ITS Latvia trade mission to Austria

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ITS Latvia, in cooperation with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA), organized a trade mission of Latvian technology companies to Austria, during which the delegation visited Carinthia, Styria, Upper Austria and Vienna. The mission's goal was to establish new business contacts, get to know Austria's technology and industrial ecosystem, and identify specific cooperation opportunities in the areas of smart mobility, digitalization, artificial intelligence and industrial automation.

During the four days, the Latvian delegation met with representatives of companies, municipalities, research institutions and innovation organizations. In Carinthia, the delegation got acquainted with automation and digitalization solutions at Ortner Reinraumtechnik, Philips and Alpacem Zement Austria, as well as visited the ASFINAG traffic control center and Lakeside Science & Technology Park. During the talks, cooperation opportunities were identified in the areas of smart cities, connected mobility, artificial intelligence and joint European innovation projects.

In Graz, special attention was paid to industrial automation and smart mobility. The Latvian-Austrian business exchange event presented Latvia's experience in the development of digital public services and smart traffic management, while visits to Roto Frank, ALP.Lab and Graz University of Technology provided a closer look at Austria's expertise in the areas of automated manufacturing, transport infrastructure and autonomous mobility.

In the Austrian city of Linz, the delegation met with representatives of the city government and ICT Linz, discussing the use of artificial intelligence in public administration, data-driven urban development, and the potential of Latvian companies' solutions. Meanwhile, a visit to the company LASKA provided insight into the role of automation and digital technologies in modern manufacturing.

At the conclusion of the mission in Vienna, the delegation learned about the use of C-ITS solutions in Wiener Linien public transport, participated in Austria's leading research and technology conference Technology Talks Austria, and met with the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG, discussing international cooperation and R&D funding opportunities.

The mission confirmed that Latvian companies' expertise in digitalization, artificial intelligence, smart mobility and technology integration complement Austria's strong industrial and innovation ecosystem well. At the same time, a key finding is that long-term relationships and trust are particularly important in the Austrian market - face-to-face meetings with decision-makers significantly help accelerate the development of cooperation.

This is also confirmed by the experience of ITS Latvia member RixMind.

“Austria is a strategically important market for us. DACH is RixMind’s largest export region, and we already have our own company in Austria – RixMind Austria GmbH. Therefore, the opportunity to meet both existing and potential customers in person and see how the Austrian market thinks about digitalization, especially in public services and the manufacturing industry, was very valuable. A face-to-face meeting in this format builds trust faster than months of remote communication,” says RixMind representative Artūrs Pielēns-Pelēns.

During the mission, RixMind identified approximately ten potential collaboration opportunities with several clients in ITAM, ITSM, AI and development services, as well as training-related areas.

"The biggest benefits of such a trip are several, but mainly access to decision-makers who would be difficult to reach on our own and mentioning RixMind in the Cluster's presentations to the Austrian client audience. We appreciated the cluster's help both with the preparation of the program and contacts, and with financial support, which significantly lowers the barrier to market research. By traveling together with other members, we also gain additional value and create new acquaintances among Latvian companies and the opportunity to jointly offer competencies or even cooperate in other markets," emphasizes Artūrs Pielēns-Pelēns.

The activity is implemented within the framework of project No. 1.2.1.1/2/25/A/004 “Internationalization and growth promotion of the Latvian IT cluster and cooperation network participants”.