Four TEFs, one month of AI adoption
The first European AI Innovation Month opens today, 14 October 2026, and runs until 17 November. Led by the European Commission in partnership with the Irish Presidency of the Council, it is a series of online and in-person events on how AI is developed and adopted across European industry. It brings together policymakers, industry, the public sector and researchers. Europe’s four sectorial Testing and Experimentation Facilities (TEFs) are taking part, together with CoordinaTEF, the initiative that coordinates them. The TEFs are agrifoodTEF for agrifood, TEF-Health for healthcare, AI-MATTERS for manufacturing and CitCom.ai for smart cities and communities. All four are funded under the Digital Europe Programme to help companies test and validate AI and robotics solutions in real-world conditions before they reach the market. The Month closes in Brussels with the Apply AI Summit, which marks the first anniversary of the Commission’s Apply AI Strategy. The TEF network will follow it the next day with xTEF, a dedicated deep dive into the road from testing to market.
Why the Month matters for testing and experimentation
The Apply AI Strategy sets out to speed up AI adoption in Europe’s strategic sectors, and its success depends on whether companies, especially SMEs and start-ups, can show that their AI solutions work, comply with EU rules and deliver value under real operating conditions. That is the gap the TEFs were set up to close. They give innovators access to specialised facilities, data and expertise in their sector, so they don’t have to build that infrastructure themselves. The Innovation Month brings the people who develop, fund, regulate and buy AI into the same rooms over five weeks. It gives the TEFs a chance to show what testing and experimentation already deliver, and to hear what industry and policymakers need from them next.
Where to find the TEFs
The TEFs’ contribution started before the Month itself. On 12 October, Thomas De Meester from CitCom.ai took part in “One year on: Apply AI Strategy – AI for Sustainability”, a closed-door stakeholder roundtable in Brussels. It was organised in cooperation with CODES, the global multi-stakeholder coalition on digital technologies and sustainability, together with the European Commission. Policymakers, AI innovators, industry, academia and civil society reviewed progress under the Strategy’s environment and climate chapter. They also worked on validating the draft EU Apply AI Climate and Environment Roadmap, identifying implementation priorities, gaps and opportunities for collaboration ahead of the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
On the Month’s opening days, AI-MATTERS is in Porto for the AI, Data and Robotics Forum (ADRF26), held on 13 and 14 October at the Alfândega Congress Centre. INESC TEC, Portugal’s largest Research and Technology Organisation, organises the forum with Adra, the AI, Data and Robotics Association, with the involvement of the European Commission. It brings together around 500 experts, innovators and policymakers from the AI, data and robotics community. For a TEF focused on manufacturing, it is a direct line to the industrial and research communities working on taking AI and robotics from pilot projects to production.
The Month closes with the Apply AI Summit on 17 November at the EGG in Brussels and online. The European Commission’s AI Office hosts the summit, which focuses on taking AI adoption into strategic industries. The TEFs and CoordinaTEF will be there in person with a booth, and online with a virtual booth on the summit’s virtual conference platform. They will also take part in sessions and run demonstrations of AI solutions tested across manufacturing, healthcare, agrifood and smart communities.
The day after, on 18 November, Apply AI Summit participants are invited to xTEF: From testing to market, at the same venue. The event brings all four TEFs together for a deeper look at their current operations, their long-term sustainability and their place in European industry. It includes strategic discussions, real-world deployment cases, demonstrations and curated matchmaking, all focused on linking testing more closely with investment and market deployment.
How to take part
Registration for online participation in the Apply AI Summit is open until 13 November via the European Commission’s digital strategy website. Details and registration for xTEF are available here. Companies looking for a facility to test and validate their AI or robotics solution can explore the TEF services at coordinatef.eu or contact the CoordinaTEF Helpdesk at helpdesk.coordinatef.eu.
