Recent meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.
Mission & Goals
Open Hippo GmbH builds sovereign, GDPR-compliant AI infrastructure that enables European companies — particularly SMEs — to act as providers of general-purpose AI models within the meaning of Article 3(3) of the AI Act, placing GPAI models on the market under their own name and assuming the corresponding obligations under Articles 53 and 55. Hosted in a German green data centre or on customer hardware, our stack is built entirely on open-source technology (vLLM, Docling, Lucene and others) so that organisations can fine-tune, host, document, and release GPAI models under their own control and accountability. Our goals are to (1) lower the technical, legal, and economic barriers that prevent European SMEs from becoming GPAI providers, (2) advance European digital sovereignty by ensuring open-source GPAI is a credible alternative to closed, non-EU models, (3) promote transparent, safe, and accountable GPAI provision in line with the AI Act and the GPAI Code of Practice, and (4) contribut
EU Legislative Interests
Open Hippo's EU policy engagement focuses on the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), in particular the provisions for general-purpose AI (GPAI) models, with the goal of ensuring that European SMEs can realistically act as GPAI providers within the meaning of Article 3(3) AI Act. Specific files and instruments we engage with: - AI Act provisions on GPAI models (Articles 51–56 and Annexes XI–XIII): scope of the "provider" definition, classification thresholds for systemic-risk models (Art. 51), technical documentation duties (Art. 53(1)(a) and Annex XI), downstream-provider information (Art. 53(1)(b) and Annex XII), copyright policy and training-data summary (Art. 53(1)(c)–(d)), and systemic-risk obligations under Art. 55. - Open-source carve-out under Art. 53(2): ensuring the exemption for GPAI models released under a free and open-source licence is workable in practice and preserves SME capacity to release weights openly without disproportionate compliance burden. - General-Purpose AI Code of Practice: as a voluntary tool to demonstrate compliance with Articles 53 and 55. We are particularly interested in SME-proportionate implementation, clarity of the technical documentation templates, and the treatment of providers that fine-tune or modify upstream open-source base models. - Work of the European AI Office (DG CNECT) and AI Board: including the Signatory Taskforce of the GPAI Code of Practice, guidance documents, compliance assessments, and public consultations. AI Act and GDPR interaction: lawful bases and safeguards for training data, treatment of pseudonymised/synthetic data, and the role of EDPB guidance. - Industrial and sovereignty files relevant to GPAI provision by EU SMEs: the Chips Act, EuroHPC AI Factories initiative, common European data spaces, GAIA-X, and public procurement rules for sovereign cloud and AI capacity. - Claude responded: Copyright framework (CDSM Directive 2019/790 and Article 53(1)(d) AI Act): we advocate for open-source GPAI solutions that, where required, can demonstrably pr… - Copyright framework (CDSM Directive 2019/790 and Article 53(1)(d) AI Act): we advocate for open-source GPAI solutions that, where required, can demonstrably prevent infringing outputs — through output filters, near-duplicate detection, and provenance and attribution signals — and that honour rightsholder reservations. Open, auditable approaches let SME GPAI providers prove copyright-respecting behaviour from training data to model output, rather than asking users to take it on trust.
Communication Activities
Open Hippo's policy-related communication activities include: Participation in the Signatory Taskforce of the GPAI Code of Practice convened by the European AI Office (subject to signatory and member status), including attendance at taskforce meetings, exchanges of views on Code implementation, and input on guidance documents and compliance approaches that affect SME providers of GPAI models. Responses to AI Office public consultations and calls for evidence on GPAI guidance, technical documentation templates, the training-data summary template, and downstream-provider information flows. Conference talks and technical presentations at PyData, PyCon and comparable developer and AI-policy events, on sovereign GPAI provision, open-source compliance pathways under the AI Act, and the practicalities of meeting Article 53/55 obligations. Contributions to open-source projects that underpin compliant GPAI provision by SMEs, including vLLM, Docling, and Lucene, as well as related tooling for model documentation, evaluation, and deployment. Publications and articles on openhippo.ai and the Open Hippo LinkedIn channel covering: how SMEs can become GPAI providers under the AI Act; the open-source carve-out in Art. 53(2); practical implementation of the GPAI Code of Practice; GDPR-compliant deployment of GPAI; and the sustainability profile of European AI infrastructure. Workshops and assessments with enterprise and SME customers explaining provider vs. deployer obligations under the AI Act, supporting the preparation of technical documentation, and structuring open-source release strategies that preserve the Art. 53(2) exemption. Joint events and outreach with regional partners — LEW Green Data Center, aitiRaum, Open Teams, and the Digitales Zentrum Schwaben (DZ.S) at Sigma Technopark Augsburg — on sovereign, AI Act-aligned infrastructure for European industry. Engagement with German and Bavarian innovation networks to channel SME perspectives on GPAI compliance into the EU policy debate.
Interests Represented
Promotes their own interests or the collective interests of their members
Member Of
Open Hippo's network and affiliations relevant to its EU policy engagement: Signatory Taskforce of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice — Open Hippo participates / seeks to participate as a signatory and taskforce member, convened by the European AI Office (DG CNECT). LEW (Lechwerke) Green Data Center, Augsburg — infrastructure partner; Open Hippo's managed services run on LEW's certified green data centre powered by 100% renewable energy from the river Lech. aitiRaum, Augsburg — AI innovation hub and network partner connecting Open Hippo to applied AI research, enterprise customers, and Bavarian engineering talent. Digitales Zentrum Schwaben (DZ.S) at Sigma Technopark Augsburg — innovation community of digital founders and SMEs.
Organisation Members
Not applicable. Open Hippo GmbH is a private limited company under German law and does not have members or affiliated entities in the sense of a federation, association or network.
Additional Information
Open Hippo GmbH was incorporated in 2024 and has closed one financial year. The organisation has not received any EU grants and does not employ or contract intermediaries (such as professional consultancies, law firms, or public-affairs agencies) to carry out activities covered by the Transparency Register. All activities falling within the scope of the register are performed in-house by Open Hippo staff, primarily by the CEO, with occasional ad-hoc support from engineering and research team members. The reported cost figure reflects the share of internal working time devoted to EU policy engagement — in particular, monitoring AI Act implementation, engaging with the European AI Office and the Signatory Taskforce of the GPAI Code of Practice, responding to public consultations, and producing related publications. There are no external lobbying expenditures, no commissioned studies, no event sponsorships, and no payments to third parties in connection with the covered activities. Should this change in future financial years, the entry will be updated accordingly.