There is a sense of urgency in Europe to re-imagine the status quo and reshape technology infrastructures. Timed to harness Europe’s innovative push comes GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything (21-23 May, Messe Berlin). The world’s third largest economy and host nation for GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything, Germany’s role as the European economic and technology leader is confirmed as its ICT sector is projected to reach €232.8bn in 2025 (Statista). GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything is Europe’s largest tech, startup and digital investment event, and is organised by KAOUN International. It’s hosted in partnership with the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, and the European Innovation Council (EIC). Global tech engages for cross-border and industry partnerships The first GITEX EUROPE brings together over 1,400 tech enterprises, startups and SMEs, and platinum sponsors AWS and IBM. Also in sponsorship roles are Cisco, Cloudflare, Dell, Fortinet, Lenovo, NTT, Nutanix, Nvidia, Opswat, and SAP. GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything will comprise of tech companies from over 100 countries and 34 European states, including tech pavilions from India, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, UK, and the UAE. Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, organiser of GITEX worldwide, said: “There is a sense of urgency and unity in Europe to assert its digital sovereignty and leadership as a global innovation force. The region is paving its way as a centre-stage where AI, quantum and deep tech will be debated, developed, and scaled.” Global leaders address EU’s tech crossroads Organisers state there will be over 500 speakers, debating a range of issues including AI and quantum, cloud, and data sovereignty. Already confirmed are Geoffrey Hinton, Physics Nobel Laureate (2024); Kai Wegner, Mayor of Berlin; H.E. Jelena Begović, Serbian Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation; António Henriques, CEO, Bison Bank; Jager McConnell, CEO, Crunchbase; Mark Surman, President, Mozilla; and Sandro Gianella, Head of Europe & Middle East Policy & Partnerships, OpenAI. Europe’s moves in AI, deep tech & quantum Europe is focusing on cross-sector AI uses, new investments and international partnerships. Ai Everything Europe, the event’s AI showcase and conference, brings together AI architects, startups and investors to explore AI ecosystems. Topics presented on stage range from EuroStack ambitions to implications of agentic AI, with speakers including Martin Kon, President and COO, Cohere; Daniel Verten, Strategy Partner, Synthesia; and Professor Dr. Antonio Krueger, CEO of German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence. On the show-floor, attendees will be able to experience Brazil’s Ubivis’s smart factory technology, powered by IoT and digital twins, and Hexis’s AI-driven nutrition plans that are trusted by 500+ Olympic and elite athletes. With nearly €7 billion in quantum investment, Europe is pushing for quantum leadership by 2030. GITEX Quantum Expo (GQX) (in partnership with IBM and QuIC) covers quantum research and cross-industry impact with showcases and conferences. Speakers include Mira Wolf-Bauwens, Responsible Quantum Computing Lead, IBM Research, Switzerland; Joachim Mnich, Director of Research & Computing, CERN, Switzerland; Neil Abroug, Head of the French National Quantum Strategy, INRIA; and Jan Goetz, CEO & Co-Founder, IQM Quantum Computers, Finland. Cyber Valley: Building a resilient cyber frontline With cloud breaches doubling in number and AI-driven attacks, threat response and cyber resilience are core focuses at the event. Fortinet, CrowdStrike, Kaspersky, Knowbe4, and Proofpoint will join other cybersecurity companies exhibiting at GITEX Cyber Valley. They’ll be alongside law enforcement leaders, global CISOs, and policymakers on stage, including Brig. Gen. Dr. Volker Pötzsch, Chief of Division Cyber/IT & AI, Federal Ministry of Defence, Germany; H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity, UAE Government; Miguel De Bruycker, Managing Director General, Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium; and Ugo Vignolo Lutati, Group CISO, Prada Group. GITEX Green Impact: For a sustainable future GITEX Green Impact connects innovators and investors with over 100 startups and investors exploring how green hydrogen, bio-energy, and next-gen energy storage are moving from R&D to deployment. Key speakers so far confirmed are Gavin Towler, Chief Scientist for Sustainability Technologies & CTO, Honeywell; Julie Kitcher, Chief Sustainability Officer, Airbus; Lisa Reehten, Managing Director, Bosch Climate Solutions; Massimo Falcioni, Chief Competitiveness Officer, Abu Dhabi Investment Office; and Mounir Benaija, CTO – EV & Charging Infrastructure, TotalEnergies. Convening the largest startup ecosystem among 60+ nations GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything hosts North Star Europe, the local version of the world’s largest startup event, Expand North Star. North Star Europe gathers over 750 startups and 20 global unicorns, among them reMarkable, TransferMate, Solarisbank AG, Bolt, Flix, and Glovo. The event features a curated collection of earlys and growth-stage startups from Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, UK, and UAE. Among the startups, Neurocast.ai (Netherlands) is advancing AI-powered neurotech for Alzheimer’s research; CloudBees (Switzerland) is the delivery unicorn backed by Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Lightspeed; and Semiqon (Finland), the world’s first CMOS transistor with the ability to perform in cryogenic conditions. More than 600 investors with $1tn assets under management will be scouting for new opportunities, including Germany’s Earlybird VC, Austria’s SpeedInvest, Switzerland’s B2Venture, Estonia’s Startup Wise Guys, and the US’s SOSV. GITEX ScaleX launches as a first-of-its-kind growth platform for scale-ups and late-stage companies, in partnership with AWS. With SMEs making up 99% of European businesses, GITEX SMEDEX connects SMEs with international trade networks and investors, for funding, legal advice, and market access to scale globally. Backed by EISMEA and ICC Digital Standards Initiative, the event features SME ecosystem leaders advising from the stage, including Milena Stoycheva, Chairperson of Board of Innovation, Ministry of Innovation and Growth, Bulgaria; and Oliver Grün, President, European Digital SME Alliance and BITMi. GITEX EUROPE is part of the GITEX global network tech and startup events, taking place in Germany, Morocco, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, and the UAE. For more information, please visit: www.gitex-europe.com.