On 9 April 2026, the 8th Gaia-X Hub France Plenary Meeting brought together nearly 200 participants. This event, organised by IMT, demonstrates the ecosystem’s growing engagement with data spaces.
A shared observation: with the rise of artificial intelligence, data spaces are acquiring increasing strategic value. Following an initial phase focused on structuring, research and defining trust frameworks, Gaia-X is now entering a “Season 2” geared towards creating business models and ensuring data interoperability and interoperability between data spaces. The challenge is to accelerate deployment to operational use cases with governance rules, on an industrial and european scale.
This ramp-up is part of the framework of the Projects of Common European Interest (PIIEC), particularly the PIIEC AI, which aim to support strategic initiatives with a significant impact on innovation, sovereignty and industrial competitiveness. Projects related to data spaces, the trusted cloud and artificial intelligence play a central role in this, with a clear objective: to build robust and interoperable European capabilities. Initiatives such as Data4NuclearX and DECADE-X illustrate this development, with active contributions from IMT teams, notably through IMT Transfert and TeraLab.
In this context, IMT fully reaffirms its role as a key player and founding member:
- by contributing to European digital sovereignty,
- by mobilising its expertise in responsible data and AI, at the heart of the digital infrastructures of the future,
- by building ecosystems of trust between academic, industrial and institutional stakeholders,
- and by supporting businesses in their digital and ecological transformations.
As co-leader of the France Gaia-X Hub alongside Cigref, IMT is entering its third year of commitment with the ambition of structuring and uniting a national ecosystem around these challenges. This initiative is being carried out in particular through the Data Space Lab, led by IMT and operated by its subsidiary, which serves as a key driver for experimenting with and accelerating the development of data spaces.
“Following an initial structuring phase, we are entering a decisive moment: that of scaling up. Data spaces are no longer a prospect, but are becoming strategic infrastructures serving industrial sectors. They also form an essential foundation for the deployment of trustworthy artificial intelligence, based on high-quality, interoperable and sovereign data. Through its co-leadership of the France Gaia-X Hub, IMT intends to play its full part in structuring this ecosystem and supporting businesses through this transformation.” Vincent Charvillat, IMT Deputy Director.
This new phase highlights a dual requirement for organisations. On the one hand, sovereignty, which is essential for control over infrastructure and strategic data, and inextricably linked to data security. On the other hand, sustainability, now at the heart of development models and achieved notably through interoperability and standardisation.
These challenges affect the entire economic fabric, from large corporations and mid-sized companies to SMEs, not to mention public services, which are called upon to balance performance, resilience and environmental responsibility.
IMT positions itself as a leading player in supporting these transitions, by mobilising its expertise in training, research and innovation to serve major industrial, digital and ecological transformations.
