The EU AI Champions Initiative's invitation-only working forum for senior European manufacturing executives: 150 decision-makers from Siemens, BASF, Volkswagen and peer industrial groups meet for one day in Munich to advance practical AI deployment in European industry, without keynote presentations.
Industrial AI Summit Munich is a one-day invitation-only forum for senior executives from European manufacturing, automotive, chemicals and logistics companies, organised by SPREAD AI, EthonAI and Pelico under the EU AI Champions Initiative. The event is structured as a working session rather than a conference: no slide decks, no external speakers presenting commercial products, and no public ticket. Participants are selected from the chief executive, chief operating and chief digital officer tier of European industrial groups, plus MEPs and European Commission officials engaged in AI policy, and a small group of AI researchers and investors. The 2026 edition is held on October 8 at the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk in Munich.
The industrial AI adoption curve in European manufacturing has a specific bottleneck: the gap between awareness (every major European industrial group has an AI strategy) and deployment at scale (operational AI in production, not in pilot). The argument for an invitation-only working forum is that this gap is not addressable through conference content. It requires peer-to-peer conversation between the people who own the decision, in a setting where they can speak candidly about what is not working, what barriers exist (regulatory, technical, organisational, workforce), and what approaches other companies at comparable scale have found effective.
The Industrial AI Summit Munich is designed to hold that conversation. The EU AI Champions Initiative provides the pre-existing trust network that makes it possible to assemble a room of 150 CxOs from competing industrial groups and have them discuss implementation failures as openly as successes.
Confirmed themes for 2026 include: the implementation gap between pilot and production deployment of AI in manufacturing; trustworthy AI and the requirements of the EU AI Act for industrial use cases; AI in supply chain management and demand forecasting; computer vision in quality inspection; AI governance frameworks for large industrial groups; and the EU industrial competitiveness agenda in the context of global AI investment flows. The programme is structured as facilitated working sessions, Q&A rounds and structured peer-exchange formats, not panels or presentations.
Notable confirmed participants include Eva Maydell (Member of the European Parliament), Sarah Engel (Head of AI, TRUMPF), Julian Senoner (CEO, EthonAI) and Jonathan Gabbai (CEO, Pelico). The full participant list is not publicly released ahead of the event; disclosure is subject to participant consent.
SPREAD AI is a Munich-based industrial AI software company focused on AI applications for manufacturing operations, founded in 2019. EthonAI is a Swiss AI company specialising in quality inspection and process optimisation for manufacturing, led by Julian Senoner. Pelico is a Paris-based operations intelligence platform for manufacturing, led by Jonathan Gabbai. The three companies jointly organise the Industrial AI Summit Munich under the framework of the EU AI Champions Initiative, an industry-led programme to accelerate responsible AI adoption in European industry.
The Bergson Kunstkraftwerk is a converted event venue in the Laim district of Munich, offering adaptable spaces for private events, working sessions and summits. The venue's industrial aesthetic is consistent with the event's manufacturing-sector audience. Munich city centre is accessible by S-Bahn and U-Bahn; Munich International Airport is approximately 40 kilometres from the venue.
The EU AI Champions Initiative is an industry-led initiative to accelerate responsible AI deployment in European industry. It involves major European industrial groups committing to concrete AI adoption targets and sharing implementation experience, supported by policy-level engagement with EU institutions. The Industrial AI Summit Munich functions as the principal working forum for the initiative's manufacturing track.
No. The Industrial AI Summit Munich is a specific event organised by SPREAD AI, EthonAI and Pelico under the EU AI Champions Initiative and is distinct from other events that may use similar naming. Verification should use the official website at start.spread.ai/industrial-ai-summit.
Not through the standard process. The event is invitation-only and participant selection is controlled by the organisers. Researchers and investors attend on the basis of an invitation extended by the organisation rather than through a public application. AI policy professionals connected to EU institutions may enquire through the EU AI Champions Initiative contact channels.
Invitation-only working forum for 150 senior European manufacturing executives under the EU AI Champions Initiative: one day in Munich to close the gap between AI strategy and AI deployment at scale.
Industrial AI Summit Munich is invitation-only. There is no public registration or ticket purchase. Contact the organising team through start.spread.ai/industrial-ai-summit or via SPREAD AI's LinkedIn page to express interest. Selection is at the discretion of the organisers.
October 8, 2026, at the Bergson Kunstkraftwerk, Munich, Germany. The event is a single day.
No. The invitation-only format and the candid-conversation premise are incompatible with live streaming or public broadcast.
Contact SPREAD AI directly through their official website or LinkedIn page. The selection process prioritises CxO-level participants from major European industrial groups, EU policy officials and a small number of researchers with active industrial deployment programmes.
| Official website | https://start.spread.ai/industrial-ai-summit |
| SPREAD AI (organiser) | https://spread.ai |
| https://www.linkedin.com/company/spread-ai/ | |
| EthonAI (co-organiser) | https://ethon.ai |
| Pelico (co-organiser) | https://pelico.com |