WHERE EUROPE’S FOUNDERS COME TO THINK BIGGER.

Not every session hits you the same way. Some shake your perspective. Some give you the framework you've been missing. Some are just you, 29 other people, and a speaker being more honest than they were on stage. Seven stages. Two days. Every format built around one question: what do you actually need to walk out better than you walked in?

01/07

INSPIRATION STAGE

The big room. The bold ideas. The talks you’ll still think about on your way home.

The flagship stage. Around 1,200 founders, investors and decision-makers in one room – and on stage, the people actively reshaping industries, capital and culture. Keynotes, fireside chats and moderated panels built around one principle: no performance, no PR. Honest stories. Unexpected perspectives. The kind of thinking that makes you reassess what you're building.

Speaking on this stage

Steven Bartlett

Max Junestrand

Harry Nelis

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karsten Lemmer

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Trevor Noah

Comedian &

Bestselling Author

Steven Bartlett

Entrepreneur & Investor

Podcast Host 'The Diary Of A CEO'

Max Junestrand

Co-Founder & CEO

Legora

Jan Oberhauser

Founder & CEO

n8n

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg

President & Managing Director

General Catalyst

Mirko Novakovic

Founder & CEO

Dash0

Harry Nelis

Partner

Accel

André Schürrle

Co-Founder

DRYLL

Bar Winkler

Co-founder & CEO

Wonderful

Matthias Niessner

CEO

SpAItial AI

Gabriel Vasquez

Investment Partner

a16z

Noah Hollmann

Co-Founder & CTO

Prior Labs

Judith Dada

Co-CEO & Senior Partner

Langdock & Visionaries

Simon Schmincke

Partner

Creandum

Klaus Hommels

Founder & Chairman

Lakestar

George Robson

Partner

Sequoia Capital

Prof. Dr. h. c. Carsten Maschmeyer

CEO

Maschmeyer Group

Zhenya Loginov

Partner

Accel

Katherina Reiche

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy

Germany

Matthias Schranner

CEO

Schranner

Ben Fletcher

Partner

Accel

Maex Ament

Co-Founder & CEO

Causa Prima

Sahir Azam

Partner

Index Ventures

Pim de Witte

Co-founder & CEO

General Intuition

Andreas Klinger

General Partner

PROTOTYPE

Feliks Eyser

Founder

Founder Mode

Eveline Buchatskiy

Managing Partner

D3

Dex Hunter-Torricke

Founder & President

The Center for Tomorrow

Lara Sophie Bothur

Global Tech Translator & Influncer

Lara Sophie Bothur

Paula Wehmeyer

VP Marketing & Talent

General Intuition

Guillermo Flor

Founder

PMF

Rana Yared

General Partner

Balderton

02/07

VISIONARIES
STAGE

Six sectors. 60-minute deep dives. One conversation that actually goes somewhere.

Across six dedicated sectors, we bring together the ecosystem’s leading visionaries who are actively moving the needle. No safe questions, no polished PR. This is a 60-minute deep dive built to be demanding, honest, and controversial. Our moderators skip the pleasantries and go straight for the real tension lines, forcing a raw exchange on market realities, failures, and the bold bets required to win the next decade.

Operators of intelligence

Vertical AI · AI-native startups · Autonomous Agents · Enterprise AI · Workflow Automation

Physical AI & robotics

Robotics · Autonomous Vehicles · Drones · Industrial Automation · AI-driven Hardware

Resilience & security

Cybersecurity · Defense Tech · Dual-Use · Critical Infrastructure · Geopolitics

Human 2.0

The Fusion of Biotech, AI & Longevity

Frontier technologies & radical breakthroughs

Quantum · Space Tech · Hardware Innovation

Finance, markets & global capital flows

Fintech · Financial Infrastructure · Embedded Finance · Digital Assets · Cross-Border Systems

Industrial systems & supply chain transformation

Logistics Tech · Manufacturing Innovation · Trade Infrastructure · Automation · ERP · Industrial AI

Speaking on this stage

Julie Böhning

Ralf Gulde

Fabian Kamberi

Hakob Astabatsyan

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Dr. Jan Goetz

Co-Founder & CEO

IQM Quantum Computers

Julie Böhning

Co-Founder & CEO

PAVE Space

Ralf Gulde

Co-Founder & CEO

Sereact GmbH

Fabian Kamberi

Founder & CEO

Born

Hakob Astabatsyan

Co-Founder & CEO

Synthflow AI

Carolina Aguilar

CEO & Co-Founder

INBRAIN Neuroelectronics

Steve Basher

Founder & CEO

SolveAI

Lennard Schmidt

Co-Founder & CEO

Langdock

Peter Specht

Partner

Creandum

Jonathan Sanders

Co-Founder & CEO

Light

Malte Rau

Co-Founder & CEO

Pliant

Toby Cubitt

Co-Founder, CTO & CSCIO

Phasecraft

Jan Henrik Leisse

CEO

eleQtron

Luisa Buinhas

Co-Founder & Chief Program Officer

Vyoma

Max Schertel

Co-Founder & CEO

finmid

Anna-Julia Storch

Founder & CEO

Dryft

Dr. Philipp Gerbert

CEO

TUM Venture Labs

Christian Byza

CEO

BePurple

Thomas Oehl

General Partner

Vsquared

03/07

INVESTOR
STAGE

Where capital meets conviction.
Built for the people who allocate it.

Two programs. One standard: depth over headlines.

Investors ↔ Investors – GPs and LPs in focused exchange on fund strategy, portfolio construction, market signals and data-driven VC. Peer-level. Analytical. No soundbites.

Investors ↔ Founders – Transparent conversations on investment theses, opportunity assessment and long-term value creation. The kind of candor you don't get in a pitch meeting.

Around 1,700 VCs and 300 LPs attend Bits & Pretzels. This is their stage.

Speaking on this stage

Dominic Wilhelm

Partner

Headline

Seema Amble

Partner

Andreessen Horowitz

Ritika Pai

Partner

ICONIQ

Moustafa ElBialy

CIO

Kleiner Perkins

Franziska Kayser

Partner, Head of European TMT

KKR

Robert Lacher

Founding Partner

Visionaries Club

Rob Moffat

Partner

Balderton Capital

Enrico Mellis

Founder

Animal Syndication Company

Dominik Stein

Partner

EQT Growth

Uli Grabenwarter

Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of Equity Investments

European Investment Fund

Evgenia Plotnikova

General Partner

Dawn Capital

Hendrik Brandis

Co-Founder and General Partner

Earlybird

Leyla Holterud

Partner

Vintage IP

Fabian Heilemann

CEO & Co-Founder

AENU

Robin Haak

Partner

Robin Capital

Tom Fitzherbert-Brockholes

Partner

StepStone Group

Greg Schmitt

Head of Private Equity & Co-Investments

MEAG

Seema Amble

Ritika Pai

Moustafa ElBialy

Franziska Kayser

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04/07

STARTUP & CORPORATE COLLABORATION STAGE

Startups meet corporates. Deals happen.
Partnerships get built.

This stage serves as a strategic bridge between established corporations and the startup ecosystem, focusing on the practical scaling of AI and further emerging technologies. Accelerators, hubs, and infrastructure providers pitch their unique value to founders, while offering corporate leaders a direct look at market-ready solutions and the technical foundation that power them.

05/07

MASTER
CLASSES

45 minutes. 100 pax. Pure execution.

We stripped away the conference noise to build a high-signal environment for founders who mean business. No crowded panels – just one expert, a hyper-focused masterclass, and real interaction.These 45 minutes deliver the exact tools you need to stop surviving and start scaling. Unlock the psychological habits of elite CEOs or master the operational blueprints of fundraising and sales. Pick your session wisely – seats are strictly limited.

Speaking on this stage

Fynn Kliemann

Founder & CEO

Kliemannsland

Johannes Kliesch

Founder & CEO

SNOCKS GmbH

Finn Age Hänsel

Co-Founder & CEO

Sanity Group

James Vincent

Founder & CEO

FNDR

Adrian Rosenkranz

Chief Revenue Officer

Webflow

Hubertus Bessau

Partner & CMO

EWOR

Silvia Christmann

I/O Psychologist

SC&Partners

Moritz Fürste

Co-Founder & CMO

Hyrox World

Ollie George

Director, Executive Talent

Sequoia Capital

Sebastian Janus

CEO & Founder

nugrow

Bastian Hasslinger

Partner

Index Ventures

Michael Fritz

Joker

Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli e.V.

Nikolaus Karpf

Co-Founder & Managing Director

SPARKK

Timo Kuroschinski

Co-Founder & Managing Director

SPARKK

Hugo Suidman

Executive Coach & Founder Sidekick

ForChiefs

Desiree Fixler

Veteran Banker and Free Enterprise Activist

DF Consult Group

Peng-Sang Cau

Director of Siemens for Startups

Siemens

Anja Redenz

Partnerin

KPMG

Andra Larin

CEO

Priolaunch

Fynn Kliemann

Johannes Kliesch

Finn Age Hänsel

James Vincent

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06/07

ASK ME ANYTHING STAGE

30 seats. One speaker. The conversation that happens after the keynote ends.

No slides. No talking points. Directly after their main stage appearance, the speaker sits down with 30 people – and the real conversation starts. The behind-the-scenes. The things they didn't say on stage. The follow-up you'd only get if you happened to catch them at the bar.Seats are limited. Prioritize accordingly.

07/07

PITCH 
CORNER

90 seconds to pitch. 3 minutes of feedback that's actually worth something.

Ten startups. One session. Industry-specific blocks so the feedback comes from people who know your market – not generalist observers.

Each startup gets 90 seconds, then 3 minutes of direct response from investors and specialists in the room. The feedback is concrete: gaps in the value prop, questions your pitch doesn't answer, what would make them lean forward. No "great energy." No safe applause.