The Gaia-X 4 KI project investigates the development of a data and service ecosystem for the training and validating of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. It focuses on two use cases from the automotive industry, aiming to advance automated and connected driving as well as innovatively networked production processes. “Data” is a key player in these processes. Possibly, the accumulation of this data over the entire life cycle of a product and the usability for different applications leads to great potential for new forms of collaborations and value chains. The foundation is the open IT infrastructure GAIA-X, which is currently developed throughout Europe. Its decentralized organization forms the basis for different providers to join forces and work together flexibly while maintaining data protection, transparency and compatibility.