Support ecosystem for AI innovation in Europe

The European Commission is committed to building a strong and cohesive artificial intelligence ecosystem across Europe. Our efforts focus on creating a comprehensive infrastructure that nurtures innovation, collaboration, and the responsible development of AI technologies. These initiatives have been launched following the European strategy on AI, aiming to make the EU the place where innovations thrive from the lab to the market.  

To support this vision, we have established a range of initiatives designed to bolster the AI landscape, connecting stakeholders and empowering various sectors. Key components of this infrastructure include European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), which act as enablers for the digital transformation of SMEs, and Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs), which provide environments for testing cutting-edge AI technologies. We support AI Factories to drive research and real-world AI application development by capitalizing on our supercomputing capacity, alongside AI Regulatory Sandboxes that facilitate innovation within a defined regulatory context. The AI-on-demand Platform serves as a central access point for AI resources and tools, ensuring European innovators have what they need at their fingertips and can share best practices.

Our commitment to fostering skills and knowledge is embodied in the upcoming AI Skills Academy, which will prepare the workforce for the demands of an AI-driven future, ensuring Europe remains a leader in AI expertise. Increasing AI-related skills is a shared mission of our initiatives, with EDIHs and AI Factories also offering workforce training.

Together, these initiatives form a dynamic and interconnected ecosystem, driving forward the European Commission’s mission to create an inclusive and competitive AI landscape.

AI support ecosystem initiatives

	European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) are one-stop-shops that help companies become more competitive in their business/production processes, products or services thanks to the use of digital technologies, including AI.
	Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) are specialised large-scale reference sites which help innovative technology providers bring their product from lab to market. This includes support for full integration, testing and experimentation of latest mature AI technologies.
	AI Factories AI Factories are specialised facilities designed to provide the supercomputing capacity for the development and training of advanced AI models. The Factories will also foster talent development with advanced education, training, skilling and reskilling activities for relevant AI stakeholders.
	AI Regulatory Sandboxes AI Regulatory Sandboxes (AIRS) offer a controlled environment for innovators to test AI systems under the National Competent Authorities' (NCAs) supervision, providing regulatory guidance and learning while fostering innovation and competitiveness.
	AI-on-demand Platform The AI-on-demand Platform offers access to a wide range of algorithms, tools, and expertise, as well as knowledge sharing and collaboration opportunities. Some of the key feature of the platform include a unified tool for exploring and importing AI datasets from multiple platforms, allowing users to customise models, datasets, and experiment in an open-source environment.
	AI Skills Academy (Forthcoming) The AI Skills Academy will be a one-stop-shop for a range of activities supporting or developing educational and training schemes in two main focus areas:  skills for the uptake and deployment of AI and in particular ‘GenAI’ in key economic sectors skills related to the ‘AI Factories’ facilities