The recognition
Emanuela Girardi, founder and president of Pop AI and president of Adra (AI, Data & Robotics Association), has been included by EU-Startups in its ranking of the 50 most influential artificial intelligence leaders in Europe. According to ANSA Tecnologia, she is the only Italian on the list. The news was released on 25 October 2026.
The selection, ANSA writes, brings together figures who are driving the development, research and adoption of AI at European level. Among those named are Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, Yann LeCun, Arthur Mensch of Mistral AI, Clément Delangue of Hugging Face and Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president of the European Commission. The heterogeneity of the profiles indicates that the ranking brings together research, business and regulation, and not only the technological dimension.
The role of Pop AI and Adra
According to the source, the recognition highlights Girardi’s work in connecting industry, research and European institutions, fostering collaboration and the adoption of artificial intelligence. It is an intermediary function: bringing together actors that rarely speak the same language, from companies to institutions.
Adra is listed as the private partner of the European public-private partnership on artificial intelligence, data and robotics under Horizon Europe. It works with the European Commission, the European AI Office and member states to define strategic priorities and support innovation and competitiveness. Pop AI, a non-profit association founded in 2018, promotes AI culture and literacy through outreach, training and awareness-raising activities aimed at citizens, schools, businesses and institutions. Its stated mission is to make AI understandable and accessible, promoting its conscious, safe and responsible use.
The two organizations therefore cover two distinct but connected levels: Adra operates at the table of European policy, Pop AI on the dissemination of skills. Girardi’s presence in both explains why her profile has been associated with a bridging role.
The statement and open questions
“Being included in this list is a great honor and a recognition of the work we are carrying out with Pop AI and Adra,” Girardi said. In the same statement she distinguished two areas: “On large language models Europe got off to a late start, but on physical AI, that is, robots and intelligent systems that we will use in factories, hospitals and cities, the game is still open. Italy, with its manufacturing strength and its excellence in robotics, has everything it needs to play it as a leading player,” adding the need to collaborate at European level and to develop safe, sustainable technologies in the service of people.
These are assessments by the person concerned, not data verified by the source. The full composition of the ranking, the selection criteria adopted by EU-Startups and the actual weight of the roles held by Girardi in European decisions therefore remain to be ascertained. The news confirms her presence on the list and her uniqueness among Italians; it does not in itself demonstrate a measurable impact on AI policies or the market.
