8ra Community

Partners & Friends of 8ra

At 8ra, we believe in the power of collaboration. Our community is built on strong partnerships, shared values, and a commitment to joint innovation. Together with our Partners & Friends, including initiatives such as NeoNephos, SPRIND, CISERO and Sylva, we drive progress and create meaningful impact. While each plays a distinct role, all contribute to the shared ambition of strengthening Europe’s cloud and edge capabilities.

SPRIND Composite Learning Challenge

The SPRIND Composite Learning Challenge, run by the Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND), explores new approaches to training AI models across decentralised and heterogeneous infrastructures.

The challenge focuses on:

Composite Learning combines distributed, decentralised and federated learning, offering a new approach to AI. This allows models to be trained across diverse systems without the need for centralised data centres. The method enables organisations to collaborate and train models securely, preserving data privacy and making cutting-edge AI accessible to more companies. 8ra provides the ideal distributed architecture to power this next generation of AI.

Learn more about the challenge’s progress.

NeoNephos – Open Source building blocks for a sovereign cloud-native future

The NeoNephos Foundation provides a neutral home for open-source projects that contribute to modern cloud and edge infrastructure. It focuses on creating interoperable, portable, and secure building blocks that organisations can combine into end-to-end cloud and edge platforms, without dependency on a single vendor.

As part of the broader ecosystem surrounding IPCEI-CIS and 8ra, NeoNephos ensures that technological outcomes continue to evolve beyond funding programmes. Through neutral governance and open collaboration, the foundation supports projects that make cloud-native technologies more accessible, reusable and sustainable in the long term.

For the 8ra Initiative, NeoNephos serves as a vital bridge between innovation and long-term open-source adoption. It provides a collaborative environment where technologies can mature, communities can grow, and new contributors can build upon shared foundations.

What NeoNephos brings to the ecosystem:

  • Open source building blocks for cloud and edge environments
  • Neutral, community-driven governance
  • Interoperability and portability across providers and platforms in line with the ICRA
  • Support for federation in multi-provider environments
  • A sustainable home for projects that endure beyond individual funding programmes

Learn more about the NeoNephos Foundation.

Sylva – Open Source Telco Cloud Stack

The Sylva project hosted by Linux Foundation Europe, develops an open-source cloud software framework designed for telecommunications and edge environments.

Sylva brings together European operators and vendors around a common, open-source cloud layer, addressing technical challenges in telecommunications and edge computing. It supports the creation of a cloud continuum (build once, deploy many) and guarantees compatibility among operators in the MEC Federation initiative. 

By developing common requirements, reference implementations and validation mechanisms, Sylva supports greater interoperability between platforms and providers. This is particularly relevant for distributed telco and edge environments, where applications and services need to operate consistently across different infrastructure domains.

Several organisations involved in Sylva are also active within the 8ra Initiative. The two communities therefore share important objectives: reducing technological fragmentation, strengthening interoperability and enabling open, federated cloud and edge infrastructures in Europe.

What Sylva brings to the ecosystem:

  • An open-source framework for telco cloud and edge infrastructure
  • Common requirements for European telecommunications use cases
  • Reference implementations and validation mechanisms
  • Support for interoperable cloud-native network functions and applications
  • Collaboration between operators, technology providers and the open-source community

Learn more about the Sylva project.

CISERO – Connecting Innovation, Collaboration and Adoption

CISERO (Cloud Infrastructure and Services Exploitation Resources Office) supports the adoption and exploitation of technologies developed within the IPCEI-CIS ecosystem.

Its role is to help connect the various actors shaping Europe’s cloud and edge future: companies, research organisations, public authorities, technology providers, and the wider innovation community. CISERO provides resources and mechanisms for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the wider dissemination of project results.

Its work includes a collaborative platform, an IPCEI-CIS project catalogue, governance support, and a techno-business roadmap designed to help turn technological innovation into sustainable, widely adopted solutions.

For the 8ra ecosystem, CISERO plays a key role in connecting projects with each other and with the wider European market and innovation community. By making knowledge, technologies, and collaboration opportunities more accessible, it helps increase the long-term impact of the work developed across the ecosystem.

What CISERO brings to the ecosystem:

  • Support for the adoption and exploitation of IPCEI-CIS results
  • A collaborative platform for the cloud and edge community
  • Knowledge sharing and visibility for projects and solutions
  • Governance and community-building support
  • A techno-business perspective for sustainable long-term development
  • Connections between IPCEI-CIS participants and the wider European ecosystem

Explore our work with CISERO and its impact.

Join Our Community

8ra continues to grow as a European community for open, interoperable and sovereign cloud and edge technologies. We welcome organisations and experts who want to contribute to this ecosystem and help turn technological innovation into real-world applications.

We invite you to:

  • Collaborate: Work with us on joint projects and initiatives, for details see ‘Join 8ra’.
  • Learn: Participate in our events, workshops, and knowledge-sharing sessions.
  • Innovate: Help us shape the future of technology and its applications.

Contact us here to start the conversation.