Since opening in February 2026, the AI Factory Austria AI:AT Coworking Hub community has grown to 218 co-workers from 105 organisations, around 85 of which are AI startups. At SOLARIS in Vienna’s St. Marx district, founders, companies, researchers and stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem work on AI products, pilot projects and new collaborations. As active members of the AI:AT community, they also contribute their expertise through talks, training sessions, events, mentoring, joint projects and professional exchange.
With its Coworking Hub, AI:AT provides a physical focal point for Austria’s AI ecosystem. Its impact comes from connecting entrepreneurial AI development, scientific expertise, access to infrastructure and the public sector. Close interaction between the teams and AI:AT services facilitates collaboration, pilot projects and the development of market-ready applications.
“218 co-workers from 105 organisations demonstrate the strength and diversity of Austria’s AI community. With the Coworking Hub, we are creating a place where startups, researchers, industry and the public sector can work together directly. Our role is to connect these stakeholders with expertise, infrastructure and services. This helps turn ideas into collaborations, pilot projects and value creation in Austria.”
Karl Kugler, Co-Lead, AI Factory Austria AI:AT
A Hub for Exchange, Expertise and Joint Projects
The AI:AT Coworking Hub complements existing coworking and innovation initiatives with a curated, professionally focused platform for collaboration across the AI ecosystem. It brings together AI startups, companies, research organisations and public-sector stakeholders. The focus is on professional exchange, joint work on use cases and direct access to AI expertise, training, networks and European high-performance computing infrastructure.
Co-workers themselves take an active role in shaping the community. Depending on their expertise, they give specialist talks, contribute to training sessions, learning sessions, workshops and events, present use cases, provide mentoring or initiate joint projects.
The model is built on reciprocity. Co-workers benefit from AI’s services while contributing their own know-how, use cases, feedback and networks to training activities, events and projects, as well as to the ongoing development of AI services. In this way, the Hub combines expertise, infrastructure access, advisory support and networking with a community that brings its own capabilities and capacity for implementation to the AI ecosystem.
Founders Circle: Community-Driven Networking
The first Founders Circle, held at the Hub beginning of September, demonstrates how co-workers are building connections among themselves. The biweekly community format was initiated by co-workers Xenia Galkina of AI Baseline and Rahim Entezari of Advantage and is organised by the community itself.
In deliberately small groups, founders introduce their startups and the topics they are currently working on, openly discuss challenges, and share experiences and practical advice.
The topics of the first Founders Circle included funding, customer acquisition and technical implementation. AI:AT uses these discussions to identify specific support needs and, where appropriate, provides access to its own network, services and targeted contacts. Growing interest in future sessions shows how connections within the Hub can lead to new relationships, collaborations and project ideas.
“For technology-driven teams, the Hub offers particular value by connecting them with technical expertise, support on data and infrastructure questions, and access to European high-performance computing. This enables teams to determine early on which resources a project actually requires and to further develop demanding AI applications under realistic conditions.”
Markus Stöhr, Co-Lead, AI Factory Austria AI:AT
A Structured Programme for Active Collaboration
Admission to the coworking programme is based on a transparent, criteria-based selection process. Applications are assessed according to factors including the relevance and technical substance of the AI project, responsible AI practices, operational fit and the applicant’s expected contribution to the community.
Contributions may include specialist talks, knowledge transfer, mentoring, participation in training sessions and events, contributing or testing use cases, project collaborations and talent exchange. The initial participation period generally lasts three to six months. Co-workers who participate actively and continue to be a good fit may extend their participation for up to a total of twelve months.
“Our co-workers are active members of the AI:AT community. They give specialist talks, contribute to training sessions and events, bring in use cases and project ideas, provide feedback, share knowledge and connect other stakeholders. This creates new contacts, collaborations and initiatives that extend beyond the work of individual teams. At the same time, we remain open to additional teams that are a strong professional and cultural fit for AI:AT and want to make an active contribution themselves.”
Mara Weinblatt, Innovation Ecosystem & Partnerships Lead, AI Factory Austria AI:AT
New Teams Broaden the Hub’s Expertise
Among the teams most recently admitted to the coworking programme are sleeve, LetMeLabs, Effractor, Context64, Reimedy, Renegade Science Innovation, Rolevance.AI, The Subscene, CarbonCue and Kiimu. Their work spans cloud and edge infrastructure, enterprise automation, cybersecurity, knowledge management, HealthTech, Industrial AI, life sciences, the creative industries and ClimateTech.
At the Hub, this expertise benefits the wider community. Co-workers share their knowledge through specialist talks and training sessions, contribute it to joint projects, discuss use cases and build connections with other teams. These exchanges create opportunities for new collaborations, project ideas and applications. Around 85 AI startups make up the largest group among the 105 organisations currently participating in the coworking programme.
Current overview of Hub members: Hub Members | AI Factory Austria AI:AT
Become an AI:AT Co-Worker
The coworking programme is open to AI startups, SMEs and companies, research groups, public-sector organisations and other relevant stakeholders in the AI ecosystem that are working on a concrete AI project.
Participation is time-limited, curated and linked to a clear innovation or collaboration objective. The programme focuses on access to the community, expertise, training, networks and relevant AI:AT services. Co-workers are expected to maintain a regular presence at the Hub, follow responsible AI practices and actively contribute to the community—for example through specialist talks, training or event contributions, mentoring, use cases or joint projects.
Information and applications: Coworking Hub | AI Factory Austria AI:AT