AXA, BBVA, Carrefour and Cinfa launch their new innovation programme for startups with the University of Navarra

The Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Institute (DATAI) of the University of Navarra has presented SofIA, a business acceleration programme that seeks startups capable of developing technological solutionsfor innovative companies in sectors such as finance, pharmaceuticals, insurance and distribution. 

AXA Seguros, BBVA AI Factory, Carrefour and Laboratorios Cinfa are the companies participating in this first edition of the programme and have presented their challenges in the application of artificial intelligence: the prevention of claims, the empowerment of customers in the management of their finances, the improvement of the shopping experience and efficient production.

Interested startups can send their proposals to the University of Navarra until the end of June. On the 27th of the same month, a pitch will be held to select the most competitive in each of the challenges. From then on, they will have the following six months to provide a solution, during which they will be accompanied by the University of Navarra, which will provide the appropriate management and training through the Innovation Factory, the entrepreneurship and innovation unit of the academic centre. Accenture, Amazon Web Services and Tableau will provide the necessary working tools.

Iván Cordón, from the University of Navarra, pointed out that "we are living in a historic moment in which artificial intelligence will transform companies and society . Those companies that do not use data as a strategic asset will disappear. SofIA seeks to become a forum for reference letter where startups and companies can work on disruptive solutions based on data".

SofIA is looking for startups capable of extracting knowledge from data to develop customized solutions that are easy to apply in the market. For Francisco Maturana, CEO of BBVA AI Factory, "participating in this program is a good opportunity to meet startups that provide us with their vision on how to improve the personalization of the customer experience with banking services". The financial institution's challenge is to provide its customers with the necessary tools to self-manage their finances. To do this, "we use AI models to propose personalized actions to improve their financial health," said Jesús Renero, head of the company's data science discipline , during his speech.

In the field of insurance for companies, specifically for industries, it is necessary to use existing data on network to identify different patterns that allow the exclusion of certain risks in the case of fire. AXA Seguros wants to promote, therefore, the development of an artificial intelligencemodel to identify the cause of a fire damage claim in the field of business and its impact. Nieves Malagón, Director of AXA Opensurance, believes that "innovation at AXA must help us to protect people, to protect what is important to them and, of course, to do so in a sustainable way. Data can help us to build efficient and scalable solutions. However, the important thing is not the data itself, but how we use it intelligently and integrate it into every interaction with the customer so that it has a real transforming power.  

For the retail and consumer goods sector, the voice of the consumer is of great importance in the process of improvement and innovation: comments at checkout, information from the contact center, suggestions on the web, texts, images, audios... It is necessary to process this data to extract value from the different sources of information available at Carrefour. According to its Data director , David Villarino, "at Carrefour we work to improve the customer's buying process through the personalization of communications and the ability to listen. The voice of the consumer is of great importance in our processes of improvement and innovation, so we are looking forward to the project that we share with the University of Navarra. We are convinced that the work of the startup that embarks on our challenge will help us decisively to improve the experience of our customers, a goal that is the most important thing for us". 

Production efficiency in the field of healthcare also plays an important role at SofIA. Laboratorios Cinfa seeks to match its production to the needs of patients so that all people, especially those suffering from serious or chronic diseases, always have access to their medicines. Julio Sánchez, Head of Innovation at Laboratorios Cinfa, believes that "in the current global context, and especially in the healthcare sector, it is more necessary than ever to have a demand forecasting tool to adjust production plans to the circumstances that may arise in the market and thus ensure the availability of our medicines for patients".

DATAI is the research center, innovation and training in data and artificial intelligence of the University of Navarra, which promotes collaborative and interdisciplinary work for the transfer of scientific knowledge in the form of solutions that society needs, transforming the value chain of companies to be more competitive.