On July 7, 2025, the Cité Internationale Université de Toulouse hosted the official launch of the ANITI AI Cluster, attended by numerous academic, industrial, and institutional representatives. This step marks much more than a mere extension of ANITI as it operated until now: it constitutes a true change in scale for one of the four French research institutes in artificial intelligence.
From ANITI to its Cluster: a new model of organization and cooperation
Created in 2019, ANITI (Artificial and Natural Intelligence Toulouse Institute) had already established itself as a player in trustworthy AI: explainable, robust, fair, and embeddable. It brought together researchers, companies, and the humanities around emblematic projects, such as DEEL with Quebec.
The ANITI AI Cluster, labeled in May 2024 as part of the France 2030 program, disrupts this dynamic by durably structuring the Toulouse ecosystem around ANITI and providing it with new levers:
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An expanded perimeter, which federates more academic actors, industrial sectors, and institutional partners.
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Enhanced and multi-year funding, backed by national labeling, allowing for the launch of larger-scale research and training programs.
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Strategic governance, conceived as a coordination tool at the European and international levels.
This evolution transforms ANITI from a research institute into a full-fledged cluster, meaning a structured system that links research, training, industrial innovation, and public policies.
A denser and more readable industrial ecosystem
Another point of rupture: the industrial network supporting the cluster. ANITI was already collaborating with Airbus, Thales, and Safran. Now, the cluster associates an even broader spectrum of actors: public operators (RTE, CNES, Mercator Océan), technology companies (Linagora, Duoverse), laboratories, and innovation hubs. This diversification consolidates the Toulouse site's vocation to become a stronghold of applied AI in major strategic sectors: aerospace, mobility, energy, Industry 4.0.
The scale of the cluster will attract new European collaborative projects and competitive funding, beyond the initial ANITI framework.
A reinforced training ambition
The creation of the cluster also responds to an objective of massifying training:
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ANITI was already training 500 master's students per year; the Cluster aims to double this number within a few years.
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An international Master's will be launched to welcome more than 70% international students and enhance European attractiveness.
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The development of interdisciplinary and professionalizing courses will contribute to irrigating local and national industrial sectors.
These ambitions place the ANITI AI Cluster at the heart of a broader strategy: building a French skill set in trustworthy AI, rooted in territories and oriented towards the international stage.
A strategic tool serving a territorial vision
Finally, the territorial and political dimension clearly distinguishes the Cluster from the historical functioning of ANITI. It benefits from structuring support from the State, the Occitanie Region, and Toulouse Metropole, with a clear objective: making AI a lever for sustainable transformation. The university site is committed to creating a new higher education and research institution by 2028, which will further enhance its visibility and capacity to carry out structuring projects.
This dynamic fits within a context of European and global competition for talent and AI innovations. Thus, the ANITI AI Cluster becomes a strategic instrument to position Toulouse among the most influential hubs.
In a context marked by the rise of generative AI and trust issues, Toulouse intends to demonstrate that a collective, interdisciplinary, and responsible model can compete with the world's major hubs.
To learn more, discover the full program and resources at: aniti.univ-toulouse.fr/lancement-ia-cluster-aniti