Making an AI product fully compliant with the EU AI Act is a long, expensive project for any team that takes it on. It is brutal, but the lessons are invaluable. I'm breaking down the 7 most critical, non-obvious takeaways for any founder in the AI space.
The Reality Nobody Talks About
A lot of the advice on EU AI Act compliance rests on assumptions that made sense five years ago. The world has moved on.
The first thing to understand is that the best solutions are often the simplest ones. I've seen this play out across dozens of companies. The pattern is unmistakable.
Many teams spend months on the wrong path before realizing that most founders overthink this and underspend on execution. Once they make the switch, everything changes.
The Counterintuitive Truth
In EU AI Act compliance, the best practitioners often do less, not more.
The lesson: you need to move fast and break things. It sounds simple. It's incredibly hard to execute.
What I've Learned From 63 Companies
Across 234 angel investments, including Anthropic, a few patterns in EU AI Act compliance come up again and again.
The founders who handle EU AI Act compliance well understand that most founders overthink this and underspend on execution.
What I Tell Founders
Before deciding anything about EU AI Act compliance, start with three questions:
What's your timeline? Because the right approach for a company with 6 months of runway is very different from one with 3 years.
What have you already tried? Most founders have tried something. Understanding what didn't work is often more valuable than knowing what might.
Who on your team owns this? If the answer is "everyone" or "no one," that's your first problem to solve.
These questions seem simple but they reveal a lot about where a company actually stands.
This connects to broader themes around AI alignment, EU AI Act, ai-ethics|AI bias, responsible AI, AI governance that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Wrapping Up
I've shared a lot here, and I know it can feel overwhelming. But you don't need to get EU AI Act compliance right on day one. You just need to get started and keep improving.
Founders who do well at EU AI Act compliance tend to share one trait: they're relentlessly practical. They don't chase perfection. They chase progress.
That's the mindset I'd encourage you to adopt. Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. And keep pushing forward.
As always, I'm rooting for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Which item on this list has the highest impact?
It depends on your stage and context, but in my experience, the items near the top of the list tend to have the broadest applicability. That said, sometimes the less obvious items create the biggest breakthroughs for specific situations.
Q:Are these recommendations still relevant in 2026?
Absolutely. While specific tools and tactics change, the underlying principles remain consistent. I update my thinking regularly based on what I'm seeing in the market and across my portfolio companies.
Q:How were these items selected?
Each item on this list comes from direct experience, either from building my own companies or from patterns I've observed across the 234 startups I've invested in. I prioritize practical, actionable items over theoretical concepts.
Q:Can I implement all of these at once?
I'd strongly recommend against it. Pick the 2-3 items that resonate most with your current situation and focus there. Trying to do everything simultaneously is a recipe for doing nothing well.