European AI market seems to be a crowded one. Every other day Google, Facebook, Amazon, IBM, and other giants acquire promising startups, open new R&D centers, or announce cooperation with yet another university in Europe. Still, if you are searching for the software development centers in Europe that specialize in machine learning and cognitive solutions, the information is scarce and fragmented.
First, online sources focus on startups and scientific institutions like the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (German abbreviation DFKI). Yes, there are numerous high-potential startups doing various kinds of machine learning and AI research in Europe, but if you need an enterprise-level vendor of the AI-enabled solutions, you can have a hard time finding one. Usually, there are just scattered bits of information that cannot give a comprehensive overview.
Second, machine learning is a very broad expertise that has numerous applications such as:
- Autonomous systems.
- Customer interaction and customer support.
- Business intelligence and data mining.
- Natural language processing (NLP).
- Cybersecurity and fraud detection.
- Computer vision.
It is often hard to isolate vendors that have experience in particular AI software. Many firms promise their machine learning tools are essential for your business but do they bring real value in your particular case?
AI systems are costly and your company hardly needs all of these tools to successfully compete with its rivals. So if you need a real-time data science solution, you might not be interested in chatbots. In that case, it makes sense to search for vendors in the region where cognitive data science applications are most common.
Let’s have a look at five notable AI offshore development centers in Europe, their regional areas of specialization, and several notable companies and startups that deliver machine learning software in these regions. For pros and cons of the offshore software outsourcing, read this page.
01: Lviv, Ukraine. Offshore development center in Eastern Europe
Lviv in the biggest city in Western Ukraine and one of the largest IT hubs in the country. This region has huge potential for AI development with great technical schools, vibrant IT community, many tech startups, and high-profile enterprises.
Regional AI landscape
Several companies in the region deliver AI-enabled solutions. Key areas of specialization include chatbots, data mining, and omni-channel solutions for the retail industry. Data management policies in Ukraine are not as strict as in the European Union, which offers greater research opportunities in any artificial intelligence specialization.
Featured company: N-iX LLC
N-iX LLC is a midsize solutions provider with the right capacity and talent to deliver custom enterprise solutions. Its prime AI specializations are data mining, real-time data science, and hardware maintenance algorithms. Additional expertise domains are process automation and omnichannel delivery. The Ukrainian company covers many machine learning fields.
N-iX delivers high-value machine learning components and integrates deep learning libraries into enterprise solutions. In most cases, that is exactly what companies need when they look for the offshore development centers in Europe.
This Ukrainian vendor has the right size to create innovative solutions and stay highly agile at the same time. On a short notice, N-iX assembles teams for small ventures as well as full-scale dedicated development teams for more complex, long-term projects.
Company’s AI expertise includes:
- Data mining.
- Real-time data science.
- Integration of deep learning components.
- Chatbots and automated customer interactions.
- Cognitive solutions that facilitate omni-channel delivery.
Learn more about N-iX machine learning and AI expertise here.
Notable mentions
Eleks: marketing personalization. Company’s research focuses on retail industry, provides various solutions with machine learning components.
Letzgro: chatbots. Relatively small outsourcing service provider that focuses on chatbots for small and mid-size enterprises.
02: London. Europe’s largest AI offshore development center
Google’s DeepMind was developed in the UK, so make no mistake, this country is at the forefront of the artificial intelligence research. London is also the biggest AI development center in Europe, as many interesting machine learning startups reside here.
Regional AI landscape
IT companies operating in this region generally target narrow machine learning disciplines rather than trying to pursue many. Key areas of machine learning development in London are process automation, cybersecurity, fraud detection, underwriting solutions, automated customer interactions, and more.
London’s obvious advantage is its proximity to powerful financial markets and some of the world’s best universities. At the same time, the prices here are the highest among all AI development centers in Europe.
Featured company: AI Foundry
AI Foundry provides out-of-the-box solutions for data analytics and business process management. It is part of a larger entity – Kodak Alaris. AI Foundry focuses on financial markets including banking and insurance. The company helps financial enterprises extract valuable insights from the big data generated by their customers and apply these insights to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their end-to-end solution creates a special framework called Actionable Intelligence Lifecycle that allows to:
- Capture, store, and analyze data.
- Manage data and collaborate on its evaluation.
- Get business insights.
- Create reports, metrics, etc.
Notable mentions
Ravelin: fraud detection. Ravelin is a supplier of the fraud detection systems focusing on financial institutions.
Cytora: data analytics. The vendor serves insurance industry automating underwriting processes and increasing risk assessment precision.
Darktrace: cybersecurity. The company supplies AI-enabled algorithms that boost cybersecurity. Their software isolates anomalies and prevents cybercrimes.
03: Paris. Machine Learning and AI in France
Recently, money has been heavily flowing into French cognitive research and development. Some promising startups that specialize in machine learning evolved in the recent years, but this city has more to offer. Several well-established IT companies offer enterprise solutions with AI components.
Regional AI landscape
Paris offers giant talent pool and easy access to capital markets, which makes it one of the major European AI hubs. French companies that create machine learning systems mainly target process automation software, NLP, and virtual assistants.
On the downside, France is famous for its harsh labor laws that might be an obstacle for an enterprise looking for a suitable software development center in Europe.
Featured company: Atos
Atos is a giant French digital solutions provider with $14 billion in annual revenue. Its AI specializations are robotics and process automation that free people from repetitive tasks. Atos sells its own out-of-the-box solutions and offers customization services according to the needs of a particular customer. Atos offers the following software to its clients:
- Virtual assistants.
- Process automation software.
- Automated customer interactions.
Notable mention
Shift technology: data analytics. The company provides AI software that checks claims for insurance companies. This automates underwriting and improves risk assessment accuracy.
04: Dortmund. AI with a German flair
Several promising startups reside in Berlin, which makes it the second largest artificial intelligence hub in Europe. But when it comes to established enterprise solution providers, Westphalia region leads the way in German machine learning.
Regional AI landscape
The Technical University of Dortmund is the most influential research institution in the region, so the R&D conducted there largely shapes up local AI landscape. Companies operating in Dortmund develop mostly data science systems powered by sophisticated machine learning and deep learning algorithms. Other specialization areas include IoT solutions, back-office optimization, and automation of customer interactions.
Keep in mind that Germany is the country with some strict data collection and data management regulations. This might be a real setback for a company that wants to find an AI vendor in this offshore development center.
Featured company: RapidMiner
RapidMiner supplies an out-of-the-box data science platform. The solution collects, processes, and maintains big data isolating valuable business insights. RapidMiner focuses on smooth user experience with compelling data modeling and visualization features. The product highlights are:
- Strong data collection and processing capabilities.
- Data modeling and business insights.
- Business deployment of the model.
Notable mentions
Many interesting IT companies specialize in machine learning and AI across Germany, some of them are listed below:
KONUX (Munich): hardware maintenance. The company provides solutions that cut maintenance costs of the railway operators.
CollectAI (Hamburg): process automation. CollectAI provides AI-enabled tools for automated debt-collection and customer interactions.
05: Barcelona. Artificial intelligence in Southern Europe
Spain might not be at the vanguard of the European cognitive research, but several Spanish companies provide quality enterprise solutions with machine learning capabilities.
Regional AI landscape
Research, conducted by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, hugely influences local AI market. Spanish companies that create machine learning and cognitive solutions specialize primarily in process automation.
On average, IT development in Spain is cheaper than in the UK, Germany, or France. At the same time, the AI community there is not as populated as offshore development centers in other major Western European IT hubs.
Featured company: Cognicor
The company provides process automation software with machine learning capabilities. Their prime product called cognitive customer assistant takes over many of the routine tasks like product queries, customer first interactions, customer service, etc. Its key advantages are:
- Reduction of operating expenses thanks to automation.
- Shorter response time.
- Automated customer care.
Notable mentions
AuraPortal (Valencia): process automation. The company provides multiple solutions and components with machine learning functionality for banks and insurance companies.
Afterword
Certainly, there are many more prominent offshore development centers in Europe. Multiple prodigious companies operate in the Nordic region, Milan, Amsterdam, Bucharest, and other European cities. Do you have something to say on the topic? Post your alternative Top-5 list in the comments, share your opinion on the best European AI destinations and companies.
