Reviving Europe's €200 Billion AI Aspirations in the Digital Economy

With a heightened sense of urgency, Europe is motivated to rethink the current situation and transform technology infrastructures. Arriving at the perfect time to capitalize on Europe's innovative momentum is GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything (21-23 May, Messe Berlin).

Ranked as the world's third-largest economy and acting as the host for GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything, Germany asserts its position as Europe’s leading figure in economics and technology, with its ICT field expected to hit 82.8bn by 2025 (Statista).

Europe’s premier event focusing on tech, startups, and digital investments, GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything is coordinated by KAOUN International. It partners 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).

The inaugural GITEX EUROPE will convene over 1,400 tech companies, startups, and SMEs, with platinum sponsors including AWS and IBM. Other sponsors supporting the event are Cisco, Cloudflare, Dell, Fortinet, Lenovo, NTT, Nutanix, Nvidia, Opswat, and SAP.

The exhibition will feature tech companies from more than 100 countries and 34 European nations, with tech pavilions from India, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, UK, and the UAE.

Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, the global organizer of GITEX, remarked, 9There is a pressing need and collective intent in Europe to establish digital sovereignty and assert itself as a leading global innovation power. The region is positioning itself to be at the forefront of discussions and developments in AI, quantum, and deep tech.9

Organizers indicate there will be over 500 speakers tackling various issues like AI, quantum, cloud, and data sovereignty.

Among those slated to speak are Geoffrey Hinton, Physics Nobel Laureate (2024); Kai Wegner, Mayor of Berlin; H.E. Jelena Begovi7, Serbian Minister of Science, Technological Development and Innovation; Ant9io Henriques, CEO of Bison Bank; Jager McConnell, CEO of Crunchbase; Mark Surman, President of Mozilla; and Sandro Gianella, Head of Europe & Middle East Policy & Partnerships, OpenAI.

Europe emphasizes sector-wide AI applications, fresh investments, and global collaborations. Ai Everything Europe, dedicated to AI exhibitions and conferences, unites AI creators, startups, and financiers to delve into AI frameworks.

Subject matters on stage include EuroStack initiatives and the effects of agentic AI, featuring speakers like Martin Kon, President and COO of Cohere; Daniel Verten, Strategy Partner at Synthesia; and Professor Dr. Antonio Krueger, CEO of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence.

On the exhibition floor, visitors will witness innovations, such as Brazil’s Ubivis smart factory technology that uses IoT and digital twins, alongside Hexis’s AI-powered nutrition strategies trusted by over 500 elite athletes globally.

Europe seeks to lead in the quantum field with nearly 7 billion earmarked for quantum advancements by 2030. The GITEX Quantum Expo (GQX), collaborating with IBM and QuIC, delves into quantum exploration and its cross-industry effects through showcases and panels.

Featured speakers include Mira Wolf-Bauwens, Lead for Responsible Quantum Computing at IBM Research, Switzerland; Joachim Mnich, Director of Research & Computing at CERN, Switzerland; Neil Abroug, Head of the French National Quantum Strategy at INRIA; and Jan Goetz, CEO & Co-Founder of IQM Quantum Computers, Finland.

Amid a rise in cloud breaches and AI-driven threats, the event concentrates on strategies to respond to threats and bolster cyber resilience. Cybersecurity giants such as Fortinet, CrowdStrike, Kaspersky, Knowbe4, and Proofpoint will showcase at GITEX Cyber Valley.

They’ll join law enforcement heads, global CISOs, and legislators on stage, including Brig. Gen. Dr. Volker P9tzsch, Chief of Division Cyber/IT & AI at Germany's Federal Ministry of Defence; H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, UAE Government's Head of Cybersecurity; Miguel De Bruycker, Managing Director General of the Centre for Cybersecurity Belarus; and Ugo Vignolo Lutati, Group CISO at Prada Group.

GITEX Green Impact facilitates connections between innovators and investors, spotlighting over 100 startups and investors focused on transitioning green hydrogen, bio-energy, and future energy storage methods from research to application.

Among the notable presenters announced so far are Gavin Towler, Chief Scientist for Sustainability Technologies & CTO at Honeywell; Julie Kitcher, Chief Sustainability Officer at Airbus; Lisa Reehten, Managing Director of Bosch Climate Solutions; Massimo Falcioni, Chief Competitiveness Officer at Abu Dhabi Investment Office; and Mounir Benaija, CTO – EV & Charging Infrastructure at TotalEnergies.

GITEX EUROPE x Ai Everything introduces North Star Europe, a regional edition of the globe’s largest startup festival, Expand North Star.

North Star Europe unites over 750 startups and 20 international unicorns, including reMarkable, TransferMate, Solarisbank AG, Bolt, Flix, and Glovo.

The event showcases a selection of emerging and developing startups from nations such as Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Netherlands, Switzerland, Serbia, UK, and UAE.

Among the featured startups, Neurocast.ai from the Netherlands is advancing AI-based neurotech for Alzheimer’s study; CloudBees from Switzerland, a delivery unicorn supported by Goldman Sachs, HSBC, and Lightspeed; and Semiqon from Finland, the first CMOS transistor capable of cryogenic operation.

Over 600 investors overseeing $1tn in assets will be on the lookout for new ventures, including Germany’s Earlybird VC, Austria’s SpeedInvest, Switzerland’s B2Venture, Estonia’s Startup Wise Guys, and the United States’ SOSV.

GITEX ScaleX debuts as an innovative development platform for scale-ups and mature companies, in collaboration with AWS.

With SMEs accounting for 99% of European businesses, GITEX SMEDEX aims to connect these enterprises with global trade networks and investors, providing access to finance, legal guidance, and market opportunities to grow internationally.

Sponsored by EISMEA and ICC Digital Standards Initiative, the event will spotlight SME ecosystem leaders providing guidance, including Milena Stoycheva, Board Chair of Innovation at Bulgaria's Ministry of Innovation and Growth, and Oliver Gr7n, President of the European Digital SME Alliance and BITMi.