The RAISE Summit 2026, happening on 8–9 July 2026 in Paris, is set to bring together over 9,000 attendees, including top executives, founders, investors, and policymakers. This event focuses on turning AI concepts into real-world solutions by connecting funding, computational power, and policy. Key highlights include:
- Keynote Speakers: 350+ speakers from global AI leaders.
- Startup Competition: €5 million prize pool with over 1,100 applicants.
- Hackathon: €200,000 prize pool, attracting 7,000–8,000 developers.
- Networking Opportunities: Access to 2,000+ companies and exclusive side events.
The summit emphasizes practical AI applications across industries like healthcare, finance, logistics, and defense. Founders like Henri Delahaye and Jeremy Fraenkel are driving these advancements, alongside startups solving sector-specific challenges.
This year’s event promises to solidify Paris as a hub for AI innovation, fostering collaborations that deliver measurable outcomes.
RAISE Summit 2026 Key Statistics and Event Highlights
Henri Delahaye, RAISE Summit | theCUBE + NYSE Wired: Mixture of Expert - RAISE Summit 2026
Founders Attending RAISE Summit
The RAISE Summit 2026 is bringing together a remarkable group of founders - visionaries who are shaping the future of AI across industries. From the summit's co-creators to leaders in AI hardware, enterprise automation, and data-driven solutions, these individuals are united by their dedication to tackling large-scale challenges. Each founder brings a unique perspective, reflecting the summit's mission to drive meaningful AI advancements.
Henri Delahaye: Co-Founder of RAISE Summit
Henri Delahaye co-founded RAISE Summit with a focus on sovereign AI and enterprise-level implementation. His platform connects capital, compute resources, and policy, creating a space where builders, investors, and policymakers collaborate to achieve measurable results. Thanks to his efforts, Paris has become a hub for AI innovation, solidifying its reputation as the European Capital of AI. Delahaye’s leadership has been pivotal in advancing the summit's goal of turning AI potential into real-world impact.
Hadrien de Cournon: From Finance to AI Events
Hadrien de Cournon, another RAISE Summit co-founder, has been instrumental in expanding the event's scale and influence. Under his guidance, the summit has grown from hosting 110 speakers in 2024 to over 275 in 2025, with more than 350 expected in 2026. His focus on fostering partnerships and delivering measurable ROI has been key to this growth. As de Cournon puts it:
"Since our inaugural edition, RAISE has captured the imagination of the global AI community. The surge in interest from visionary speakers, world-class sponsors, and curious minds confirms what we've always believed: this is more than an event - it's a movement." [4]
His dedication to execution ensures the summit remains a platform for actionable AI solutions through strategic collaboration.
Jeremy Fraenkel: CEO of Fundamental
Jeremy Fraenkel is the CEO of Fundamental, a company focused on creating large tabular models tailored to healthcare and finance. These industries present unique challenges due to their reliance on structured data and strict regulations. Fraenkel’s work addresses these complexities, delivering targeted AI solutions where general-purpose models often fall short. His efforts align perfectly with the summit’s emphasis on sector-specific, practical applications of AI.
Jonathan Ross: Leading Groq's AI Hardware
Jonathan Ross, the CEO and Founder of Groq, is solving one of AI's biggest hurdles: high-speed inference hardware. Groq's scalable infrastructure is essential for deploying modern AI systems effectively. The company’s collaboration with Meta on the "RAISE Your Hack" hackathon highlights how hardware innovation can accelerate the development of cutting-edge AI applications. Ross’s contributions directly support the summit’s mission of enabling practical AI advancements.
Daniel Dines: UiPath and Enterprise Automation
Daniel Dines, the driving force behind UiPath, has revolutionized robotic process automation (RPA) by integrating it with modern AI. His work addresses the "ROI dilemma", helping enterprises transition from pilot projects to full-scale AI-driven operations. By showcasing how AI can enhance efficiency and deliver measurable results, Dines exemplifies the enterprise-focused initiatives at the heart of the RAISE Summit.
AI Projects and Industry Applications
AI Applications in Different Sectors
Entrepreneurs are bringing AI to life in industries where traditional approaches often fall short, reflecting the RAISE Summit's emphasis on practical solutions. In healthcare, Drill Surgeries has introduced ZAORY, a system that offers real-time surgical guidance for trauma operations. This innovation not only reduces procedure times but also minimizes radiation exposure. On another front, Bioptimus has launched H‑Optimus and M‑Optimus models, trained on billions of biological images. These tools have gained nearly 1 million downloads and are cited in approximately 100 scientific publications each year [5].
In finance and fintech, automation is addressing operational bottlenecks. Duna, for instance, has developed a global trust infrastructure that allows companies to reuse verified digital passports, simplifying customer onboarding. In April 2025, Mistral AI partnered with shipping giant CMA CGM in a €100 million deal, leveraging generative AI to enhance customer service and improve industrial workflows [8].
Manufacturing and logistics are also being reshaped by AI. Symbotic uses AI-powered robotics to automate warehouse operations, achieving an impressive 81.85% one-year stock return [6]. In materials science, altrove AI has raised €12 million to develop alternative magnets, mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities in critical components [5].
These examples showcase how founders are using AI to address specific challenges across industries.
Solving Practical Problems with AI
The focus on solving real-world problems aligns with RAISE Summit's mission of delivering actionable AI solutions. For instance, Biolevate automates evidence synthesis for R&D and regulatory compliance, while Entalpic designs catalysts aimed at reducing emissions in carbon-heavy industries [5].
In geospatial applications, FlyPix AI, led by CEO Dr. Sergey Sukhanov and CTO Dr. Dimitri Budylski, earned a Top 10 finalist spot in the 2025 RAISE the STAKES! competition. Their platform empowers non-programmers to train AI models for Earth observation, making a significant impact on construction and agricultural monitoring. FlyPix AI has also been recognized as one of the Global Top 100 Geospatial Companies [7]. Meanwhile, Ceres FieldCheck offers affordable robotic solutions to help smallholder farmers manage weeds and reduce pesticide use [7]. In defence, Harmattan AI has secured over €200 million in funding to develop autonomous, modular unmanned aerial systems for intelligence and reconnaissance missions, providing cost-effective solutions for challenging environments [5].
These projects highlight how RAISE Summit participants are turning innovation into measurable results.
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How RAISE Summit Founders Approach Success
At the RAISE Summit, founders leverage a structured framework to accelerate market-ready AI solutions. This event brings together critical elements like funding, computational resources, and policy support to turn experimental ideas into fully developed, operational projects [2].
Competitions and Hackathons at the Summit
The RAISE the STAKES competition has become a springboard for early-stage AI startups, offering a whopping €10 million in prizes and funding [10]. In 2025, over 1,500 startups applied, with an acceptance rate of less than 0.2%. Among the winners were Neuralk AI (CEO Alexandre Pasquiou), Hirundo (CEO Ben Luria), and pyannoteAI (CEO Vincent Molina), who pitched their projects to a high-profile jury featuring representatives from Sequoia Capital, Nvidia, and OpenAI [10]. To qualify, startups must have at least two co-founders and less than €10 million in prior funding [10].
The summit also hosts a 24-hour global hackathon, offering a €200,000 prize pool and drawing participation from 8,000 developers [1]. This intense format challenges teams to prototype AI solutions quickly, bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and practical applications. For the 2026 edition, applications close on 1 June, with the Top 100 announced on 10 June, and finalist pitches scheduled for 8 July [10].
Beyond these high-stakes competitions, the summit fosters an environment where meaningful collaborations can flourish.
Building Connections at the Event
The RAISE Summit goes beyond competitions by creating direct pathways for founders to connect with influential decision-makers. With over 9,000 attendees - 80% of whom are C-level executives or founders - the event provides unparalleled access to leaders who manage budgets and shape strategic initiatives [1]. These interactions often lead to partnerships that drive forward impactful AI projects.
A dedicated networking app, available to PRO and VIP ticket holders, allows attendees to schedule meetings with representatives from over 2,000 companies [3]. Additionally, the Side Events Week offers exclusive opportunities for deeper connections through dinners, workshops, and meetups, fostering collaborations in a more relaxed and personal setting [1].
"Amazing people, great vibe, and it is something Europe needs badly. We need everyone to get together in Europe more often and focus on how we can accelerate AI."
– Mike Mattacola, GM, International, Coreweave [1]
For VIP attendees, the summit offers access to detailed industry reports, startup pitch decks, and developer profiles - valuable tools for making informed investment and partnership decisions [3]. On 7 July 2026, the Machina Summit will provide a focused platform for founders working on robotics and autonomous systems, offering a tailored environment to explore these specialized AI applications [9].
Conclusion
RAISE Summit founders are showing how AI can move from abstract concepts to real-world applications. For instance, Arthur Mensch's Mistral AI hit a valuation of €12 billion in September 2025 after securing a €2 billion investment round. This milestone highlights Europe's growing presence in foundational model development, positioning it as a serious contender on the global stage [8]. Leaders like Jonathan Ross and Daniel Dines further illustrate the summit's tangible influence [1].
While established names underline the summit's credibility, emerging entrepreneurs are introducing fresh solutions. In July 2025, Dr. Sergey Sukhanov's FlyPix AI stood out as the only German startup in the Top 10 of the "RAISE the STAKES!" competition. FlyPix AI introduced a geospatial platform that allows non-technical users to analyze satellite imagery for applications in infrastructure and agriculture [7]. Similarly, Cécile Dupont's BrightHeart made waves by raising €11 million in January 2026. The company achieved this after receiving five FDA approvals for its prenatal ultrasound platform, which detects foetal heart malformations in real time [12].
The summit's ecosystem - combining funding, computational resources, and policy backing - has been key to accelerating innovation. In 2025 alone, AI and machine learning startups accounted for 62.5% of all French startup funding, amounting to €5.18 billion. Additionally, France allocated €2.5 billion for AI development as part of its "France 2030" initiative [12][11].
This strong foundation sets the stage for the next RAISE Summit. Scheduled for 8–9 July 2026 at Le Carrousel du Louvre, the event is expected to draw over 9,000 attendees [1]. With competitions offering prize pools exceeding €10 million [10], the summit is driving the development of technologies that will shape the industries of the future.
FAQs
What are the key objectives of the RAISE Summit 2026?
The RAISE Summit 2026 is set to become a key meeting ground for AI pioneers and decision-makers, uniting founders, investors, executives, and policymakers from across the globe. The event focuses on three main goals: building high-level networks, advancing enterprise AI adoption, and showcasing measurable returns on investment.
One of the standout features of this summit is the exclusive CxO Summit, tailored to spark meaningful partnerships and deliver practical results. Whether it's launching pilot programs or rolling out enterprise AI solutions, this segment of the event is designed to drive real progress. Attendees can expect curated sessions, access to private lounges, and advanced matchmaking tools to foster impactful collaborations and groundbreaking initiatives.
By bringing together global visionaries and experts, the RAISE Summit 2026 aims to fast-track the creation of AI solutions that tackle pressing challenges and shape the technological landscape across industries.
What advantages do startups gain by joining the RAISE Summit?
Startups joining the RAISE Summit gain access to a global audience of investors, industry experts, and potential partners. This high-profile event is a chance to present their cutting-edge AI projects, engage with influential decision-makers, and explore opportunities for funding and growth.
Participating in events like the "Raise the Stakes" AI startup challenge offers startups the chance to earn recognition, mentorship, and funding prospects. These competitions are crafted to spotlight emerging companies and build connections with major players in the AI field. Beyond that, the summit features workshops, panels, and networking sessions that dive into the latest trends and strategies, making it a prime opportunity for new AI ventures to gain traction.
What are some key AI innovations showcased at the RAISE Summit?
The RAISE Summit showcases cutting-edge AI applications that are reshaping industries and tackling pressing challenges. Among the highlights are geospatial AI solutions that are transforming mapping and location-based services, AI-powered healthcare tools such as advanced prenatal ultrasound systems, and AI-driven platforms that streamline tasks like managing home insurance.
These developments illustrate how AI is being used in diverse ways - from refining healthcare diagnostics to boosting efficiency in sectors like insurance. The summit provides a window into how these technologies are addressing current demands while paving the way for the future.
