Europe is uniting the international tech community to turn the region’s growing AI momentum into real-world business value, as global tech executives, policymakers, and corporate leaders gather at Europe’s premier international technology and startup conference in Berlin.
Scheduled for 30 June – 1 July 2026 at Messe Berlin, the second edition of GITEX AI EUROPE will convene 950 companies and startups, over 600 investors, and more than 150 international speakers representing over 80 countries—aiming to foster partnerships and drive investment in a European technology market projected to exceed €1.5 trillion this year.
Hosted by inD—the global organizer behind GITEX, the world’s largest tech and AI event network—and backed by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises as well as Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, the two-day event will catalyze new AI collaborations and cross-border ventures across Europe and beyond.
Berlin is uniquely suited to host this vision. Per the 2025 Dealroom Report, the city’s startup ecosystem is valued at €169 billion, home to 57 unicorns and over 9,000 AI professionals—ranking it fourth in Europe for AI talent. This makes Berlin the continent’s leading hub for cutting-edge technology, venture capital, and innovation.
Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s Vice Mayor and Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises, remarked: “As one of Europe’s top innovation centers, Berlin combines world-class research, a vibrant startup culture, established industries, and a diverse pool of international talent.”
“By hosting GITEX AI EUROPE, we reinforce Berlin’s role as a gateway for investment, tech collaboration, and sustainable growth. It also offers a distinctive platform to shape a European digital future that balances innovation with security and technological independence.”
Global showcase highlights AI, cybersecurity, and open-source innovations
Major tech giants including AWS, Cloudflare, CommScope, HPE, ManageEngine, Red Hat, Salesforce, and TrendAI will anchor the exhibition floor. OpenAI and Google will also lead hands-on masterclasses in AI coding and endpoint security, offering attendees practical insights into enterprise AI applications.
With participants from over 80 countries, the event debuts national tech pavilions from Austria, Canada, Greece, and Japan—making GITEX AI EUROPE the continent’s most internationally diverse technology showcase.
Germany’s industrial and digital strength takes center stage. BASF—the world’s largest chemical company, pioneering advanced materials for electronics and semiconductors—and Bosch, a global engineering leader, will spearhead German corporate involvement. Meanwhile, DeepL, renowned as the world’s most accurate AI translation tool, will showcase how European AI solutions can achieve global success.
Leonardo Doin, Head of Voice at DeepL, shared: “Language remains the biggest invisible barrier in global business. DeepL Voice is designed for the complex realities enterprises face: high-stakes multilingual conversations where accuracy is non-negotiable. At GITEX AI EUROPE, we’re excited to demonstrate what European AI looks like when built for worldwide impact.”
European leaders define AI and infrastructure priorities
Beyond the exhibition, the GITEX AI EUROPE 2026 conference will feature over 70 hours of programming across three stages, uniting government and industry leaders to address critical issues shaping Europe’s competitiveness in the global intelligence economy—from computing power and data infrastructure to energy capacity, sovereign AI models, and high-impact applications.
Germany’s Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and State Modernisation, Dr. Karsten Wildberger, will address pressing questions about whether Europe can regulate, power, and connect its data infrastructure quickly enough to support its sovereign AI goals.
Dr. Wildberger stated: “To achieve greater sovereignty, we shouldn’t imitate what others do better—we must leverage our own strengths. Germany boasts a robust industrial base with deep expertise and vast industrial data. Combined with our investments in new computing infrastructure, this will safeguard our economic growth and global competitiveness.”
Over $1 trillion in capital meets unicorn founders to fuel Europe’s next wave of innovation
The North Star Europe program at GITEX AI EUROPE will spotlight more than 500 startups in fields like quantum security, industrial AI, and deep tech. These emerging companies will connect with over 600 investors collectively managing over $1 trillion in assets—including KfW Capital, which has deployed €2.5 billion into 132 European venture funds, and UniCredit, a pan-European banking leader with $865 billion in total assets.
More than 20 unicorn leaders will headline the Europe’s AI Power Play conference track, featuring Niklas Östberg, CEO of Delivery Hero—the Berlin-born global delivery giant generating nearly €15 billion annually across 70+ markets—and Ryan Foutty, VP of Business at Perplexity, the $20 billion AI orchestration firm backed by NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos, and Yann LeCun.
Foutty commented: “Search has barely evolved in three decades. When we began transforming the search engine into an answer engine, many were skeptical. Today, the vision is clear. The next evolution is the action engine—an interface where AI agents perform real tasks on your behalf. At GITEX AI EUROPE, I look forward to exploring how businesses can move past pilot projects and make AI the default way work gets done.”
For additional coverage, visit our sister site, Electronic Specifier! You’re also welcome to join the discussion by commenting below or connecting with us on LinkedIn.
