EU Launches Comprehensive AI Plan to Boost Innovation Across Key Industries

Europe is making a bold move to become an "AI Continent" with its new Apply AI Strategy, a comprehensive plan designed to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption across 10 key industry sectors and strengthen the continent's technological independence.

The strategy goes beyond typical policy frameworks by encouraging an "AI first" approach where organizations consider AI solutions in every strategic decision, while carefully weighing benefits and risks. It also promotes a "buy European" philosophy, particularly for public sector procurement, with emphasis on open-source AI solutions.

Key Components of the Apply AI Strategy

The plan targets three main areas:

Sectoral Focus: The strategy identifies 10 priority industries for AI transformation, including healthcare and pharmaceuticals, mobility and automotive, robotics, manufacturing, climate and environment, energy, agri-food, defense and security, telecommunications, and cultural media sectors.

Technological Sovereignty: The EU is establishing AI Factories and AI Gigafactories, along with Testing and Experimentation Facilities and regulatory sandboxes. European Digital Innovation Hubs are being transformed into Experience Centres for AI to serve as access points to the innovation ecosystem.

Governance Structure: The new Apply AI Alliance will coordinate between AI providers, industry leaders, academia, and public sector to ensure policies meet real-world needs. An AI Observatory will track trends and assess sector-specific impacts.

Supporting Initiatives

The strategy includes an AI in Science component that will launch RAISE (Resource for AI Science in Europe), pooling funding, computing power, data, and talent for both advancing AI capabilities and applying AI across scientific disciplines.

A complementary Data Union Strategy is expected later this month to ensure access to high-quality datasets essential for AI model training.

This comprehensive approach positions Europe to compete globally while maintaining its values-based approach to AI development and deployment.

🔗 Read the full strategy on European Commission Digital Strategy