Hey community!
I analyzed 828 EU software procurement tenders from 2026 and found something unexpected. Everyone talks about “AI demand” in Europe.
But procurement data shows something very different.
Across all tenders:
- 1,361 mentions of “AI”
- 42 mentions of “machine learning”
- only 9 mentions of “LLM”
Most buyers are not looking for “AI products”.
They’re buying: analytics, auditability, compliance tooling, forecasting systems
Another surprising signal:
Automation/RPA has €252M in still-open budgets vs only €4M awarded so far. Feels like a very early market.
Also noticed Romanian delivery companies (METAMINDS, ENDAVA, VESTRA) quietly winning contracts across Europe while most agencies still focus on Germany/UK narratives.
Data came from TED Europa procurement + custom categorization workflows.
Curious if anyone else here is exploring procurement/government datasets as GTM signals?
