What participants, speakers
and partners say
about Rise of AI

Authentic voices from over 3,000 attendees across more than a decade — decision-makers, practitioners, researchers and policymakers who have experienced Rise of AI firsthand.
years running
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attendees across all editions
500 +
net promoter score 2026
NPS + 0
organisation score
0 / 5
want to return in 2027
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What People Say

Unfiltered feedback from participants, speakers and partners — collected across multiple years of Rise of AI.

Enterprise · 2026
“The best AI conference this year — focused, thoughtful, practical.”
Arik Ott
Arik Ott
Siemens Energy

Partner · 2026
“Hoch-kuratiert, high-levellige Experten und Gesprächspersonen, DAS KI-Ökosystem Deutschlands vor Ort — und eine ganz tolle, gelöste, freundliche und offene Stimmung.”
Maria Urban
Maria Urban
Executive Unit Director, PIABO

Partner · 2026
“The entire staging — from the venue, colours and details to the food, content, speakers and networking — was truly impressive, carried out with a great deal of love and attention to detail.”
Tanja Reichartz
Tanja Reichartz
Cloudian, München

Partner · 2026
“An exceptionally well-prepared, well-run and well-followed-up event. Networking was happening in every corner, and the talks genuinely reached curious listeners. A big thank you.”
Oliver Stuke
Oliver Stuke
Senior Director Enterprise Data & Analytics, Capgemini Invent Germany

Partner · 2026
“An exceptionally well-prepared, well-executed and well-followed-up event. Great conversations — and now we're working through our follow-ups.”
Christian Winterfeldt
Christian Winterfeldt
Sr. Director Sales, Dell Technologies DACH

Attendee · 2026
“300 decision-makers. One room. No buzzwords — just the questions that will define Europe's AI future.”
DB
Daniel Brugger
AI Leader

Partner · 2026
“The most organized and well-structured event we've been part of. The lead list is a perfect reflection of attention to detail.”
AL
Annelise Loyens
ClickHouse

Speaker · 2026
“Rise of AI — wow. I rarely leave an event feeling this energised. Grateful for this wonderful AI network and for all the new people I met.”
EG
Eva Gengler
AI Speaker & Founder, feminist.AI

Attendee · 2026
“10 years of Rise of AI — a digital firework. Technically strong, humanly close, full of knowledge, humor, emotion and courage about the future.”
Kenza Ait Si Abbou
Kenza Ait Si Abbou
AI Advisor to CEOs, LinkedIn TOP Voice

Research · 2026
“Rise of AI is the gravitational center of AI in Germany — where the ecosystem actually meets.”
Dr. Katharina von Knop
Dr. Katharina von Knop
AI Research & Policy

Attendee · 2026
“The dinner format the evening before completely changed how I experienced the conference the next day. The conversations started there and never really stopped.”
Ramin Assadollahi
Ramin Assadollahi
AI Ecosystem

Attendee · 2026
“Rise of AI brought together business, research and policy around artificial intelligence in an impressive way.”
Dr. Annika von Mutius
Dr. Annika von Mutius
Co-Founder Empion, Board Member KI Bundesverband

Attendee · 2026
“One of the best AI conferences — happy 10th anniversary. The ecosystem owes you.”
TT
Tamara Tomasevic
Connecting CIOs, CDOs, CTOs at CIONET

Attendee · 2026
“INTENSE 24h in Berlin. What we have built in Germany and Europe — we can be proud of it, and finally things are moving forward.”
Alexander Thamm
Alexander Thamm
Data & AI Pioneer, Founder, Investor

Speaker · 2026
“My favorite part was the Applied AI stage — as a practitioner, it was wonderful to see a conference avoid only high level talks in favour of concrete demonstrations and implementation.”
Akhil Deo
Akhil Deo
AI Practitioner & Speaker

Attendee · 2026
“Rise of AI 2026 — the 10th edition — was a great class reunion again. A good exchange on the positioning of Europe in AI, with all the chances and challenges. Thank you Fabian and Veronika for an inspiring day with fantastic cake and an impressive 10-year track record.”
Markus Trost
Markus Trost
IP Head GSA, Executive Search

First-time attendee · 2026
“I'd heard from several people that this conference was worth making time for. I arrived curious. Now I understand what they meant. The people in that room were thinking seriously about the right things — and it showed in every conversation.”
Dr. Eva-Maria Hempe
Dr. Eva-Maria Hempe
Senior Commercial & GTM Leader

Experiences by audience

Rise of AI brings together four distinct communities under one roof. Here’s what each group experiences.

Enterprise & industry leaders

Heads of AI, CDOs, CTOs and innovation leads from Siemens, SAP, E.ON, T-Systems and other major European companies use Rise of AI to benchmark strategy, access peer networks and identify partners — without the noise of a trade show.

Enterprise · 2026
“Focused, thoughtful, practical — exactly what an AI conference should be. No filler, no sales pitches.”
Arik Ott
Arik Ott
Siemens Energy

Policy · 2026
“Rise of AI is becoming the gravitational center of AI in Germany — the room where the ecosystem decides what comes next.”
Tim Cortinovis
Tim Cortinovis
AI & Future of Work

Technology partners & sponsors

For AI infrastructure, cloud and software companies, Rise of AI delivers curated access to enterprise buyers in one day. Partners consistently cite the quality of the attendee list and the absence of booth culture as key differentiators.

Partner · 2026
“The most organized and well-structured event we’ve been part of. The lead list is a perfect reflection of attention to detail.”
AL
Annelise Loyens
ClickHouse

Partner · 2026
“Die Lead-Liste mit LinkedIn-Profilen war extrem hilfreich. Das Niveau des Engagements und die Professionalität haben uns wirklich überzeugt.”
Tanja Reichartz
Tanja Reichartz
Cloudian

Researchers & practitioners

From DFKI and Fraunhofer to independent AI practitioners, Rise of AI provides a rare stage where research meets real-world application — and where academic insights reach decision-makers directly.

Speaker · 2026
“It was wonderful to see a conference prioritise concrete demonstrations and implementation over high-level keynote theatre.”
AD
Akhil Deo
AI Practitioner

Research · 2026
“The governance and sovereignty panel produced genuinely controversial debate — exactly what the field needs more of.”
Maria Urban
Maria Urban
PIABO, panel moderator

Policy, press & public sector

Rise of AI is where European AI policy is discussed before it is decided. With representatives from the Bundestag, European Parliament, BMDV and international institutions, the conference bridges technology and governance in a way few others do.

Policy · 2026
“No other event in Germany brings together founders, researchers, policymakers and corporates with this intensity and this level of mutual trust.”
Dr. Katharina von Knop
Dr. Katharina von Knop
AI Policy & Research

Policy · 2026
“Keine Buzzwords — nur die Fragen, die Europas KI-Zukunft bestimmen werden.”
DB
Daniel Brugger
AI Leader

The Speaker Dinner

The evening before the conference, Rise of AI hosts an exclusive Speaker Dinner — a private gathering that sets the tone for everything that follows on May 12.

Attendee · 2026
“Spending an evening with your idol is a rare opportunity. The conversations we had about neural architecture, LLMs and where all these visions have gone — goosebumps all evening. Thank you for the outstanding seating arrangement.”
Ramin Assadollahi
Ramin Assadollahi
Co-Founder HALBZEIT.ai, KI Professor

Attendee · 2026
“It feels like a family reunion — the kind where everyone is genuinely excited to be in the same room again.”
Stefanie Krüll
Stefanie Krüll
AI Leader

Why attendees recommend Rise of AI

Across four years of post-event surveys — NPS +68 in 2026, 89% want to return in 2027 — these themes come up every single time.

2026 net promoter score
NPS + 0
organisation
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content quality
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want to return 2027
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  • Curated, not crowded. ~300 attendees means every conversation matters. No badge-scanning, no booth queues, no filler.
  • Real applied content. The Applied AI stage focuses on concrete use cases and practitioner implementation — not vendor pitches or 10,000-foot keynotes.
  • The Speaker Dinner changes everything. The exclusive dinner the evening before creates a completely different quality of relationship before the conference even begins.
  • Founders, researchers, policymakers, corporates — in the same room. No other event in Germany achieves this cross-sector mix at this level of seniority.
  • 10 years of trust. Rise of AI has been running since 2014. The alumni network is real, and it shows in the room — 3,000+ attendees across all editions.
  • The only curated AI event in May. No calendar conflict with other major European AI events.

Frequently asked questions

Approximately 300 curated decision-makers: heads of AI, CDOs, CTOs, founders, researchers, policymakers and investors. In 2026, over 100 attendees held C-Level, VP or Director positions, representing organisations including Siemens, SAP, Meta, AWS, DFKI, BMDV, E.ON, RWE and the European Parliament.

Join the room where Europe's AI future is shaped

Rise of AI 2027 — Conference May 12, 2027 · Speaker Dinner the evening before