Innovation and Development LLC – INOVIRAJ is a partner in CROBOHUB.AI – CROatian BOosting HUB for AI-driven Industry and Society, a project implemented within the Digital Europe Programme and the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) network. The 36-month project will consolidate and scale the existing CROBOHUB++ EDIH into Croatia’s AI Experience Centre, providing companies and public-sector organisations with comprehensive support for understanding, testing and adopting artificial intelligence.
CROBOHUB.AI builds on the results of the existing CROBOHUB++ EDIH, which has supported almost 1,400 SMEs and 160 public-sector organisations since 2023, delivered 142 Test Before Invest services and trained 641 participants. The new project shifts the focus from broad digitalisation towards an AI-first service offering, ranging from organisational AI-readiness assessments to the development and testing of concrete AI solutions.
Beneficiaries will have access to the full EDIH service portfolio organised around four interconnected pillars. Test Before Invest will include AI-readiness assessment, data and infrastructure analysis, prototyping and pilot development. Skills development will provide upskilling in AI, data and cybersecurity. Access to Finance will support companies with investment readiness and navigation of relevant funding opportunities, while Networking will connect businesses, technology providers, researchers and European partners through matchmaking and cross-border cooperation.
A dedicated AI Helpdesk, combining an AI assistant with expert support, will help beneficiaries identify AI opportunities and risks and provide first-line guidance on regulatory requirements, including the AI Act and GDPR. Where more advanced infrastructure is required, CROBOHUB.AI will provide structured referral pathways to European AI facilities such as AI Factories and EuroHPC, Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs), AI-on-Demand resources and regulatory sandboxes.
The Hub will primarily support AI providers and adopters across four priority sectors: ICT, manufacturing and industrial automation, sustainable energy, and agriculture and agri-food, while also addressing relevant public-sector AI applications. Over the course of the project, CROBOHUB.AI aims to support 300 unique organisations, including 265 SMEs and mid-caps and 35 public-sector organisations. At least 70 SMEs are expected to receive Test Before Invest services, 15 AI use cases will be developed or piloted, and 65 SMEs will receive access-to-finance support, with a target of triggering at least EUR 2 million in additional investment.
The project also places strong emphasis on the responsible, trustworthy and secure adoption of artificial intelligence. AI systems supported through CROBOHUB.AI will be designed as decision- and process-support tools rather than autonomous decision-makers, with requirements for human oversight, transparency, privacy protection, data security and non-discrimination. GDPR principles and the EU risk-based framework for AI will be integrated into the design and delivery of services.
INOVIRAJ participates as one of the six consortium partners, bringing together research, business and technology organisations to jointly deliver CROBOHUB.AI services to Croatian enterprises and public-sector organisations.
Project at a glance
- Project title: CROBOHUB.AI – CROatian BOosting HUB for AI-driven Industry and Society
- Acronym: CROBOHUB.AI
- Proposal/Project ID: 101330296
- Programme: Digital Europe Programme – European Digital Innovation Hubs
- Call: DIGITAL-2026-EDIH-EU-EEA-09 – EDIH AI Continent
- Duration: 36 months
- Implementation period: 2027–2029
- Total project budget: EUR 2,953,058.76
Project partners:
University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing – UNIZG-FER (Coordinator), Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology Osijek – FERIT, Croatian Chamber of Economy – CCE, Solvership, Innovation and Development LLC – INOVIRAJ, and Infodom.
Associated partners: University of Zagreb University Computing Centre – SRCE, Innovation Centre Nikola Tesla – ICENT, Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development – HBOR, and the Croatian Artificial Intelligence Association – CroAI.
