A-Insinöörit received expert support for developing AI applications in FAIR's AI Accelerator
In FAIR’s AI Accelerator programme, companies with no prior experience in artificial intelligence can get a quick start with AI, but the programme can also benefit experienced users. For A-Insinöörit, expert support was close at hand when tackling difficult questions while developing proof-of-concepts for its own AI applications.
Text by Eemeli Sarka, 25.3.2026 | Photo by Eemeli Sarka
The multidisciplinary construction and industrial consultancy A-Insinöörit began exploring the potential of artificial intelligence even before it became mainstream. Since 2018, the company has used AI in several solutions, including image recognition applications in laboratory environments.
With this experience, it was natural for the company to explore new opportunities through FAIR’s AI Accelerator – first during the accelerator’s pilot phase and later again when the service was fully launched.
– We wanted to expand the use of AI internally, and the accelerator was well suited for that purpose. The first time, in addition to myself, we had people from the structural engineering team involved, and the second time also from our project development unit, says Pieti Marjavaara, Innovation Director for Construction Management at A-Insinöörit.
The company’s goal was to spread AI expertise within the organisation so that ideas for new AI applications would come from the people whose day-to-day work the solutions would affect. As the company already had experience with AI, it also had clear plans for the types of applications it wanted to develop during the accelerator.
Expert assistance with challenging questions
Between the two accelerator periods, A-Insinöörit’s internal AI expertise had grown to the point where the team joining the second accelerator not only had a clear proof-of-concept idea but also had their own developer. With good preparation, they were able to create the foundation for a solution that is still in use within the company.
– We started developing an AI application that evaluates around twenty parameters to estimate whether the company’s sales proposals are likely to succeed or not. The solution is still used across the entire group and provides an up-to-date view of what kind of revenue can be expected, Marjavaara explains.
During the accelerator, the proof-of-concept was built using data from the company’s construction management operations. It quickly became clear that the results were promising, and after further development the tool was integrated into the company’s IT systems as a functioning solution.
– At that point, it was more of a traditional IT project, because the AI component had largely been completed during the proof-of-concept phase. In the accelerator we received valuable sparring from AI experts, and we could ask even difficult questions that they were able to answer.
Another proof-of-concept focused on urban development and estimating land plot prices. In this case, challenges emerged with the available data. Although a finished tool was not developed, the company still gained valuable insights from the experiment.
– We realised that there are ready-made AI tools on the market that our project development unit then started using actively. We have seen that AI maturity within the company has steadily grown, and tools that were originally used by only a few people have gradually spread more widely across the organisation, Marjavaara says.
Making AI part of everyday work
After participating in the accelerator, Marjavaara noticed changes in how AI was discussed within the company. For example, ideas about how AI could be used in everyday work became more practical and easier to implement as employees’ AI maturity increased.
A-Insinöörit aims to stay up to date with how artificial intelligence can be applied in business. The company has its own AI strategy that guides its development work.
So far, around ten different AI applications have been introduced for employees to use. In addition to its own expertise in construction and software development, the company has also relied on external IT and AI partners in its development work.
– In this way we get access to the best expertise available, and we always learn something ourselves when the maintenance of the solution is eventually transferred to us.
Since 2018, the importance of AI has been recognised across the entire A-Insinöörit Group, and the company is investing in it systematically. AI applications have evolved from individual use cases – such as laboratory image recognition – toward solutions that more broadly support employees in their daily work and routine tasks.
Marjavaara sees services like FAIR’s AI Accelerator as providing a strong foundation for integrating AI into everyday business operations. In addition to increasing employees’ AI maturity, such programmes can also help identify the people within an organisation who are most eager to explore and learn about the possibilities of AI.
– At the same time, you get to know new AI partners and learn what kinds of networks around AI exist in Finland. Getting started is always the hardest part, but with the accelerator’s structured programme it’s easy to take the first steps, Marjavaara concludes.
