OpenAI’s “Hacktivate AI” report urges Europe to cut red tape and harmonize digital regulations

Just days before the EU is set to release its "Apply AI Strategy," OpenAI and Allied for Startups have published a report called "Hacktivate AI." The document puts forward 20 policy initiatives to speed up AI adoption, ranging from new learning accounts and funding vouchers to tax incentives and infrastructure reforms.

The report is a collection of practical ideas from a policy hackathon held in Brussels in September 2025. Sixty-three representatives from business, government, research, and public administration worked together on strategies to help Europe adapt to an AI-driven economy.

Focus: Fewer barriers, more harmonization

Many of the proposals aim to simplify regulations and create more consistent rules across the EU. The "Relentless Harmonisation" approach calls for reducing national differences in digital law and making the European single market more unified. The report argues that fragmented regulations make it harder to use AI and complicate cross-border projects.

For companies like OpenAI, which offer products and APIs in multiple EU countries, more unified rules would make market access much easier. This fits the paper’s overall push to lower legal and administrative hurdles to help innovation reach the market faster.

One example is the proposed "First Adoption Grace Period," which would give small and medium-sized enterprises until 2030 to experiment with AI before all the requirements of the EU AI Act apply. The goal is to make it easier for companies to test out AI and learn without immediate regulatory pressure - a move that would also benefit AI tool providers by bringing more businesses into the ecosystem.

The "Fast-Track Standards" concept calls for rapidly adopting proven international norms like ISO 42001 or 27001 within the EU. The "Innovative Institutions" approach urges governments to speed up decision-making, cut red tape, and create more room for experimentation.

Policy blueprint or lobbying strategy?

OpenAI says the initiative is meant to spark an open debate on AI policy. Still, many recommendations closely align with the interests of major tech vendors: easier market access, faster approval processes, and less regulatory friction.

With "Hacktivate AI," OpenAI demonstrates how lobbying and innovation rhetoric can go hand in hand. The company positions itself as a driver of digital sovereignty in the EU, while also laying the groundwork for its own expansion. Martin Signoux, OpenAI’s EU AI Policy Lead, frames the project as an effort to close the gap between ambition and reality. For outside observers, it remains unclear whether that means helping Europe - or simply improving OpenAI’s own access to a more unified European market.