The Danish Industry Foundation is investing €7 million in the AI Lab to accelerate AI commercialisation.

Since 2018, BioInnovation Institute has helped more than 140 startups in life sciences, technology, and biosolutions.

Chosen startups get non-dilutive funding, access to unique Danish datasets, computing power, and direct links to paying customers.

Denmark is one of Europe’s most digitally advanced countries, with strong public data systems, top research institutions, and early tech adopters. Still, Danish companies are slower to commercialise and use AI in industry.

The AI Lab launched today aims to close this gap. A new platform, backed by DKK 60 million, which is €7 million, from the Danish Industry Foundation and run by the BioInnovation Institute, also known as BII, a deep-tech accelerator in Copenhagen.

“AI is no longer just a tool – it is an infrastructure that shapes how companies operate and compete. If Denmark is to remain competitive in this space, it requires a shift in how we collaborate across academia, startups, and industry. AI Lab is a step in that direction. Here, we are creating a platform where ideas can be developed into solutions with real value for businesses and society,” says Thomas Hofman Bang, CEO of the Danish Industry Foundation. 

Since 2018, with support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, BII has helped over 140 startups in life sciences, quantum technology, and biosolutions. This proven approach, which connects early-stage science companies with funding, expert networks, data, and customers, will now be applied to AI.

BII will choose participants based on their technical uniqueness, commercial potential, and fit with Danish industry priorities. The program is tailored to each startup, with the primary goal of preparing them for investment.

The funding is non-dilutive, so startups retain full ownership, and it focuses on addressing commercialisation challenges through data, computing, networks, and customer access.

The companies will gain access to datasets from Danish companies and institutions that are hard to find elsewhere and are increasingly needed by investors as proof of what sets them apart. They will also get direct access to BII’s industrial network, so pilot projects can start within weeks.