According to Eurostat, 20 percent of EU enterprises with 10 or more employees utilized AI technologies in 2025, compared to 13.5 percent in 2024. To address the transition from experimentation to large-scale adoption, the European Commission’s AI Office will host the Apply AI Summit in Brussels on 17 November 2026.
The event expects 900 in-person attendees and up to 2,500 online participants. The agenda focuses on real-world AI use cases in sectors such as healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and robotics. Discussions will cover investment, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and AI safety, alongside the broader goal of enhancing industrial competitiveness.
The summit marks the first anniversary of the Apply AI Strategy, which aims to establish Europe as an AI-driven continent. The strategy includes the mobilization of over €1.3 billion in funding for 2025–2027, the alignment of national AI policies, and the expansion of the European Digital Innovation Hubs network to support SMEs.
The event also concludes the European AI Innovation Month and features the Apply AI Startup Award. This competition highlights startups in strategic fields like defense and climate. Three winners will be selected from ten finalists to present their technologies on the main stage during the summit.
Keynote speakers include Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission. Other participants include representatives from Helsing, n8n, Scaleway, 1KOMMA5°, and Yle, as well as academic experts from TU Delft, Leiden University, and VU Amsterdam, alongside government officials.
