In this week’s spotlight, we feature Astrid Kyhl, Vice President for AI & Digital Innovation at TDC NET, Denmark’s national telecommunications infrastructure company. Astrid works at the intersection of advanced technology, critical digital infrastructure and measurable business value, where her role spans from shaping AI and data platform strategy to ensuring real-world use cases translate into tangible organisational impact.
From modernising legacy systems and building robust data and AI platforms, to guiding leaders on where automation, digital twins, and AI can generate measurable ROI, Astrid’s work is about making AI practical, trusted, and embedded in the systems that keep essential infrastructure reliable and resilient.
Hyperight.com: What’s the best way to describe your job to someone outside tech?
Astrid Kyhl: I usually say that my job is to turn data and AI from buzzwords into something that reliably improves how the company works and serves society. Practically, that means making sure we have the right digital “plumbing” in place, choosing where to apply AI and automation for the biggest effect, and aligning people so that these solutions are understood, trusted and used. It’s part translator, part architect, and part coach.
Hyperight.com: What originally sparked your interest in AI/data, and what keeps you inspired today?
Astrid Kyhl: I started as a physicist working with high‑performance computing and large‑scale mathematical models, so I was always drawn to complex systems and big datasets. AI and data felt like a natural continuation of that curiosity, but with a much more direct connection to real‑world decisions and operations. What keeps me inspired today is seeing how the different layers – infrastructure, applications, AI and people – can come together to solve genuinely hard problems in areas like networks, critical infrastructure and public services, especially when it strengthens European resilience and sovereignty at the same time. 
Hyperight.com: What is one challenge you’re trying to solve, and why does it matter?
Astrid Kyhl: One challenge I’m focused on is how to make large, traditional organisations truly “AI‑ready”. Not just by piloting use cases, but by fixing the foundations so that AI can be deployed safely, repeatedly and at scale. That means cleaning up legacy platforms, modernising data and integration patterns, and building an operating model where AI and digital products link clearly to value. It matters because without those foundations, AI becomes theatre: impressive demos that never move the needle on reliability, cost, revenue or customer experience.
Hyperight.com: A tool you can’t live without (tech or not)?
Astrid Kyhl: A tool I rely on a lot is www.inkl.ai. It’s a genAI agent platform that I have contributed to in terms of technical advisory and strategy. I like it because it combines several things I care deeply about: it’s built on open-source models, secure and designed with digital sovereignty in mind. I have made my own agents that understand me and how I work. It allows you to work with AI in a way that respects data ownership and privacy, and it fits the vision of having European‑controlled infrastructure for AI rather than depending entirely on non‑European platforms.
Hyperight.com: What trend in data or AI do you think will shape the Nordic region the most?
Astrid Kyhl: A key trend for the Nordics will be the convergence of AI with secure, sustainable digital infrastructure – increasingly infused with quantum‑safe and, over time, quantum‑enabled technologies. We’re moving from isolated models to AI being embedded in networks, grids and other critical systems, where questions of resilience, encryption and long‑term security (including resistance to future quantum attacks)become central rather than optional. The region’s strong traditions in trust, public–private collaboration and sustainability position us well to lead on responsible, infrastructure‑level AI and quantum‑aware architectures, not just consumer‑level applications.
Hyperight.com: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to others entering the data and AI field?
Astrid Kyhl: Cultivate a double perspective from the start: care as much about the problem and the people as you do about the models and tools. It’s easy to get lost in technology, but the real impact comes from understanding the business context, the constraints, and the human side of adoption. If you can speak both “infrastructure and algorithms” and “outcomes and operations”, you’ll be able to connect the layers and make your work matter far beyond the code.
