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From 3 to 5 June, Madrid will host what promises to be Europe’s largest forum dedicated to artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship: the 2026 edition of the South Summit, which this year celebrates its fifteenth anniversary under the slogan ‘AI Convergence’.
Artificial intelligence has evolved from a technological trend into one of the key forces driving the transformation of the global economy. In just three years, it has gone from attracting 30% of global venture capital investment in 2022 to 61% in 2025, reflecting a rapid shift in the priorities of investors, start-ups, large corporations and institutions.
This change also comes at a particularly crucial time for Europe. AI is no longer merely a matter of business innovation, but also of competitiveness, strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty. In a geopolitical context characterised by the need to reduce dependencies, strengthen its own capabilities and compete with the major technological powers, Europe must rise to the challenge of transforming talent, capital and research into companies capable of expanding globally.
Against this backdrop, South Summit Madrid 2026 will bring together key players from the international ecosystem to examine the real-world impact of AI on investment, start-ups, large corporations, defence, talent, productivity and new business models.
The latest edition of South Summit is built around a central idea: the next phase of innovation will not be characterised by isolated technological advances, but by the convergence of artificial intelligence, industries, technologies, capital and global ecosystems. Under the banner of ‘AI Convergence’, the event will explore how AI is accelerating the transformation of key sectors and creating new opportunities for growth.
“Artificial intelligence is no longer just a technology: it is a force that is redefining the way we invest, how we build businesses, how we compete and how we think about the future of Europe. That is why the South Summit Madrid 2026 is placing AI at the heart of its 15th edition. “We want Madrid to be the place where the international ecosystem comes together to understand what is happening, what opportunities are emerging, and how we can build companies capable of competing globally from Europe,” says María Benjumea, president and founder of South Summit, in a statement.
Juan José Güemes, Vice-President of IE University, adds that “the South Summit is a unique platform which, this coming June, will once again establish Madrid as the global capital of entrepreneurship and innovation. As co-organisers, our institution is proud to promote an event that reflects our strategic commitment to artificial intelligence as a driver of transformation, and our entrepreneurial DNA”.
Jesús Herrero, CEO of Red.es, says: “Artificial intelligence has redefined countries’ competitiveness and our companies’ ability to innovate. To drive this transformation, we must train, attract and retain talent, but we must also focus on entrepreneurship as a key lever for fostering a more ambitious ecosystem, capable of turning ideas into solutions and generating new opportunities for growth.”
Alberto Tornero and Jordi Esteve, partners at PwC Spain, emphasised during the presentation of the report that ‘the next edition of the South Summit will demonstrate better than any other forum how start-ups, investors and large companies are working together to promote this technology’.
The forum will bring together over 600 international speakers, including entrepreneurs, investors, founders, venture builders, business leaders, institutional representatives and technology experts. In addition, nearly 30 unicorns will be in attendance, representing some of the fastest-growing and most influential companies in the global innovation ecosystem.
Confirmed speakers include: Sebastian Thrun, a leading international figure in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles and online education, as well as the founder of Google X; Kim Perell, a Silicon Valley icon and billionaire before the age of 30, is a serial entrepreneur, founder and investor in over 100 companies, whose firm 100. co uses AI and data analytics to identify product opportunities and support strategic decisions; and Anna Hartvigsen, co-founder of Female Invest, one of the leading international platforms in financial education and investment.
One of the highlights of South Summit Madrid 2026 will be its dedicated defence and AI sector, an area that is gaining increasing prominence in Europe due to its impact on security, technological sovereignty, cybersecurity, dual-use technologies and strategic innovation. This section will feature NATO’s participation through DIANA, its defence innovation accelerator, alongside founders, venture builders, investors, start-ups and companies operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence, security, defence and emerging technologies.
The integration of this vertical sector reflects the new European landscape. At a time when defence has become a priority at European level and AI has emerged as a key tool for strengthening the continent’s competitiveness and reducing technological dependencies in critical sectors, artificial intelligence is emerging as a key driver of venture capital investment, whether through the allocation of EU funds or through the strengthening of national strategies and budgets across different countries.
Local impact and start-ups
Beyond its immediate economic impact, South Summit reinforces Madrid’s role as an international hub for innovation and investment. In 2025, the event once again attracted more than 2,000 investors, including over 600 from abroad, further cementing its ability to connect the Spanish ecosystem with global capital.
This initiative complements the Startup Competition, which serves as a gateway for high-potential startups into the South Summit ecosystem. Over the course of its editions, more than 1,518 startups have reached the final stage of the competition, with a survival rate of over 39.85%, nine international unicorns, and over €20 million in funding raised following their participation in South Summit.
These figures underscore South Summit’s role as a platform for identifying, connecting and nurturing innovative projects. The progress made by the finalist start-ups demonstrates that the event serves not only as an international showcase, but also as a space for genuine collaboration between start-ups, investors, companies and institutions, with a cumulative impact on fundraising and business growth.
In terms of socio-economic impact, South Summit is set to generate €41.9 million in economic activity in the city, 10% more than the previous edition, with a multiplier effect of approximately €4 of economic activity in Madrid for every euro spent on the event. Furthermore, the fifteenth edition will strengthen its impact on employment and the international attraction of talent, with a forecast of 3,798 full-time equivalent jobs in Madrid, a 13% increase compared to 2025. For every job directly created by South Summit, more than ten additional jobs will be created in the city, and for every million euros spent and invested, approximately 542 full-time equivalent jobs will be generated each month.
Under the banner of the slogan ‘AI Convergence’, the South Summit Madrid 2026 will examine how artificial intelligence is transforming the way businesses are created, capital is allocated, new business models are scaled up, and the competitiveness of entire sectors is redefined.
The programme will examine AI from an applied and cross-cutting perspective, focusing on investment, entrepreneurship, defence, sustainability, talent, productivity, large corporations, regulation and new markets. The aim is to demonstrate how AI does not operate in isolation, but in conjunction with other technologies, sectors and ecosystems, thereby accelerating new growth opportunities.
With this edition, South Summit is consolidating its evolution from a major international gathering on entrepreneurship into a leading global platform for understanding, connecting and promoting the innovation ecosystem.
As well as bringing together start-ups, investors and large companies, South Summit aims to provide analysis, context and discussion on the major transformations that are shaping the future of business and technology.
Investment in AI
By 2025, artificial intelligence will account for 61% of global venture capital, more than double its share in 2022, when it accounted for 30% of the total. According to the report “The Real Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem”, compiled by South Summit and PwC, the rise of AI is profoundly transforming global investment dynamics and ushering in a new era for the international entrepreneurial ecosystem. In 2025, global investment in start-ups reached $441 billion, a 26% increase on the previous year, driven primarily by the growth of generative AI and mega-rounds led by companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Waymo.
The United States and Canada continue to lead global investment, accounting for two-thirds of the total. The concentration of capital in AI is also redefining investment criteria and market valuations. Start-ups incorporating artificial intelligence achieve valuations 38% higher than traditional companies, whilst investors are becoming increasingly selective and prioritising robust, scalable and profitable business models. North America continues to dominate the global start-up investment market by a wide margin. The United States and Canada increased their investment volume by 42% in 2025, reaching $289.3 billion and accounting for nearly 65% of global venture capital. Europe also maintained positive momentum, with growth of 16% to $64 billion, whilst Asia recorded a 5% decline.
At the same time, Europe has stepped up its efforts to become more competitive in the field of artificial intelligence and to strengthen its technological sovereignty. Between 2020 and 2025, the continent has accumulated €21.1 billion in AI investment, reaching an annual volume of €4.9 billion in 2025. European investment is particularly concentrated in two strategic sectors: healthcare, with €4.7 billion accumulated, and defence, with €4.6 billion.
Despite Europe’s growth, the report warns that the gap with the United States remains significant in terms of both investment volume and the ability to scale up technology projects. In this context, artificial intelligence is emerging as a key tool for boosting productivity, industrial competitiveness and European technological autonomy.
The report also highlights a growing gap between the theoretical potential of AI and its actual implementation within organisations. Although 88% of companies state that they use this technology in some way, only 22% of employees actively use AI tools in their day-to-day work, particularly in support functions such as IT, human resources or customer service. However, South Summit is concerned about the gap that still exists between Europe and the United States in terms of investment volume; therefore, it is necessary to continue improving not only the volume of funding but also the focus of investment on innovative projects, in order to ensure that the growth and scalability of the project take place in Europe.
In this international context, Spain is consolidating its position as one of Europe’s most significant emerging ecosystems and now ranks fifth among European countries in terms of funding raised in the field of artificial intelligence, alongside the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Switzerland. The Spanish ecosystem currently comprises 392 AI start-ups and has attracted €1.6 billion in cumulative investment between 2020 and 2025.
Although Spain still lags behind the major European hubs – with the UK having attracted nearly €18 billion in AI investment and Germany exceeding €8 billion – the country continues to strengthen its position thanks to its specialisation in sectors such as cybersecurity, healthtech, fintech and regtech, as well as public support stemming from the National AI Strategy and the Recovery Plan, Transformation and Resilience.
Nel complesso, l’ecosistema imprenditoriale spagnolo è rimasto resiliente nel 2025. Gli investimenti nelle startup si sono stabilizzati sopra i 3,1 miliardi di euro, con un moderato calo del 3% rispetto all’anno precedente, mentre il numero di operazioni è cresciuto dell’11%, riflettendo un mercato più dinamico, sebbene con round di finanziamento medi più ridotti.
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