Service to launch and operate the entrepreneurship line of València’s Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence

Summary

The procurement is for the comprehensive launch and operation of the entrepreneurship line of the Applied AI Centre in València, also known as the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence. A single contractor will run four connected programmes: acceleration and growth support for artificial-intelligence startups; corporate innovation challenges and facilitation of pilot projects; business ecosystem development and internationalisation; and applied AI training. The work also includes organising the team and partner network, managing the centre’s CRM and performance indicators, reporting, and transferring data, documents and ongoing activities at the end of the contract. Pilot funding and financial grants to startups are outside the contract. Each contract year includes, among other minimums, two acceleration cohorts supporting 16 startups; six participating corporations, six defined corporate challenges and six matching processes; ten ecosystem events with at least 25 attendees each, two international missions and participation in two international industry events; and at least 120 teaching hours across eight training activities, including at least two bootcamps of 16 hours or more. The mentoring and specialist network must provide at least 600 effective hours annually. Several outcome targets depend on voluntary participation by third parties and do not automatically lead to a penalty where the contractor has acted diligently. The initial contract term is 12 months, with an expected start date of 1 December 2026; two successive one-year extensions are possible. The initial-year budget is €350,000 excluding VAT (€423,500 including VAT), and the estimated total contract value including extensions is €1,050,000 excluding VAT. To participate, bidders must demonstrate annual turnover of at least €525,000, relevant previous services worth at least €350,000, and provide the required three-person qualified team. Tenders are scored out of 100 for price, the work plan and methodology, the internationalisation strategy, additional team experience and evidenced collaboration commitments.