Europe's AI Shift: From Hype to Real-World Execution

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-16

European AI is growing up. In August, new provisions of the EU AI Act took effect, including transparency requirements for AI interactions and certain AI-generated content. That means companies can't just talk about AI anymore—they have to build it responsibly. For startups, investors, and business leaders, the conversation is shifting from "what could AI do?" to "how do we actually deploy and scale it?" And it's not just about compliance. It's about how customers, partners, and employees want to use AI in their daily work. ### HumanX: Where AI Leaders Meet That's the backdrop for HumanX, a conference bringing over 2,500 AI leaders to Amsterdam from September 22-24. Founders, investors, and executives from across the global AI ecosystem will gather to tackle the hard questions. "Europe is having its moment with AI," says Stefan Weitz, co-founder and CEO of HumanX. "You'll have world-class founders building here, global companies deploying AI here, and a regulatory environment that's influencing how the technology develops far beyond Europe. It requires a platform that reflects that growing influence—not just a trade show with content sold to the highest bidder." What's Weitz most excited about? Not the keynotes, but the people in the room. "You'll have the founder building the technology sitting alongside the enterprise leader trying to deploy it and the investor deciding where the next wave of value will be created," he says. "With my investor hat on, I see these groups too often missing each other and making bad business decisions as a result. Bringing them together is where things get interesting." ### Speakers You Won't Want to Miss Next week's lineup includes: - Nikesh Arora (CEO, Palo Alto Networks) - Marjan Rintel (CEO, KLM) - May Habib (co-founder & CEO, Writer) - Fabian Hedin (co-founder & CTO, Lovable) - Jan Oberhauser (Founder & CEO, n8n) - Joelle Pineau (Chief AI Officer, Cohere) - Alex Kendall (co-founder & CEO, Wayve) - Susan Jones (CDO, Diageo) Plus investors like Nick Clegg (General Partner, Hiro Capital). ### Beyond the Typical Conference HumanX was created by the team behind Money20/20, Shoptalk, and HLTH, but its approach is deliberately different. Sessions are editorially chosen based on what industry, customer, and VC partners say are critical issues—not sold as sponsorships. The focus is on practical questions companies face when implementing AI. "The test for us is pretty simple," Weitz says. "Do you leave knowing something you can actually do differently on Monday? If you've spent three days at an AI conference and leave with lots of inspiration but no clearer idea what to do next, you've wasted your time and money—and we haven't done our job. Most other conferences just want you in a seat so they can sell bigger sponsorships." That's why HumanX runs differently. Sessions are curated and moderated by journalists, not VCs, and never sold. That independence makes any stage presence meaningful. There are also structured programs for 1:1 meetings, so connections aren't left to chance in an exhibition hall. ### Why This Matters for Your Business "We're at the point where AI strategy is your business strategy," Weitz says. "The gap between organizations experimenting with AI and those actually rebuilding around it is widening quickly. HumanX is about putting the people already doing that in the same room. If you aren't there, you're not just a few months behind—you're risking your own extinction." HumanX Amsterdam takes place at RAI Amsterdam from September 22-24. For more information, visit the official website (nofollow).