A Decade in Flight: Reflecting on Ten Years of Acubed, and Looking Ahead
Ten years ago, Airbus made a bold bet.
Rather than waiting for disruption to come from outside, it launched an innovation center in the heart of Silicon Valley with one purpose: to challenge convention and accelerate what’s next for aerospace. That experiment was Acubed. And today, I believe its time has come.
I joined Acubed nearly a year ago—just as the tectonic shift of AI was reshaping not just our tools, but how we think about work, collaboration and value itself. The timing wasn’t lost on me. In many ways, Acubed was created for this exact moment: to help Airbus anticipate disruption and translate it into opportunity. As we mark our ten-year anniversary, I want to share some reflections on where we’ve been, what we’ve learned and where we’re headed next.
Pivoting for Impact
Over the past decade, Acubed has taken on bold, forward-looking challenges—not to follow the curve, but to explore what might reshape it. As Airbus’ outpost in Silicon Valley, our role has always been to explore emerging technologies that could disrupt the business, and then accelerate the ones with the greatest potential to unlock new capabilities for Airbus. What defines our journey isn’t just the technologies we explored—it’s how we’ve transitioned from early experimentation to focused integration. Some examples:
- We moved from pioneering various elements of the urban air mobility ecosystem to honing in on the real value we uncovered: advancing smart automation to support pilots of next-generation commercial aircraft, and helping ensure that air traffic management systems evolve to handle increasingly complex skies.
- We shifted from envisioning an open-source digital platform connecting all design, production and service tools and data, to honing in on how AI and computer vision can be embedded directly into manufacturing systems—improving quality, increasing efficiency and easing workload on the shop floor.
- We evolved from capturing vast amounts of data for smart automation applications to understanding how data could also power something immediately impactful: operational intelligence tools that help airlines optimize performance and unlock new value-added services.
These transitions reflect what innovation is at its best: the ability to sense where opportunity meets readiness, and to adapt with intention. Innovation, at its core, is the testing of a hypothesis. We explore, we build and we learn. When those ideas meet the real world, they evolve—sometimes into something entirely different, but often into something more applicable, practical and aligned with Airbus’ strategic needs.
What We’ve Learned
Innovation is rarely a straight line. At Acubed, we’ve embraced that—learning through failure, and pivoting toward evolving strategic needs. A few lessons stand out:
- Innovation must stay close to reality. Ideas gain traction when they’re tested in real-world conditions. Operational relevance isn’t a constraint—it’s a compass.
- Speed matters—but so does timing. Some ideas were ahead of their time. Others gained traction quickly. Knowing when to double down—and when to let go—is its own kind of intelligence.
- Alignment amplifies impact. Innovation can’t thrive in a vacuum. Our work has made the biggest difference when tightly coupled with Airbus strategy and operational needs.
- Culture is everything. The energy of a small, scrappy team with the backing of a global aerospace leader is a powerful combination. But it takes trust, clarity and shared vision to make it work.
These aren’t just lessons—they’re the principles shaping how we operate today.
A Stronger Foundation for Impact
In the past year, we’ve taken a major step toward deepening our impact. By uniting Acubed’s innovation mandate with Airbus’ US R&T partnership activities, we’ve created a more cohesive organization: one that’s better positioned to drive strategic value for the company at large.
This integration allows us to align more tightly with Airbus’ long-term priorities while remaining agile and responsive to the vast opportunities emerging from the US research and innovation ecosystem. Our goal is clear: to leverage the richness of American tech innovation to deliver critical strategic insights and solutions—and by doing so, help Airbus de-risk, accelerate and scale the adoption of valuable technologies.
The Next Chapter: Built for Now
AI is no longer experimental. It is foundational. And it’s changing everything—from how we build aircraft to how we collaborate, manage complexity and deliver value at scale. Acubed is evolving to meet that moment.
We are positioned as Airbus’ intelligent partner and advisor in shaping and accelerating the company’s AI transformation:
- A sandbox to safely de-risk, test and accelerate AI adoption
- A launchpad for agentic tools and transformative use cases
- A conduit for sharing AI insights across Airbus
- A bridge to Silicon Valley startups, research labs and academia
- A strategic lever supporting Airbus’ commercial ambitions
We don’t define Airbus’ strategy, but we help ensure it stays connected to the full spectrum of innovations shaping its future.
Powered by Passion
Acubed has always been about people. Thinkers, engineers and explorers who bring curiosity, passion, rigor and heart to everything we do.
In the year since I joined, I’ve been impressed by the talent here, and by our extended global Airbus community. And we’ve continued to clarify our focus, deepen our partnerships and recommit to impact at speed.
As we celebrate this milestone, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished. But I’m even more energized by what’s ahead. The next decade will demand new models, new thinking and new alliances. With the right focus, I believe Acubed can be where Airbus meets the future: head-on.
To everyone who’s shaped our journey, thank you. The next chapter starts now.