South Summit opens in Madrid with artificial intelligence at the centre of debate, as organisers, investors and politicians demand a competitive Europe that retains talent and startups.
Artificial intelligence has become much more than an emerging technology. For the leaders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem brought together 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 innovation and entrepreneurship gatherings, which from 3 to 5 June is bringing together more than 20,000 attendees, around 4,900 startups, over 2,000 investors and some 600 international speakers, according to the organisers.
Under the theme 'AI Convergence', the event’s fifteenth edition 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 urged Europe to remove the barriers that hold back the growth of start-ups.
"A startup born in Spain must be able to think of Europe as its natural home, not as 27 different borders", Benjumea said, warning that many companies are still forced to relocate to the United States in order to scale their businesses.
The head of the event also stressed the speed at which this technology is advancing. She pointed out that in barely three years artificial intelligence has gone from attracting 30% of global venture capital investment to 61%, a shift she described as "a paradigm change".
Spain highlights its commitment to digitalisation
The Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, Óscar López, used the opening of the gathering to defend Spain’s position in the digital economy.
"The OECD has just revised upwards and 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 fibre-optic coverage of more than 96% and almost 94% 5G coverage.
The minister added that Spain is the first EU country in the supervision and development of "trustworthy and open" artificial intelligence and highlighted that one million SMEs and self-employed workers have received support to go digital.
AI: from tool to business engine
The event’s organisers say that artificial intelligence should no longer be seen as a standalone technology, but as a cross-cutting element that is transforming entire industries.
Reflecting that focus, South Summit is launching this year the 'AI Forum', a new space created together with IE University that aims to help entrepreneurs and companies develop prototypes and business models based on artificial intelligence in just a few hours. "Artificial intelligence has radically shortened the distance between an idea and starting to build," Benjumea said. "It does not replace judgement or vision, but it does shorten timeframes 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 startups 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
Prominent participants at this year’s edition include former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta, the founder of Google X, Sebastian Thrun, and the co-founder of Female Invest, Anna Hartvigsen. King Felipe VI is also expected to attend, along with the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, and the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
The opening day also featured a speech by Kim Perell, an entrepreneur and investor from Silicon Valley who has been involved in more than a hundred startups. Perell advocated a pragmatic approach to entrepreneurship and argued 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".
