“Unlocking Data for AI”: Swiss Data Space Forum 2026 calls for swift commitment to strategic key data and digital infrastructure
AI relies on high quality data and clear governance, yet planned federal cuts to digital infrastructure threaten Switzerland’s digital sovereignty. While projects like the open source LLM Apertus show strong productive progress, a nationwide 2027 campaign will tackle the widening skills gap to build essential AI competences across business and the public.
Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data that powers it. Under the motto “Unlocking Data for AI”, the Swiss Data Space Forum 2026 brought together leading figures from research, public administration and business at the unlimitrust Campus in Prilly. The key message: to realise the full potential of AI in Switzerland, companies and public authorities should manage their data collaboratively in order to solve specific challenges. At the federal level, the priority is not to cut costs in the wrong places, but to invest in a targeted way in trustworthy data spaces.
“AI-ready Data”: The Swiss Data Alliance benchmark
Curated, high-quality data is the biggest hurdle in scaling AI projects. As a driving force for data ecosystems, the Swiss Data Alliance presented the white paper “AI-ready Data: Conceptual Foundations, Use Cases, and Lessons Learned”, developed as part of the Swiss AI Action Plan. Drawing on nine Swiss case studies, from tourism and Apertus to the Swiss Life archive, it defines concrete criteria for AI-ready data and shows ways out of silos without losing control over sensitive data:
“Many companies have large volumes of data, but this data cannot be used beyond its primary purpose, not even for AI systems,”says André Golliez, President of the Swiss Data Alliance and co-author of the white paper. “With this framework, the Swiss Data Alliance provides a compass that enables organisations to break out of silos and makes data-based cooperation possible in the first place.”
No cuts in the wrong places, targeted investment at federal level
The conference also took place against the backdrop of a current debate on spending cuts: as Swiss Radio SRF reported the day before, the Confederation’s austerity decisions threaten to slow down digital transformation. In addition to the Central Migration Information System ZEMIS, those affected include DigiSanté, data infrastructures such as MODI, and the introduction of the e-ID. “Anyone who cuts spending on basic digital infrastructure is putting Switzerland’s capacity for innovation, future viability and further development at risk,” says Andreas Meyer, President of digitalswitzerland.
Sovereignty, national infrastructure and Apertus
Digital sovereignty begins with data responsibility: those who manage their data independently, ensure its quality and connect it save computing power and lay the foundation for efficient AI, economic value creation and democratic sovereignty. To achieve this, the state and the private sector must join forces. The workshop on the Swiss open-source LLM initiative Apertus, which is preparing for productive use, also showed how crucial verified data is for independent AI models.
Campaign to promote AI skills 2027
The skills of the population, of all management levels and of political decision-makers are equally essential: “AI use is currently growing faster than the corresponding AI skills,” says Sandrine Denti, Regional Director Romandie and Head Digital Trust & AI Literacy at digitalswitzerland. “Anyone who wants to successfully shape Switzerland’s digital future empowers people: they should be able to navigate the world of AI with confidence, actively seize opportunities and make informed decisions about their data at all times.” The public-private campaign to promote AI skills on the “Road to Geneva” is also supported by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and the Federal Chancellery (FCh).
Broad dialogue on the future of data ecosystems
As an official pre-event on the “Road to Geneva” for the Geneva AI Summit 2027, the Swiss Data Alliance provided insights into tools such as the “Data Sharing Initiative Radar” and discussed the technological, economic and legal aspects of data spaces with speakers including Prof. Thomas Schulthess (Director CSCS, ETH Zurich), Abhimanyu Verma (CTO SOPHiA GENETICSd) and Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner Adrian Lobsiger.
Further information: https://forum.swissdataalliance.ch/
The Whitepaper can be downloaded here