Nexus Luxembourg 2026 Closes Its Doors on Its Most Ambitious Edition Yet
Nexus Luxembourg 2026 closed its doors today after two landmark days at Luxexpo The Box, confirming its status as the most significant gathering of its kind in the Grand Duchy. Founded in late 2023 by Luxembourg entrepreneurs Kamel Amroune (The Dots) and Mike Koedinger (Paperjam), who joined forces within I.E.G. Nexus Luxembourg, the summit has rapidly evolved into Luxembourg’s largest international business, tech and AI event. In 2026, Laurent Futin joined as Managing Director.
The 2026 edition brought together more than 9,600 participants (+14% compared to 2025), over 675 speakers, including 247 startups and scaleups competing across 12 categories, representatives from more than 80 countries, and 763 matchmaking meetings, setting new benchmarks across every dimension.
Nexus Luxembourg is supported by the Government of Luxembourg, the City of Luxembourg, the Chamber of Commerce and Luxinnovation as four Premier Institutional Partners.
A Curated “4-in-1” Format Across 13,500 m²
Stretched over 13,500 m² of exhibition space, the summit operated on a sophisticated “4-in-1” architectural concept, channelling innovation into four specialised zones and across five conference stages:
– Intelligence Forum (AI & Cybersecurity): The beating heart of the 2026 summit, zeroing in on applied AI, autonomous systems and infrastructure productivity.
– Fintech Sphere (Digital Finance): Unpacking regulated innovation, finance platforms and future trends. It notably hosted the Women in Finance & Technology ceremony on 11 June, powered by the LHoFT (Luxembourg House of Financial Technology), celebrating female leadership in quantitative industries.
– Launchpad Arena (Startups & Scaleups): 247 handpicked global startups pitched live across 12 verticals to secure the prestigious +€130,000 Grand Prize.
– Luxembourg Makes It Happen: A central zone bringing together institutions, EU policymakers and national champions, featuring the Grand Opening Ceremony, the Fit 4 Start Graduation on 10 June and the Luxembourg AI Excellence Awards on 11 June.
European Sovereignty at the Centre of the Debate
The 2026 edition opened against a backdrop of heightened urgency around Europe’s technological future. From the opening ceremony to the closing panels, a clear consensus emerged: artificial intelligence is no longer a matter of R&D pipelines alone — it is a strategic question for Europe’s competitiveness, security and democratic resilience.
EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, set the tone in her keynote address:
“Artificial intelligence is no longer only a technological issue, it is becoming one of the defining factors for competitiveness, productivity, security and resilience. This means AI is a question of technological sovereignty.”
— Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
She was unambiguous about Europe’s direction of travel:
“Our objective is clear. Europe must become a place not only where AI is regulated but a place where AI is developed, manufactured, deployed and scaled.”
— Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner
“Nexus Luxembourg 2026 brings together entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, companies and policy makers shaping Europe’s technological future at a very decisive moment for Europe.”
— Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner
The call for collective ambition resonated throughout the summit. Prime Minister Luc Frieden articulated the Grand Duchy’s vision in unequivocal terms:
“Luxembourg wants to be an AI platform for all of Europe. We do not think nationally, we think European. We need an AI of Europe, by Europe, for Europe. Europe can lead if we act together. Because in this new age of AI, no country can win alone.”
— Luc Frieden, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
“Luxembourg continues to be a trusted European gateway for international business, bringing together public institutions, companies, startups, and investors. This unique ecosystem is more important than ever as technological change reshapes our economies, societies, and even geopolitics.”
— Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Cooperation, Government of Luxembourg
“Luxembourg is ready for the future of digital finance. Today, I can update you on the progress we are making here in Luxembourg, including our next steps on a blockchain bond issuance, the MiCA segregation update, and the new stock options regime. We move early when the opportunity is there, with clear rules, close cooperation with the sector, and a strong commitment to competitiveness.”
— Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance, Luxembourg
“Luxembourg has made a strategic choice to prioritise innovation as the driving force behind its competitiveness and as a key element of its economic diversification. The 16th graduation ceremony of Fit 4 Start at Nexus is fully in line with this approach. By bringing together an international audience focused on start-ups and innovation, this event provides the ideal setting to showcase our acceleration programme and boost its visibility within a committed and rapidly growing ecosystem.”
— Lex Delles, Minister of Economy, Luxembourg
“We are pleased to support an initiative that brings together different communities and perspectives around innovation, not as an end in itself, but as a means to respond to real challenges. For a city, these challenges are concrete. They include reducing emissions while maintaining quality of life, adapting to climate change, managing public space, and modernising services in an inclusive way. None of this can be achieved in isolation; it relies on cooperation across a network of like-minded professionals.”
— Lydie Polfer, Mayor of the City of Luxembourg
“We stand at a pivotal moment for Europe’s sovereignty and competitiveness. The path forward is not to observe, but to lead with ambition, speed and purpose. We must be builders of this transformation, not passengers. Luxembourg has the infrastructure, the talent, and the determination to play a leading role in this AI paradigm shift. The next step is clear: empowering our companies to innovate, deploy AI and scale beyond borders.”
— Carlo Thelen, Director General, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
“Europe has taken the strategic choice to aim for digital sovereignty – and Luxembourg is proof that it is also an operational reality. Admittedly, we don’t have the same compute power as global hyperscalers, but for many use cases, access and trust matter more than raw scale.”
— Mario Grotz, CEO, Luxinnovation
“The conversations at Nexus Luxembourg 2026 confirmed that AI is not simply a technology trend; it is becoming a strategic pillar of Europe’s future. With more than 650 speakers including 250 startups, the event highlighted a growing consensus around European tech sovereignty, innovation and responsible AI. Europe has the talent, the values and the ambition to lead. The challenge now is to accelerate collaboration, investment and deployment so that AI developed in Europe creates value for Europe and benefits humanity as a whole.”
— Mike Koedinger, Co-founder, Nexus Luxembourg; Founder & CEO, Paperjam
“Nexus Luxembourg 2026 has shown that innovation, collaboration, and ambition are not passing trends in Luxembourg — they are here to stay. Thanks to our partners, our ecosystem, and our international community, we have strengthened Luxembourg’s position on the global innovation map. The journey continues in 2027.”
— Kamel Amroune, Co-founder, Nexus Luxembourg
“Nexus Luxembourg 2026 has been a milestone edition, defined by inspiring insights, meaningful conversations and high-level networking. This year, we didn’t just discuss the future; we actively shaped the next chapters of our industry. We leave this edition inspired and ready to turn these insights into impact and we are proud to foster such a dynamic ecosystem right here in Luxembourg.”
— Laurent Futin, Managing Director, Nexus Luxembourg
Across 227 sessions and five stages, the 2026 edition brought together 675 speakers from across Europe and beyond. Their interventions ranged from the geopolitics of AI sovereignty to the practicalities of tokenisation, quantum readiness and responsible data use. A selection of voices from the programme:
“If we have less money and more work, we need to find a partner. And if technology can be a partner, especially in prevention, I think we would be stupid not to use it.”
— Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Cooperation, Government of Luxembourg
“The future belongs to agents. They are the ones who will shape our future.”
— Fouad Bousetouane, Co-founder and AI Director, InterspectAI
“We must hold the bottom line for data security to stabilise consumer and market expectations.”
— Ma Chao, Secretary-General, National Internet Finance Association (NIFA), China
“When we look at organisations today, there is one thing that is clear. The organisations that are winning the AI race right now are not only the ones experimenting with AI — they are the ones actually scaling it across the enterprise.”
— Pierre-Adrien Grange, Country Lead, Microsoft Luxembourg
“It is essential that states ensure their values are embedded in the technologies they use.”
— Eva-Maria Hempe, Director General Public Sector EMEA, Nvidia
“We don’t want to create an AI divide where the only people that have access to the benefits are people in wealthy economies like the one we’re in now.”
— Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic and Special Procedures Division, UN Human Rights Office
“If I were in a bank’s position, I would consider focusing fully on crypto-assets as a potential revenue source.”
— Irina Kessel, Head of Digital Assets and 24/7 Banking Products, Avaloq
“If you wanted to invest a billion four years ago, the equivalent today is between 100 and 200 million for the same or greater computing power.”
— Octave Klaba, Founder and CEO, OVHcloud
“The future of AI is not only a technological question, but it is an energy question.”
— Paul Konsbruck, LuxConnect
“InvestEU has been a successful instrument, and we trust the Competitiveness Fund can be as capable of mobilising private investment in strategic sectors. With this fund, we are trying to take it to the next level.”
— Kristine Kozlova, Head of Unit, InvestEU Governance and Advisory (GROW.C.3), European Commission
“The important part is not that it’s cheap. The important part is that it allows you to move money from keeping the lights on to innovation.”
— Marc Linster, Digital Learning Hub
“Innovation and regulation are not necessarily one against the other.”
— Claude Marx, Director General, CSSF
“We want to collect and use existing data in a responsible and secure manner and put it to the benefit of citizens, companies and research.”
— Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Government of Luxembourg
“If you want to get a journalist’s attention, it is better to build a relationship than simply send an AI-generated press release.”
— Jon Mauno Pettersson, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Breakit
“The big lesson learned is that once things start, it’s an avalanche, so we need to prepare for the quantum avalanche.”
— Valentin Plugaru, Chief Technology Officer, LuxProvide
“Digital capabilities are now seen as a major sovereignty issue, on a par with energy or telecommunications.”
— Laurent Pulinckx, Chief Information Officer, Creos Luxembourg
“AI, the brain that is trapped behind the screens.”
— Aditya Raj, Fujitsu
“We have decided to initiate the first tokenisation in Luxembourg given the local ecosystem, regulations, its stability and because we have a full set of expertise right here.”
— Sébastien Rouyr, Head of Transfer Agency Product and Business, State Street
“Nexus allowed us to build real connections with Luxembourg’s institutions, which are remarkably accessible. There is a dynamic here that you rarely find elsewhere — agile, efficient, and genuinely committed to supporting Europe’s digital and ecological transitions. It’s truly refreshing.”
— Thomas Semah, CEO, Yneuro
“The chances of Luxembourg becoming the gateway for AI in Europe are very high. All the factors are in place. You have the regulators, you have the government, you have the people, you have the economic flexibility. It is up to Luxembourg to seize that opportunity — or let it pass.”
— Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm
“We essentially provide the model with a replay of what some domain expert would do.”
— Pierre Stock, Vice-President Scientific Operations, Mistral AI
“AI agents need tools, memory, guardrails and rules governing how the model accomplishes a task.”
— Pierre Stock, Vice-President Scientific Operations, Mistral AI
“It is never too early to start getting acquainted with quantum physics and its applications.”
— Olivier Tonneau, Founder and Partner, Quantonation
“The unofficial slogan of the AI race so far has been ‘bigger, faster, better’. To make technology truly work for people, we need a different approach: ‘slower, wiser, kinder’.”
— Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
“The scarce resource is not AI. It is courage.”
— Emmanuel Vivier
“2025 was the year AI could talk. 2026 is the year AI can act.”
— Emmanuel Vivier
“700 billion dollars: that is what Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft plan to invest in AI in 2026. That is half the French state budget.”
— Emmanuel Vivier
“Yes, where your data is stored matters greatly when we talk about digital sovereignty or sovereign AI — but it goes well beyond that. On the data side, it also encompasses data governance, your technology stack, your entire infrastructure, the legal and jurisdictional dimensions, everything that underpins how you run your business and manage your operations.”
— Natalie de Vries, Head of Data and AI Advisory Benelux, Atos
“Luxembourg has been working in the last decade seizing opportunities on both the business and the tech side. That window is open again — globally, but also in Luxembourg.”
— Patrice Witz, Technology Partner and Digital Leader, PwC Luxembourg
Awards: Recognising Excellence Across the Ecosystem
Fit 4 Start Graduation Ceremony
At the end of the Fit 4 Start Graduation Ceremony, organised on the sidelines of Nexus Luxembourg 2026, 15 startups that successfully completed the 16th edition of the startup acceleration programme managed by Luxinnovation were rewarded in the presence of Lex Delles, Minister of Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism.
Following a selection and pitching process that took place in autumn 2025, 20 startups were chosen from a record number of 495 applications from nearly 65 different countries. As in previous editions, the supported projects were in three categories: digital, health technologies and space.
Digital
– Djooky, Ukraine — djookyawards.com
– CRAB Traceability Systems, Luxembourg — crab-ts.com
– LeaseryT, Luxembourg — leaseryt.eu
– MoveMe, Luxembourg — www.moveme.lu
– Offinite, Luxembourg — business.offinite.com/en
– PanIAM, Luxembourg — paniam.cloud
– RoasterCup, Luxembourg — roastercup.com
– Scriio, Luxembourg — www.scrioo.com
– Tenta Vision, Germany — www.tenta-vision.de
Health Technologies
– AutiHD, Luxembourg — www.autihd.com
– CalorAI, Luxembourg — landing.calorai.ai/trialed
– Hale X, Luxembourg — hale-x.com
– Lihoury Technology, Luxembourg — www.lihoury-technology.com
Space
– BabAI Orbital, Estonia — babayte.org
– Tumi Robotics Space, Luxembourg — tumirobotics.com
These 15 startups benefited from specialised support over a period of six months as well as funding of €50,000 each from the Ministry of the Economy, subject to incorporation in Luxembourg. Those companies that also succeed in raising funds and employing at least two staff members may receive up to an additional €100,000 in state aid.
Luxembourg AI Excellence Awards
Building on the momentum of a highly successful first edition, the 2026 Luxembourg AI Excellence Awards — organised by FEDIL in partnership with Luxinnovation and with the support of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce — attracted strong interest from across the country’s innovation ecosystem.
The competition once again showcased the breadth and depth of artificial intelligence expertise in Luxembourg, recognising outstanding achievements, pioneering projects and innovative applications developed by startups, scaleups, research organisations and established companies alike. Designed to reward excellence across AI research, product and solution development, business transformation and societal impact, the Awards confirmed the growing maturity and dynamism of Luxembourg’s AI ecosystem.
By providing a platform for visibility and recognition, the Luxembourg AI Excellence Awards continue to strengthen connections within the national AI community and contribute to positioning Luxembourg as a leading European hub for responsible and impactful AI innovation.
2026 Winners
– AI for Sustainability: CRAB Traceability Systems — “Mobile AI Waste Scanner (Quality Control in a Box – QCB)”
– AI for Finance: Fundvis — “Third party provider management oversight”
– AI Adoption: Cargolux Airlines International — “Cargolux AI Email Sales Parser”
– AI for Health: Techcyte Europe — “Techcyte Fusion”
– AI for Productivity: YOUNEA — “LuxAIaaS – Luxembourg’s AI-as-a-Service – All-in-one AI Platform”
Nexus Luxembourg 2026 Startup & Scaleup Awards
247 handpicked startups and scaleups from around the world pitched their solutions live across 12 categories at Launchpad Arena, in partnership with Wix and Start-Up Luxembourg.
The Winning Prize Package
An exceptional growth acceleration package worth over €125,000 to scale your venture from Luxembourg. The Grand Prize winner receives €25,000 in cash alongside over €100,000 worth of premium services provided by Luxembourg’s leading industry experts, tech providers and partners:
– Cash Prize (€25,000)
– High-Performance Computing by LuxProvide
– Digital Infrastructure & Cybersecurity by CEGECOM (value: €10,080)
– Tax & Advisory Services by Atoz Tax Advisers (value: €25,000)
– Legal & Regulatory Services by Schiltz & Schiltz (value: €15,000)
– Co-working space by The Office (value: €10,000)
– Media & Advertising package by Paperjam (value: €15,000)
– Business Club Membership by Paperjam Club (value: €10,000)
– Media & Advertising package by Techsense (value: €15,000)
All 12 category winners will receive exclusive access to the Luxembourg Venture Days taking place on 14–15 October 2026, including a 1-hour Investor Matchmaking Session — offering a unique platform to pitch and connect with international investors.
Category Winners
– AI Applications & Solutions: Partao (Luxembourg) — The intelligence layer for agricultural parts. Every fit. Every time. — www.partao.com
– AI Platforms & Data: QunaSys (Denmark) — Quantum software platform enabling algorithm development across multiple hardware systems. — qunasys.com/en
– Clinical & MedTech Innovation: VAir (France) — Portable breath analysis device for rapid detection of respiratory infections. — www.vair.dev
– Cybersecurity: Skyld (France) — Software protecting AI models from theft, reverse engineering, and adversarial attacks. — www.skyld.io
– Digital Health & Platforms: Virtuosis AI (France & Switzerland), Voice-based AI detecting and monitoring multiple health conditions in seconds. https://www.virtuosis.ai
– Disruptive Finance: Investre (Luxembourg) — Investment firm enabling digital-native issuance and tokenization of financial assets. — www.investre.eu
– Financial Intelligence: Aptus.ai (Luxembourg) — AI platform transforming regulations into actionable, auditable insights for compliance teams. — aptus.ai
– GovTech & Digital Society: Monnett (Luxembourg) — See Your Friends Again. — monnett.social
– Green & Climate Tech: Slippery Saints (United Kingdom), Biodegradable, medical-grade condoms replacing harmful materials. https://www.slipperysaints.com/
– Industry 4.0: TENTA VISION (Germany) — Optical sensing platform detecting hidden defects in real time for manufacturing quality control. — www.tenta-vision.com
– Smart Mobility & Autonomous Driving: CorrActions (Israel) — AI platform detecting driver fatigue, distraction, and impairment using vehicle sensor data. — corractions.com
– Space Tech: Exobiosphere (Luxembourg) — Space biotech platform conducting high-throughput drug discovery experiments in microgravity. — www.exobiosphere.com
Grand Prize Winner (+€130,000 in cash and services): Exobiosphere (Luxembourg), Space biotech platform conducting high-throughput drug discovery experiments in microgravity. https://www.exobiosphere.com/
Looking Ahead: Nexus Luxembourg 2027
The momentum continues. Nexus Luxembourg 2027 will take place on 9 and 10 March in Luxembourg City at Luxexpo.
Super Early Bird tickets will be available as of next week at €99 (instead of €495) until 15 September 2026.
Save the dates and secure your tickets at: nexusluxembourg.com/2027-edition
