Spanish operator Renfe has chosen six technology companies to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions designed to transform railway transport. The announcement followed a competition that drew 164 submissions. The winning firms will receive funding and mentoring to create proofs of concept, with the aim of integrating successful solutions into Renfe’s operations. The initiative forms part of the AI Lab Project Competition, which seeks to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and the passenger experience in Spain’s national railway network. Renfe executives and technology leaders confirmed their backing for open innovation as a core driver of the company’s digital transformation at a July 1 event in Madrid. Six projects, six winners The competition evaluated 164 proposals, narrowing them down to 18 finalists before naming six winners across strategic areas: 1. For the Renfe Employee Digital Assistant project: Finalist companies: NTT Data, Indra, Aunoa. Winning proposal: Use of AI agents to assist Renfe employees by Aunoa. 2. For the Real-Time Information System project: Finalist companies: Babel, Plain Concepts, Luce Innovative Technologies. Winning proposal: Renfe Real-Time Intelligence Hub by Plain Concepts. 3. For the IA project in workshops: Finalist companies: SDG Consulting, Axpe Consulting, Lucentia Lab. Winning proposal: Multimodal Intelligent Assistant for Visual Detection and Predictive Diagnosis in Railway Workshops by Lucentia Lab. 4. For the Operations Management Center (OMC) Assistance project: Finalist companies: PwC, Devoteam, Eptisa Technologies. Winning proposal: Assistance to PwC’s Operations Management Center (OMC). 5. For the AI-powered Graffiti Prevention project: Finalist companies: Technological Innovation and Business Solutions, Stratesys. Winning proposal: Predictive Graffiti Prevention System using AI for Technological Innovation and Business Solutions. 6. For the Smart Driving Supervision project: Finalist companies: Dive Tech (Tagsonomy), Luce Innovative Technologies, Evestel. Winning proposal: Driving Expressions: Intelligent and adaptive monitoring of driving patterns using Dive Tech’s LLM agent (Tagsonomy). Each company will receive €20,000 to develop its proof of concept in a real-world operating environment. A mentoring programme led by AI experts will support the development phase. Next steps in Renfe’s AI Lab The selected solutions will be presented again in October before a jury of Renfe executives and industry figures. Projects with the greatest potential will move forward for full integration into Renfe’s technological infrastructure. The AI Lab is part of Renfe’s broader strategy to digitise Spain’s railway sector and foster public-private collaboration. The company aims to deploy emerging technologies to build a transport system that is safer, more sustainable, and more efficient for passengers.
