Fraunhofer's Internal AI Platform FhGenie Enhances Technological Sovereignty

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft has successfully utilized its in-house AI platform, FhGenie, for two years, enhancing employee efficiency and research capabilities. The platform hosts over 20 large language models, including the Teuken model co-developed by Fraunhofer researchers.

FhGenie was developed to address rising demands for data protection, security, and technological sovereignty as artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent. Since its introduction in 2023, the platform has enabled the deployment of secure and flexible AI applications, ensuring that data remains within the European Economic Area.

Approximately 12,000 employees regularly use the platform, generating over one million prompts monthly. The platform operates exclusively within the EEA, and its stateless architecture ensures no transaction data is stored. Content filters protect against misuse, and voluntary data contributions for benchmarking are anonymized. FhGenie adheres to GDPR, meaning no user data is stored or analyzed.

To ensure technological autonomy, Fraunhofer employs its own language models and software, such as the European-developed Teuken 7B model, which supports all 24 official EU languages. The platform is continually evolving with new models and improved integrations with other systems, including image generation via DALL-E 3 and web search functionalities. Fraunhofer's AI community, comprising over 4,500 members, actively shares knowledge on AI topics.