OpenAI pitches 20 ideas to speed up European AI adoption

Silicon Valley giants usually head to Brussels to defend themselves against fines or endure grueling regulatory grillings. OpenAI is trying a completely different playbook: handing policymakers a ready-made to-do list.

Just days ahead of the European Commission’s upcoming Apply AI Strategy, OpenAI teamed up with Allied for Startups to release the Hacktivate AI report. It lays out 20 policy proposals aimed at speeding up real-world AI adoption across Europe and reviving the bloc’s lagging competitiveness.

A policy hackathon in the heart of Brussels

The recommendations came out of a 65-person policy hackathon held in Brussels last week. The guest list included officials from EU institutions and national governments, alongside economists, startup founders, and enterprise executives.

The proposals focus heavily on skills, public sector modernisation, and red tape. Proposal 1 suggests creating Individual AI Learning Accounts to fund worker upskilling. Proposal 3 pitches an AI Champions Network to help SMEs integrate AI into their workflows.

Other notable ideas include a European GovAI Hub (Proposal 12) for sharing AI resources across the public sector, and Proposal 15, which calls for relentless harmonisation of regulations across member states to fix the fragmented Digital Single Market.

OpenAI’s EU AI policy lead, Martin Signoux, noted that the event was designed to close the gap between Europe’s AI ambitions and its on-the-ground reality.

Big demand, but an uneven rollout

Despite Europe’s reputation for strict oversight, EU member states rank among OpenAI’s top global markets for paying subscribers, API developers, and corporate clients. European pharmaceutical giant Sanofi uses OpenAI tools for drug development, while local startups like Parloa and Pigment are building their products on the platform.

However, separate workplace research from OpenAI highlights a growing divide. While IT, finance, and advanced manufacturing are adopting AI quickly, other sectors are lagging far behind.

The findings echo warnings issued by former ECB chief Mario Draghi, who stressed the urgency of boosting European productivity on the first anniversary of his competitiveness report. OpenAI also noted that its OpenAI Academy initiative has already reached over 2 million people globally with free AI learning resources.

Why it matters

For workers and small business owners in Europe, these proposals address the real hurdles holding back everyday usage. Small businesses rarely have the luxury of dedicated AI teams, and workers worry about obsolescence. If programs like learning accounts and SME networks gain EU backing, it lowers the financial and technical barrier to testing AI in daily tasks.

For the tech industry, OpenAI’s maneuvering shows a mature shift in government relations. Instead of complaining about the EU AI Act from across the Atlantic, OpenAI is embedding itself directly in Brussels policy circles. Partnering with Allied for Startups gives the effort local credibility.

We think this cooperative approach is calculated and effective. By framing AI as the cure for Europe’s productivity slump, OpenAI is positioning its commercial tools as essential infrastructure for Europe’s economic survival. Competitors relying on pure lobbying may find themselves playing catch-up in shaping the continent’s next policy cycle.