After laying the groundwork for identifying real problems and validating the market before moving forward, this week the Venture Incubation Program —an initiative by EIT Digital led by Inneürope— dove into a crucial area for any startup: how to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) from early stages to amplify impact.
The module “AI for Startups” was led by John Soldatos, international researcher and consultant with over 20 years of experience in developing and implementing AI and emerging technology solutions across sectors like industry, healthcare, finance, and smart cities.
“With the right AI tools, a startup can multiply its productivity by 10 and free up time to focus on what really matters: creating value.”
During the session, John shared key insights on how to integrate AI into startup operations without losing focus or misusing resources:
- AI isn’t just for experts: there are now accessible, affordable tools that allow non-technical founders to improve content quality, speed up research, or automate tasks.
- Augmented, not replaced: smart use of AI can free up time in areas like proposal writing, strategic planning, coding, or market analysis.
- Start small, think big: the goal isn’t to master all technologies, but to adopt the right ones that add real value to your business.
- AI doesn’t replace purpose: if it’s not aligned with a real need, technology can generate noise instead of impact.
Participants also explored how LLM-based tools (like ChatGPT) can help them structure processes, gather faster feedback, and make informed decisions — all with a practical and hands-on approach.
This session reinforced a powerful idea: AI is not a luxury for the future — it’s a competitive advantage for today.
In the next module, we’ll dive deeper into turning ideas into tangible solutions by learning how to design clear, user-centered value propositions.
