The network will include a team of 30 researchers collaborating with members of academic institutions such as École Polytechnique, CentraleSupélec Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, Sorbonne University, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, INSEAD, Toulouse III Paul Sabatier and ESCP Business School.

Artefact said that the aim was to strengthen collaboration between academics and major corporate partners to help make sure research remains at the forefront of AI development and addresses complex business challenges.

Orange, Société Générale and Decathlon are already part of this initiative, Artefact said, and the company will host the Artefact Research Center from Germany and the UK.

Artefact will not claim any intellectual property rights to the resulting output from the research centre in order to promote an open, collaborative ethic, free from the financial constraints of large corporations.

The core of Artefact’s strategy will be the study, exploration and development of tools tailored to addressing the tangible challenges faced by businesses, with the knowledge generated shared through scientific publications, international conferences and open-source code.

Vincent Luciani, chief executive officer and co-founder at Artefact, said: “We are very proud to inaugurate this research centre, which embodies our commitment to innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.

“This represents an important step for Artefact that paves the way for a better adoption of AI by the organisations.”

Emmanuel Malherbe, machine learning researcher and director of the Artefact Research Center, said: “We have reached a turning point in AI research, where the focus has shifted from enhancing models’ accuracy to improving their control, transparency, and reducing the risk of bias.

“These challenges include both technical and statistical aspects as well as societal and user experience considerations.

“Artefact offers an optimal environment for addressing these issues by combining an industry-informed perspective with the scientific excellence of academic research.”