A one-day conference on artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and quantum computing, convened by the Italian computing systems company E4 Computer Engineering on 8 October 2026 at Spazio Field, Palazzo Brancaccio in Rome. It is the third edition and the first held outside Milan, built around plenary keynotes, thematic parallel sessions, a partner exhibition area and a poster session for research work.
AI, HPC and Quantum 2026, full title "AI, HPC and Quantum: Facing the Technological Challenge. Today", is a one-day business and technical conference organised by E4 Computer Engineering. It covers three named subject areas: artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and quantum computing. The 2026 edition runs on 8 October at Spazio Field inside Palazzo Brancaccio in Rome, the first time the conference has been held outside Milan after editions there in 2024 and 2025. The programme combines plenary keynotes, thematic parallel sessions, an exhibition area for partners and a poster session for research work, and is addressed to companies, universities and research centres, and to IT professionals, data scientists, managers and industry experts.
This is a three-subject conference, and the fiche is worth reading with that in mind. Quantum computing sits alongside artificial intelligence and high-performance computing rather than above them, and it was the last of the three to appear: the 2024 edition named only AI and HPC in its title, and quantum was added when the conference returned in 2025. Anyone looking for a full day of quantum hardware or algorithm content will find more of it at a single-subject event such as Munich Quantum Software Forum. What this conference offers instead is the adjacency: the same room hears about AI infrastructure, HPC procurement and quantum in one sitting, which is closer to how most enterprise and research computing budgets are actually argued over. AIDAQ in Berlin makes a comparable multi-topic bet on the German side.
| Edition | Year | City | Subjects named in the title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2024 | Milan | Artificial intelligence, high-performance computing |
| 2nd | 2025 | Milan | Artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, quantum computing |
| 3rd | 8 October 2026 | Rome | Artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, quantum computing |
The move from Milan to Rome for a third edition is the main structural change of 2026. Milan is Italy's corporate and industrial centre of gravity; Rome puts the conference closer to national government, public research institutions and the public administration bodies that the programme's digital sovereignty and data governance themes concern most directly. The organiser has not published a stated rationale for the move, so read the relocation as a signal rather than as a declared strategy.
The subject matter splits into three named core topics and a set of cross-cutting themes that run through them.
| Strand | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial intelligence | Core topic | In the conference title since the first edition in 2024 |
| High-performance computing | Core topic | In the conference title since the first edition in 2024 |
| Quantum computing | Core topic | Added to the conference title with the 2025 edition |
| Digital sovereignty | Cross-cutting theme | Announced as a programme theme for 2026 |
| Data governance | Cross-cutting theme | Announced as a programme theme for 2026 |
| AI infrastructure | Cross-cutting theme | Announced as a programme theme for 2026 |
| Energy and sustainability | Cross-cutting theme | Framed by the organiser as an energy challenge for computing |
The energy strand is the one that ties the three core topics together most tightly in practice: power draw is the constraint that AI training, HPC centre operation and, eventually, quantum system cooling all run into, and it is the theme that gives a mixed audience a common problem to discuss.
The day is built from four components, all on one site:
The organiser addresses the conference to two overlapping groups: institutions, meaning companies, universities and research centres, and individuals, meaning IT professionals, data scientists, managers and industry experts. That mix, technical practitioners plus the managers who sign for infrastructure, is the practical audience profile to expect. Scale is not disclosed by the organiser, and no attendance figure has been published for the previous Milan editions, so treat this as a national-scale one-day conference rather than an international gathering until the organiser says otherwise.
Partly. Quantum computing is one of three named subjects, alongside artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, and it is the most recent of the three to have been added to the conference title, which it entered with the 2025 edition. Expect a share of the programme rather than the whole of it.
E4 Computer Engineering, an Italian computing systems company. This is the company's own conference rather than an event run by a trade association or a commercial conference producer, which is worth knowing when reading the speaker list and the exhibition area.
It is smaller and shorter than most: one day, one city, three subjects, and a national rather than pan-European reach. AIDAQ in Berlin is the closest comparison in structure, also a multi-topic summit with a quantum pillar, while Munich Quantum Software Forum represents the single-subject alternative for anyone who wants depth over breadth.
Yes. The programme includes a poster session for research work. The submission procedure and deadline are not disclosed at research time and should be checked on the official event page.
Spazio Field is an event space within Palazzo Brancaccio, a late nineteenth century palace in central Rome near the Esquilino district. It is a historic-building conference venue rather than a purpose-built congress centre, which is consistent with a single-day event of moderate size holding plenary sessions, parallel tracks and a partner exhibition area on one site. Detailed access, transport and capacity information is not published on the event page at research time.
E4 Computer Engineering is an Italian company working in computing systems, with high-performance computing as its stated area. It has run this conference annually since 2024, first in Milan and now in Rome, as its own event. That matters for how the programme should be read: a company-convened conference sets its own agenda and invites its own partners, so the subject balance reflects one supplier's view of what its customers need to hear as much as it reflects the state of the field. Further corporate background is available on the company website and is not restated here.
A vendor-convened one-day meeting where quantum is the third item on the bill rather than the headline, which is exactly what makes it a readable signal on how Italian buyers are sequencing AI, HPC and quantum spending.
Registration is handled through the official event page on the organiser's website. Delegate pricing is not disclosed at research time, and neither is whether attendance is free, invitation-based or paid. Company-convened conferences of this type are often free to qualified attendees, but that has not been confirmed for this edition and should not be assumed. Check the official page for the registration form, any qualification criteria and the closing date.
Not disclosed at research time. No delegate rate, tier structure or free-attendance policy has been published for the 2026 edition on the official event page.
Not disclosed at research time. The conference is convened by an Italian company and held in Italy, so confirm the working language with the organiser if you need sessions in English.
No online or hybrid format has been announced. The event is listed as in-person, on one day, at a single Rome venue.
| Official event page | https://www.e4company.com/en/eventi/ai-hpc-quantum-facing-technology-challenge-2026/ |
| Organiser | https://www.e4company.com/ |
| Registration | Via the official event page; standalone registration URL not disclosed at research time |
| Programme | Not published at research time |
| Not disclosed at research time |