Software Competence Center Hagenberg Takes 10% Stake in A.I. Training Firm dbrains academy
Set Trending Topics as a preferred source on Google.
From the research lab to the seminar room: The Software Competence Center Hagenberg (SCCH) has acquired a 10 percent stake in dbrains academy GmbH, a provider of A.I. consulting and training for companies. The shares are held by SCCH Innovations GmbH, the investment arm of the Upper Austrian research center. The partners did not disclose the purchase price, and dbrains academy’s management remains unchanged.
Research Meets Training
With the investment, SCCH is expanding its technology transfer to include consulting and training. In return, dbrains academy gains direct access to the center’s A.I. research. SCCH conducts research in artificial intelligence, data science and software science and employs about 130 people. It belongs to Upper Austrian Research, the research company of the state of Upper Austria, and is funded by the federal and state governments as a COMET center.
dbrains academy works with companies in Austria and Germany, from small and medium-size businesses to large corporations. Its services range from developing an A.I. strategy to training for different departments to implementing concrete A.I. applications, in formats from one-day workshops to support over several months. It also offers an e-learning program that lets companies build A.I. skills across their entire work force and document compliance with the training obligation under the E.U. A.I. Act.
“For us, technology transfer does not end with developing a solution. It is successful when new knowledge reaches companies and is actually used there,” said Markus Manz, chief executive of SCCH.
A Joint Program as a Forerunner
The two partners have been working together since 2025. With the “AI Excellence Program for Pioneers,” they launched a joint course in which participants are meant to take their own A.I. ideas all the way to implementation. The next round starts at the end of November. Going forward, dbrains academy plans to bring new research findings into its strategy projects and training sessions earlier and to develop A.I. solutions together with SCCH. In turn, questions from practice are meant to flow back into research.
The AI Education Hub in the Softwarepark Hagenberg, which has existed since 2025, is also being expanded. There, employees from various companies take part in open seminars and courses, from A.I. basics to programs for leadership, H.R. and marketing to technical topics such as agentic A.I. The number of participants is set to double within two years.
Strong Demand, Many Providers
Demand for A.I. training is high. According to EY’s 2026 A.I. Readiness Check, 69 percent of Austrian companies use A.I., but only 8 percent have scaled the technology across the entire organization (Trending Topics reported). The E.U. A.I. Act adds pressure, requiring companies to ensure their employees have sufficient A.I. literacy.
Competition is correspondingly fierce. Besides traditional training providers and consultancies, start-ups are also targeting the field, such as the Austrian edtech company mytalents.ai, which offers A.I. learning courses for businesses.
