The German engineering and technology group Siemens this week hosted a major artificial intelligence summit serving as a platform to explore the evolving landscape of industrial AI solutions, which aim to enhance industrial processes.

The AI with Purpose Summit gathered research and development leaders, regulatory and security experts, and HR professionals to discuss related issues.

While security and regulatory considerations create hesitation around generative AI technology adoption, companies are demonstrably continuing to invest in its potential.

Siemens, boasting a workforce of 1,500 AI experts, leverages industrial AI technology to develop solutions catering to diverse sectors, from manufacturing to health care.

The event also highlighted intensifying competition in AI talent recruitment. Representatives from Siemens' AI research and development department addressed questions on regulatory and security issues and human resource policies.

Türkiye and Aselsan

In his address on the "AI Talent Distribution Report" during the summit, Tom Hurd, co-founder and CEO of Zeki Research, noted that the AI talent landscape, traditionally dominated by the United States, has undergone significant changes over the past year.

"National champions have played a crucial role in driving AI transformation by successfully retaining talent and intellectual property within their borders," Hurd stated. He noted that while large enterprises account for 60% of the AI talent market, the dominance of major U.S. tech companies has waned, now making up just 11.4%.

Companies like Google DeepMind, Siemens, Nokia, Philips, Ericsson, Samsung Electronics and Tata Consultancy Services have become leading recruiters of top AI talent outside the U.S., indicating a significant shift in the global talent landscape, said Hurd.

Türkiye, for instance, is demonstrably increasing investments in AI talent with its defense sector, he noted. Defense industry pioneer Aselsan stands out for its noteworthy AI investments, he pointed out.

"AI talents are attracting interest from many places and employers across Europe. We strongly believe that AI will not replace human intelligence but complement it."

Industrial solutions everywhere

Siemens' third annual AI Summit brought together over 500 participants, including corporate customers, startups and journalists, to explore AI solutions through both theoretical and practical demonstrations. Siemens officials outlined the event's objective as "propelling AI to a state of readiness and reliability for industrial applications."

Concrete examples of industrial applications include the Siemens Industrial Copilot, co-developed with Microsoft.

Copilot for Industrial Operations exemplifies the successful integration of mature OpenAI and Copilot technologies, effectively preparing AI for production line implementation.

This Copilot facilitates interaction between operators and maintenance personnel with machinery, leveraging data from existing documentation (such as employee instruction manuals) alongside process and sensor data acquired through the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge devices.

Industrial Copilot solutions are slated for deployment this summer onward. Siemens representatives emphasized their focus on leveraging Industrial Copilot across the entire value chain, encompassing design, planning, engineering, operations and service functions.

Embracing AI storm

While OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Gemini demos might have captivated audiences with glimpses of a fantastical future, corporations remain cautious, requiring time to build trust in these technologies.

Apple, however, asserts its commitment to pioneering secure AI. From chip development to private cloud solutions, they claim to have prioritized security across all levels.

The question remains: Will generative AI evolve into industrial AI, ultimately finding a place within corporate data centers?

Companies will have the opportunity to delve into the various stages and applications of AI, including data preparation, determining appropriate scale, ensuring regulatory compliance, implementing robust security protocols and extracting digital twins.

Challenges of scalability

One thing is clear: Industrial AI is shaping the future of manufacturing efficiency. It is also clear that anyone entering this complex terrain will face challenges. Despite advancements in AI process line development and their demonstrably strong performance, numerous proof-of-concept initiatives fail to progress beyond the initial stage, never reaching production.

One of the fundamental levers of empowering AI will always depend on the quality and quantity of data. AI is no better than the data it is trained on. This is particularly true for industrial AI.

Imperatives of industrial AI

Have you embarked on your industrial AI journey? Have you identified its potential? Nevertheless, are you encountering difficulties in implementing it for large-scale, productive use? The stark contrast between real-world experiences gleaned from a company's own data and the polished demos presented at events underscores the critical role of real-field experience.

To overcome these challenges, expert support is paramount in establishing a comprehensive framework. This framework should empower you to seamlessly deploy, operate and monitor your AI solutions at the field level, eliminating the need for specialized data science expertise.

While demand remains high, the widespread adoption and value-creation potential of industrial AI solutions are often hindered by a lack of infrastructure and processes that guarantee reliability, security and scalability.

Building on a flawed foundation poses significant risks. A crucial shortcoming lies in the absence of a seamlessly integrated solution for monitoring and retraining AI solutions within operational technology (OT) environments. Additionally, custom-built software solutions for AI might not meet stringent corporate security requirements. Cutting-edge data and IT security measures are essential. The framework should provide a standardized infrastructure that facilitates the effortless deployment and scalability of AI solutions, ensuring service delivery and process compatibility.

Robolaunch secures $1.5M investment

Robolaunch, a cloud-based software development and deployment platform designed for AI and robotics applications, has raised $1.5 million in an investment round led by Simya VC, an international accelerator fund focused on early-stage startups.

Robolaunch plans to utilize the investment to further develop its robotic solutions, expand its sales operations, increase customer acquisition and revenue, and enter the European and U.S. markets.

Simya VC has been established by 212, the first venture capital fund in Türkiye, as it continues its support to startups on their growth journeys through its early-stage investment focus.

The investment round also saw participation from Driventure, the first venture capital company in the Turkish automotive industry founded by Ford Otosan, and INVEST101, a venture capital fund established in partnership with the Türkiye Development Fund and the Middle East Technical University (METU) Teknokent.

The cloud-based software development and deployment platform of Robolaunch is specifically designed for AI, machine learning and robotic applications. By offering scalable solutions, it enables applications to be deployed more easily and at a lower cost compared to traditional methods.

Expansion into U.S. and Europe

"With the investment we have received, we plan to primarily grow our sales team, organize target-oriented marketing campaigns and increase our visibility by participating in international fairs in the AI and robotics fields. Our efforts to integrate Robolaunch into the industry, especially in manufacturing and smart city applications, will open the door to new and promising collaborations with this investment," said Hidayet Gürcan Tunç, founding partner of Robolaunch.

Emphasizing that they want to continue to grow outside the Turkish market, Tunç continued: "With this strategy, we aim to expand our customer base and strengthen our global presence by gaining access to new markets. We prioritize entering the European and U.S. markets. On the other hand, we will also invest in our research and development activities by developing our industrial cloud platform and robotic solutions. In this way, we aim to provide our customers with a superior service by improving the performance and user experience of our products."

Backing startups' growth journey

Selma Bahçıvanoğlu, managing partner of Simya VC, said they have been investing in advanced technologies that promise to shape the future from the very beginning.

"This investment of ours is also quite in line with our investment strategy. Robolaunch's technology is truly extraordinary. Their existing customer base is a significant testament to the power of this technology in their respective industries," said Bahçıvanoğlu.

"We will play an important role in expanding Robolaunch's customer reach and market penetration not only by supporting them financially but also with Simya and 212's network on their growth journey. As Simya VC, we will continue to support domestic startups that produce innovative solutions."

Türk Telekom, Rönesans Holding join forces in digitalization

One of Türkiye's leading telecommunications and technology companies, Türk Telekom has signed a goodwill agreement with Rönesans Holding to collaborate on data center, smart highway, and regional product and service delivery projects.

The partnership will include Türk Telekom's data center project planned to be implemented in the capital Ankara. The two will also work on the Nakkaş-Başakşehir Highway Project. That will involve work on smart transportation systems, toll collection systems, design, implementation and operation of electromechanical processes.

"With our leadership approach to Türkiye's digital transformation, we reflect our technological knowledge in all areas of life. We are pioneering digitalization in many different fields, from defense to industry, from finance to energy, from education to health, from transportation to agriculture, from art to sports," said Türk Telekom CEO Ümit Önal.

"With our experience in the field of technology, we are digitizing highways, bridges, cities, and our cultural and spiritual heritage areas that reflect our history from end to end. We are undertaking pioneering projects that will carry our country to the future. We are carrying out work that will contribute to Türkiye's vision of becoming a technology-producing and exporting country."

Rönesans Holding Chair Erman Ilıcak said strategic partnerships and long-established partnerships are very important for the company in bringing their projects to life.

"We believe that the agreement we have made with Türk Telekom is one of the most important indicators of our 'partnership' culture and that it will set an example for our sector and ensure that many important projects are realized."

The agreement also seeks to pave the way for joint work on data centers, smart highways, energy production and projects to be developed abroad, especially in the Turkic republics.