Scaling Artificial Intelligence in Europe: Highlights from the AI Policy Day
On 11 December 2025, the European Commission hosted the AI Policy Day: Scaling AI in Europe, a high-level event held at the AI House in Amsterdam and organised with the support of the StepUp StartUps initiative and Innovation Radar Bridge.
The event brought together policymakers, startups, investors, researchers and ecosystem actors to exchange views on how Europe can accelerate the scaling of artificial intelligence while remaining anchored in its core values of trust, responsibility and inclusion.
Throughout the day, the StepUp StartUps consortium, together with Innovation Radar Bridge, played an active role in shaping the discussions and contributing to the programme’s analytical perspective.
As partner, Startup Europe Regions Network (SERN), actively contributed to the event. Chiara Frencia, Secretary General of SERN, moderated the panel “Public Sector Services and the AI Opportunity”, which explored how artificial intelligence can support the modernisation of public administrations and contribute to more efficient, accessible and citizen-oriented services. The discussion further highlighted the potential of AI to create new opportunities for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises developing GovTech solutions, particularly through closer collaboration with public authorities.
Consortium partners participated across several panels, keynote sessions and moderated discussion on a range of strategic themes, including Europe’s opportunities in agentic AI, the role of artificial intelligence in modernising public sector services, the investment gap affecting AI scale-ups, and the need to strengthen Europe’s startup and innovation ecosystems.
Discussions highlighted how AI can drive public sector transformation, support startup growth, and unlock Europe’s competitive potential, while underlining the importance of access to growth capital and coordinated ecosystem support to enable AI solutions to scale responsibly. Across the event, participants underlined that Europe has strong foundations for leadership in artificial intelligence, supported by a solid research base, skilled talent and established industrial ecosystems.
The AI Policy Day concluded with a shared commitment to strengthen collaboration between policymakers and ecosystem actors to translate Europe’s AI potential into tangible benefits for society, businesses and public services.
With this event, the European Commission, together with DEEP Ecosystems, EU-Startups, Barrabés.biz, the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space (IRS), SERN and the European Startup Nations Alliance (ESNA), marked the successful conclusion of the StepUp StartUps initiative.
About the StepUp StartUps initiative
The “StepUp Startups Initiative” aims to provide insights and data-driven intelligence to support the growth and impact of Europe’s startup ecosystem.
The StepUp Startups initiative of the European Commission brings together data, research, and analysis on Europe’s startup landscape, with a particular focus on the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is a central hub for intelligence on startup development in the EU, providing insights to inform policy, strengthen innovation ecosystems, and accelerate the growth and impact of the continent’s startup ecosystem.
Through a series of data-driven, deep dive reports, StepUp Startups explores key challenges and opportunities for EU startups – from access to finance to AI talent retention to AI adoption. Each publication contributes to a deeper understanding of how Europe can foster a more competitive, inclusive, and technology-driven startups environment.
