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SOKA-BAU and adesso Implement a Robust AI Platform Without Vendor Lock-In

GDPR- and EU AI Act-compliant access to generative AI for around 880 employees

SOKA-BAU, the social security funds for the German construction industry, has teamed up with IT service provider adesso to build its own independent AI platform: SOKA-GPT. Based on the ‘adesso GPT’ technology, this model-independent enterprise solution provides employees with access to generative AI that complies with the GDPR and the EU AI Act.

The project arose from a conflict of objectives: employees wanted to use generative AI in their day-to-day work, but there was no centrally authorised and controlled AI solution available. Given the nature of the data processed at SOKA-BAU, uncoordinated use of public chatbots was out of the question. SOKA-BAU therefore developed its first solutions in-house before adesso came on board as a partner to extend the architecture and accelerate the roll-out. Both companies had previously collaborated successfully on numerous transformation projects and, amongst other things, developed the digital service EVE for the employee posting procedure.

SOKA-GPT runs on SOKA-BAU’s own infrastructure and can be operated with various model providers such as OpenAI, Google or Mistral. An exit is possible at any time, both contractually and technically. Since the end of April 2026, all employees have been able to use SOKA-GPT; the adoption rate had reached around 20 per cent by the end of August. The target is 30 to 40 per cent. The solution has been running without a single outage since its launch.

“The experts at adesso impressed us with their hands-on approach, their high level of technical expertise and their experience in real-world AI client projects,” says Dr Michael Fahl, Manager of Technical Innovation at SOKA-BAU.

Dr. Michel Fahl ist Manager für technische Innovationen bei SOKA-BAU. (Quelle: SOKA-BAU)

“The SOKA-BAU case demonstrates how companies handling sensitive data can responsibly utilise generative AI without becoming dependent on a single provider,” says Mark Lohweber, CEO of adesso SE. “That is precisely our aim: to support companies on their journey towards an AI-driven future and to provide them with powerful solutions that they can further develop and control themselves.”

SOKA-BAU is planning further expansion steps for 2027, which it intends to align closely with the needs of its staff. The initial aim is to realise the full potential of SOKA-GPT in day-to-day work before defining any additional stages.

Mark Lohweber ist Vorstandsvorsitzender der adesso SE. (Quelle: adesso SE)

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