fastweb + Vodafone and the Istituto Italiano di Intelligenza Artificiale (AI4I) have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding aimed at developing and deploying artificial intelligence solutions for enterprises, with a specific focus on advanced manufacturing, automotive, robotics and automation systems. The agreement was made public on 27 January 2026.
The agreement seeks to strengthen the technological capacity of Italy’s industrial and entrepreneurial ecosystem by facilitating access to high-performance computing infrastructures and AI-based solutions. Within their respective areas of expertise, Fastweb + Vodafone and AI4I will make available advanced HPC infrastructures, AI platforms and highly specialised personnel to support research activities, innovation projects and industrial applications.
The collaboration will focus on the co-design and development of artificial intelligence solutions tailored to concrete market needs. These solutions may be developed directly within AI4I’s research laboratories, through jointly structured development pathways, or by leveraging solutions already available within SUK – System User Knowledge, AI4I’s platform designed to match industrial demand with AI-based products, services and competencies.
A central role within the partnership is played by AI4I’s Foundry, the Institute’s next-generation high-performance computing and AI infrastructure, conceived to support research and development activities up to the delivery of full-scale AI-based industrial services. The Foundry provides advanced computing capabilities both for dedicated AI solutions and as a general-purpose HPC platform, representing a strategic asset made available to Italian companies seeking to innovate and scale their applications.
Companies will also have the opportunity to use AI4I’s infrastructures for research and experimentation and to progress towards the operational development of AI solutions for the market by leveraging advanced computing infrastructures and high-performance cloud solutions provided by Fastweb + Vodafone.
The Memorandum of Understanding further envisages the joint participation of Fastweb + Vodafone and AI4I in nationally and European co-funded research and development projects, as well as the definition of a shared Open Innovation programme aimed at accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence across the Italian industrial value chain.
