Companies and research organizations present concepts and implementation pathways at AI Summit in Paris

With the Franco-German AI Executives’ Dialogue, Germany and France are sending a strong signal in support of a sovereign and competitive European ecosystem for artificial intelligence. Fraunhofer is a founding member of the initiative, and the Fraunhofer ICT Group serves as a core partner in organizing the overarching German-French dialogues and industry-specific AI workshops that took place in fall 2025. The initiative kicked off in January 2025 with a plenary dialogue at the French Embassy in Berlin. The focus was on taking stock of the situation: "Where does Europe stand in AI – and what levers must be activated now?"

A group of around 20–25 people are standing in a modern conference room and looking at the camera. Most of them are wearing business casual attire and some are wearing name tags. In the background, there is a large projection screen with the slide "LET'S SHAPE THE FUTURE TOGETHER" and graphic symbols for networked people/technologies. There is a white flipchart on the right. The atmosphere is friendly, many are smiling, and the group is posing close together for a group photo. The lighting is bright, and the room is furnished in a functional and professional manner.
© Fraunhofer IAIS – Achim Kapusta
Participants in the German-French media industry workshop on October 29, 2025, at RTL Deutschland in Cologne

The priorities defined there have since evolved into concrete workstreams. In sector-oriented, multi-stakeholder workshops in the areas of energy, healthcare, robotics, media, manufacturing, agriculture, and telecommunications industry representatives, AI providers, and researchers discussed key use cases, outlined flagship projects, and identified barriers in areas such as regulation, infrastructure, talent, and investment. These findings were consolidated into proposals, success indicators, and potential financing and investment pathways. Representatives of leading European companies took part, including Siemens Energy and TenneT (energy), Arte, RTL, and Die Zeit (media and entertainment), as well as Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, and Schwarz Digits (telecommunications).

The common goal is an industry-oriented, implementation-focused AI roadmap for Europe. It is being advanced by Fraunhofer, Inria, and the Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT) as initial partners, with an open invitation to other partners from industry, research, and politics to join.

Based on the workshop results, a roadmap initiative is now taking shape that brings together core technological building blocks (e.g., data and model infrastructures, edge and cloud ecosystems), domain-specific applications, and framework conditions for trustworthy and sustainable AI. The targets are measurable value creation in strategic industries, accelerated technology transfer into industry, and the strengthening of European sovereignty.

The current milestone is the presentation of the interim results at the Adopt AI International Summit on November 25 and 26, 2025, at the Grand Palais in Paris. The most important flagship proposals and implementation pathways will be presented at the joint German-French booth of Fraunhofer, Inria, and IMT (French-German Tech Lab) as well as in joint panels—from resilient energy grids to AI-supported healthcare and safe robotics to production, agricultural, and media applications. The formats address technology, regulation, and market mechanisms in equal measure and show how research results translate into viable industrial solutions.

At the same time, the initiative is preparing for the consolidation of its work in 2026. A second plenary meeting with leaders from industry and research organizations is scheduled for March 9, 2026, in Paris. There, progress will be evaluated, consortia refined, and further commitments defined in order to translate the roadmap into pilot projects, scaling projects, and fundable programs.

The Fraunhofer ICT Group bundles expertise in applied research, creates bridges to industry, and combines technological excellence with European capacity to act. Together with Inria and IMT, Fraunhofer embodies a pragmatic, industry-oriented approach: fast implementation delivery, openness to collaboration, and a focus on trustworthy, sustainable AI made in Europe. Interested companies and partner organizations that would like to contribute use cases, data spaces, test environments, or scaling projects can contact the Fraunhofer ICT Group.