World Summit AI celebrates tenth edition in Amsterdam during World AI Week 2026

Amsterdam remains the home of the tenth edition of World Summit AI. The event will be held on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October 2026 at TAETS Art and Event Park, Middenweg 62, Zaandam. It is the anchor event of World AI Week, a programme of more than one hundred activities running from 5 to 9 October 2026.

More than 10,000 attendees are expected, spread across ten content tracks. Over 300 speakers have already been announced, representing companies and organisations including OpenAI, NVIDIA, AMD, LangChain, Tencent, Sony, Colgate-Palmolive and the Government of Taiwan. Registration opens daily at 07:30, with the opening session starting at 09:00.

The event is organised by InspiredMinds!, founded by CEO Sarah Porter. Knowledge Networks is also listed as a co-organiser.

Startup competition and investor programme

One of this year's features is the startup competition Pathfounder to Watch, in which five startups pitch and the finalists get to take the main stage. The competition is chaired by Mike Butcher, former editor-in-chief of TechCrunch, who is simultaneously launching his new tech media brand Pathfounders, aimed at startups and venture capital firms across Europe.

Alongside the pitch competition, there is a Startup Accelerator programme for early-stage AI startups, specifically targeting companies in the pre-seed, seed and early Series A stages with funding of up to three million euros. The event also offers an Investor Club: verified investors receive complimentary all-access passes.

Strategic partners and community

World Summit AI is working with a range of strategic partners for the 2026 edition. These include:

• VNTR Capital, an investor community for venture capitalists, family offices, angel investors and institutional parties;
• Plug and Play Tech Center, an innovation platform connecting startups, corporates, venture capital firms, universities and governments;
• Women in AI (WAI), a non-profit organisation promoting inclusive and ethical AI, with WAI Benelux serving as the regional hub for the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg;
• Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government's agency for inward investment, with AI and data science as a focus sector;
• Airia, an enterprise AI platform;
• AI Salon, a global community for AI founders, investors and builders;
• AI Wereld, a Dutch media platform covering artificial intelligence and digital innovation.

Prince Constantijn as speaker

Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands is listed as a speaker. He serves as envoy for tech startups within the Dutch startup ecosystem and frequently appears at international tech and AI events to raise the profile of the Netherlands in this field. Details about his specific contribution to the programme have not yet been announced.

Programme and practical information

The programme spans ten tracks, targeting a broad audience: from CEOs, CTOs and investors to data scientists, software developers and academics. World Summit AI is therefore explicitly not a niche event for a single segment of the AI field, but addresses the full ecosystem.

TAETS Art and Event Park in Zaandam offers one thousand free parking spaces. More information on registration and the programme is available via the event's website.

For the Dutch AI and startup scene, the return of World Summit AI to Amsterdam is relevant as a reference point in the international events calendar. The event attracts speakers and investors from outside Europe, creating opportunities for Dutch founders and investors to connect with international parties. The link with World AI Week, a broad programme of more than one hundred side events, makes the week a period that policymakers and knowledge institutions can also tap into.