South Summit opens in Madrid with debate centred on AI, as organisers, investors and politicians call for a more competitive Europe that retains talent and startups.
Artificial intelligence has become much more than an emerging technology. For leaders of the start-up ecosystem gathered in Madrid this week, it represents an economic opportunity that could redefine Europe’s role in the global economy.
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That was one of the key messages at the opening of South Summit 2026 (source in Spanish), one of Europe’s largest international gatherings on innovation and entrepreneurship, which from 3 to 5 June is bringing together more than 20,000 attendees, nearly 4,900 start-ups, over 2,000 investors and around 600 international speakers, according to the organisers.
Under the motto 'AI Convergence', the fifteenth edition of the event, co-organised by IE University, puts artificial intelligence at the heart of the debate on Europe’s economic and technological future. South Summit’s president and founder, María Benjumea, argued at the opening that "Artificial intelligence is not a threat but a tool for growth and improvement" and called on Europe to remove the barriers that hinder the growth of start-ups.
"A start-up born in Spain should be able to see Europe as its natural home, not as 27 different borders", Benjumea said, warning that many companies still feel compelled to relocate to the United States in order to scale their businesses.
She also underlined the speed at which this technology is advancing. In barely three years, she noted, artificial intelligence has gone from attracting 30% of global venture capital investment to 61%, a trend she described as "a paradigm shift".
Spain highlights its commitment to digital transformation
Spain’s Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, Óscar López, used the opening of the event to defend the country’s position in the digital economy.
"The OECD has just revised upwards the growth forecast for Spain from 2.1% to 2.2%. That is no coincidence: it is the result of a national commitment to digital and green transformation," he said. López also stressed that Spain has allocated 1.5 billion euros to its national artificial intelligence strategy and said the country has some of the most advanced digital infrastructure in Europe, with more than 96% fibre-optic coverage and almost 94% 5G coverage.
The minister added that Spain is the first European Union country in the supervision and development of "trustworthy and open" artificial intelligence, and pointed out that one million SMEs and self-employed workers have received support to digitalise.
AI: from tool to business engine
The organisers of the event say that artificial intelligence should no longer be understood as an isolated technology, but as a cross-cutting element that is transforming entire industries.
Reflecting that focus, South Summit is launching the 'AI Forum' this year, a new space developed together with IE University that aims to help entrepreneurs and companies develop prototypes and business models supported by artificial intelligence in just a few hours. "Artificial intelligence has radically shortened the distance between having an idea and starting to build," Benjumea said. "It does not replace judgement or vision, but it does speed up timelines and turns an idea into something tangible."
The dean of IE Business School, Lee Newman, agreed that AI is changing the rules of the game for start-ups by allowing small teams to operate with capabilities that were previously reserved for much larger organisations. "The question is no longer whether it is possible, but how far they want to go", he said.
Global leaders in Madrid
Notable participants at this year’s edition include former Italian Prime Minister and current Dean of IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, Enrico Letta; Google X Founder Sebastian Thrun; and Female Invest co-founder Anna Hartvigsen.
King Felipe VI is also expected to take part, as well as Madrid’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, and the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
The opening day also featured an address by Kim Perell, an entrepreneur and investor from Silicon Valley who has been involved in more than a hundred start-ups. Perell advocated a pragmatic view of entrepreneurship, insisting that "starting a business is not about having a great idea, but about the discipline to execute and move forward even when you do not have all the answers".
