RAISE Summit Returns to Paris on July 8-9, 2026 at the Carrousel du Louvre [Sponsored]

Overview

RAISE Summit 2026 returns to the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris on July 8 and 9, billed as one of Europe's largest gatherings of artificial intelligence leaders. Organizers expect more than 9,000 attendees, with over 80 percent at the C-level, founder, or senior decision-maker level, and a program of 350 speakers. The two days include a startup competition with a prize pool above 10 million euros and an AI hackathon described as the largest of its kind.

Key Takeaways

RAISE Summit 2026 runs July 8 and 9 at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, the underground venue beneath the museum.
Attendance is projected above 9,000 people, with more than 80 percent described as C-level executives, founders, or senior decision-makers.
The agenda lists 350 speakers, including Yann LeCun, Mark Cuban, Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti, and Datadog CEO Olivier Pomel.
A startup competition carries a prize pool above 10 million euros and drew 1,500 applicants for the 2026 edition.
A companion event, the MACHINA Summit, debuts July 7 with a focus on physical AI and robotics.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called RAISE the fastest-growing AI tech conference in Europe.

Stats & Key Facts

#More than 9,000 attendees expected at the 2026 edition.
#Over 80 percent of attendees at C-level, founder, or senior decision-maker level.
#350 speakers scheduled across the two-day program.
#Startup competition prize pool above 10 million euros.
#1,500 applicants to the 2026 startup competition.
#MACHINA Summit debuts as a first-edition companion event on July 7, 2026.

Dates, Venue, and Scale at the Carrousel du Louvre

The summit anchors itself in central Paris with a large business-leaning audience.

›Held July 8 and 9, 2026, at the Carrousel du Louvre, the event space beneath the Louvre museum.
›More than 9,000 attendees expected, positioning it among Europe's largest AI conferences.
›Over 80 percent of the audience described as C-level executives, founders, or senior decision-makers.
›Marketed to both business leaders and technical builders rather than a single audience.

Headline Speakers From AI Research, Finance, and Tech

The 350-speaker lineup mixes research figures, chip and cloud leaders, and finance executives.

›Yann LeCun, chairman of AMI and former chief AI scientist at Meta.
›Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner, alongside Cognition AI CEO Scott Wu.
›Amin Vahdat of Google, former Intel chief Pat Gelsinger, Broadcom president Charlie Kawwas, and AMD CTO Mark Papermaster.
›Finance voices including Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti and Nasdaq president Nelson Griggs.
›Operators such as Datadog CEO Olivier Pomel and Fireworks AI co-founder Lin Qiao.

Startup Competition With a 10 Million Euro Prize Pool

A pitch contest sits at the center of the summit's investor draw.

The startup competition carries a prize pool above 10 million euros and attracted 1,500 applicants for the 2026 edition. The format pairs early-stage founders with the investors, corporates, and senior operators who fill the audience, giving the contest a clear funding angle.

For non-technical readers, the takeaway is the concentration of capital and decision-makers in one room. A prize pool at that size signals that the event functions as a deal venue, not only a conference stage.

An AI Hackathon Built Around Four Build Tracks

Alongside the main stage, the summit runs a developer-focused build sprint.

›Organizers describe the hackathon as the largest AI-focused event of its type, hosting thousands of developers.
›Participants ship working demos during the event rather than slide decks.
›Build tracks span infrastructure, advanced applications, adoption barriers, and future AI directions.
›Technology partners support specialized tracks across cloud, deployment, and open-source tooling.

The 4Fs Framework Shaping the Agenda

The main program is organized around four themed tracks.

›Foundation covers computing, sovereign cloud, and silicon advances.
›Frontier covers agentic systems, autonomous intelligence, and enterprise architecture.
›Friction covers return-on-investment challenges, compliance, cyber resilience, and workforce change.
›Future covers paths to artificial general intelligence, sustainable AI, and multimodal interfaces.

MACHINA Summit Adds a Robotics and Physical AI Day

A new companion event extends the program into hardware and robots.

The MACHINA Summit debuts on July 7, 2026, one day ahead of the main conference, with a focus on physical AI and robotics. Its early lineup includes Carolina Parada, head of robotics at Google DeepMind, 1X founder and CEO Bernt Bornich, and Agility Robotics co-founder Jonathan Hurst.

Adding a dedicated robotics day reflects rising business interest in AI that acts in the physical world, from warehouse machines to humanoid systems, not only software running in the cloud.

Why the Event Signals Europe's AI Momentum

The summit's growth says something about where European AI activity is heading.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt described RAISE as the fastest-growing AI tech conference in Europe. Whether or not that holds, the mix of 9,000-plus attendees, 350 speakers, and a multi-million-euro prize pool points to deepening commercial AI activity on the continent.

For business readers, the practical signal is concentration. Infrastructure providers, enterprise buyers, finance leaders, and founders are gathering at one venue, which tends to accelerate partnerships, funding conversations, and adoption decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where is RAISE Summit 2026 held?

RAISE Summit 2026 takes place on July 8 and 9 at the Carrousel du Louvre, the event space beneath the Louvre museum in Paris.

How many people attend RAISE Summit?

Organizers expect more than 9,000 attendees, with over 80 percent described as C-level executives, founders, or senior decision-makers.

Who are some of the named speakers?

The 350-speaker lineup includes Yann LeCun, Mark Cuban, Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti, Datadog CEO Olivier Pomel, former Intel chief Pat Gelsinger, and Cognition AI CEO Scott Wu.

What is the startup competition prize pool?

The startup competition carries a prize pool above 10 million euros and drew 1,500 applicants for the 2026 edition.

What is the MACHINA Summit?

The MACHINA Summit is a first-edition companion event debuting on July 7, 2026, focused on physical AI and robotics, with speakers from Google DeepMind, 1X, and Agility Robotics.

RAISE Summit 2026 brings a large, senior AI audience together in Paris for two days of speakers, a multi-million-euro startup contest, and a developer hackathon, with a new robotics day added on July 7. The scale and lineup reflect how quickly commercial AI activity is concentrating across Europe.

Why It Matters for Business

Real business deployments are the most reliable signal of where AI is generating measurable ROI. Watching which sectors operationalize AI, what they pay for it, and how it changes their P&L tells you more than any vendor demo. These case studies are what serious buyers and investors triangulate on.