Speakers of 2026

Bits & Pretzels 2026 won’t be just another event - it’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime big collective masterclass in building the next unicorns.

Anna Sophie Herken

Managing Director

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Aiga Senftleben

Alexander Schöneseiffen

Larissa Schneider

Co-Founder and COO

Dr. Dominik Steinkühler

Head of Group Development and Economics

Jonas Sommer

Sarah Theinert

Director Value Creation & Cybersecurity

UVC Partners & TUM Venture Labs

Franz Tschimben

Co-Founder & CEO

Ralf Vath

Senior Vice President, General Manager Discrete Industries

Arik Wllner

Impossible Founders

Bernhard Gold

Founding Partner

Defense Tech Innovation Fund (DTIF)

Janina Jänsch

Head of the SME department at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Selected Former Speakers

Barack Obama

44th President of the USA

Michelle Obama

Former First Lady

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Actor, Businessman, Investor, Environmentalist, form. Governor of California

Reid Hoffman

Nathan Blecharczyk

Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer

Niklas Zennström

Robert Gentz

Founder & Co-CEO

Thomas Wolf

Co-Founder & Chief Science Officer

Thursday: Table Captain booking opens. No ticket, no seat at the table.