LABORAL Kutxa and Ikerlan strengthen their alliance by signing a collaboration agreement

Laboral Kutxa and Ikerlan have formalised a collaboration agreement to promote the development of technological solutions focused on digitalisation, talent promotion and the creation of new technology-based cooperative business initiatives. The two organisations will work together in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced data analytics, and disruptive technologies such as quantum computing.

With this agreement, both MONDRAGON entities consolidate the institutional alliance they have maintained since Ikerlan was created in the 1970s

This step reinforces the close institutional cooperation between the two entities, as well as a line of joint work that they have been developing for years in different areas of innovation. This work has already yielded results such as the launch of INNKIA, a pioneering start-up in artificial intelligence applied to businesses.

The agreement was formalised at a ceremony held at the LABORAL Kutxa facilities in Arrasate-Mondragón, attended by Xabier Egibar, managing director of LABORAL Kutxa, and Ion Etxeberria, managing director of Ikerlan.

A new phase

Over the next four years, LABORAL Kutxa and Ikerlan will work together to develop R&D projects that generate advanced, efficient and secure digital solutions for the competitiveness and security of LABORAL Kutxa's businesses. The agreement also provides for the promotion of attracting and training talent specialised in digital technologies, as well as the creation of new technology cooperatives that strengthen the MONDRAGON business ecosystem.

Previous success stories

The collaboration formalised in this agreement is already bearing fruit. One example is the TEIA project, for which Seguros Lagun Aro — LABORAL Kutxa's insurance company — developed an innovative solution in collaboration with Ikerlan. This solution uses artificial intelligence to assess damage to ceramic hobs and glass in an intelligent and automated way.

Another significant example is INNKIA, a pioneering start-up specialising in the application of artificial intelligence to business solutions for the automatic updating and development of secure and robust software.

Cooperation between the entities has already produced results, such as the TEIA project and the creation of the start-up INNKIA, a pioneer in artificial intelligence applied to business

In this new phase, LABORAL Kutxa and Ikerlan will reinforce their institutional collaboration, which dates back to the technology centre's establishment in 1974. The financial institution contributed significantly to its establishment and has been a collaborating entity ever since, holding the presidency under the leadership of Adolfo Plaza since 2024.

About Ikerlan

Ikerlan is a leading centre in technology transfer and in providing competitive value to industry. It offers integral solutions combining different technological domains in three main areas: digital technologies and artificial intelligence, embedded electronic systems and cybersecurity, and mechatronics and energy technologies. It currently has a team of 420 people and offices in Arrasate-Mondragón, Donostialdea and Bilbao. As a cooperative member of the MONDRAGON Corporation and the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Ikerlan represents a sustainable, competitive business model in permanent transformation.

About LABORAL Kutxa

Founded more than 65 years ago as part of the MONDRAGON experience, LABORAL Kutxa is a credit union that has since become a benchmark for cooperative banking committed to its community. LABORAL Kutxa and its members are dedicated to providing a professional, friendly and honest financial and insurance service to help customers achieve their goals and improve their well-being.

The cooperative is developing a competitive, solvent and profitable banking system in the long term, with the ultimate goal of leaving a better legacy for future generations. LABORAL Kutxa's 2,000-strong team provides banking and insurance services to over 1.2 million customers, who demonstrate very high loyalty rates thanks to the quality of service recognised by studies such as Forbes and Stiga. In 2024, LABORAL Kutxa joined the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), the leading international group of financial institutions operating according to social and ethical principles and values. The GABV advocates a different approach to banking, putting financial profitability at the service of people and the planet.