Apply AI Summit brings Europe’s push for real-world AI adoption to Brussels [Sponsored]

Europe is a hub for cutting-edge AI technology and research, yet there remains significant potential to transition from experimentation to widespread adoption, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises and strategically important industries. On November 17th, 2026, the European Commission's AI Office will host the Apply AI Summit in Brussels, focusing on the practical implications of AI integration.

Anticipated attendees include 900 in-person participants and up to 2,500 online. The Summit will unite startups, AI firms, investors, industry leaders, policymakers, researchers, and public-sector organizations. It will feature real-world European AI applications, particularly in healthcare, energy, mobility, manufacturing, agrifood, robotics, media, and public administration.

The agenda will also address broader challenges for scaling these applications, from investment and workforce readiness to infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI safety, and frontier AI. The event commemorates the first anniversary of the European Commission's Apply AI Strategy, which aims to propel Europe into the role of an "AI Continent" and a global leader in industrial AI.

The Summit marks the conclusion of the inaugural European AI Innovation Month, a four-week initiative uniting policymakers, industry, researchers, startups, and the public sector around AI research, innovation, and deployment. The Apply AI Strategy underpins these objectives with concrete measures, including over €1.3 billion in funding for 2025-2027, enhanced alignment of national AI strategies with the EU-wide Apply AI Strategy, and a strengthened European AI Innovation Ecosystem, including hubs supporting SMEs in adopting AI.

The Summit will spotlight European AI startups via the Apply AI Startup Award, recognizing innovative companies with strong market traction and the potential for significant growth. Three winners will present their technology on the main stage at the event. Attendees include Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, who will deliver a keynote address, along with other notable speakers such as Kadi Silde, Ireland's Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Transformation; Jan Oberhauser, Founder and CEO of n8n; Thomas Lüscher, President of the European Society of Cardiology; Damien Lucas, CEO of Scaleway; Barbara Wittenberg, CTO of 1KOMMA5°; Marit af Björkesten, CEO of Yle; Catholijn Jonker, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at TU Delft, Leiden University, and VU Amsterdam; and Viktoriia Yaremchuk, CEO of Farsight Vision.