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From Challenger to Champion: how Europe’s next giants are built

For the past decade, the story of tech has felt predictable.

Big Tech set the pace. US hyperscalers dictated the infrastructure. Platform monopolies controlled distribution. AI breakthroughs were concentrated in a handful of global players.

Europe built strong companies. But too often, the narrative positioned them as challengers in someone else’s arena.

That moment is shifting.

Across the continent, a new generation of founders is emerging. More deliberate. More capital efficient. More focused. Building vertical by vertical. Category by category. Not chasing scale for its own sake, but building businesses designed to endure.

The question is no longer whether Europe can produce globally significant companies. It’s how those companies are built.

That is the theme of this year’s Sifted Summit.
 

Because the European tech ecosystem is at an inflection point.

AI has dramatically lowered barriers to entry. Regulation is reshaping competitive dynamics. Capital efficiency is back in focus. Vertical SaaS and deeptech are outperforming broad platforms. And European founders are building differently. Strategically, not just aggressively.

For founders and operators, the challenge is no longer gaining traction. It is building companies that can sustain growth, compete internationally and hold their position over time.

Moving from challenger to champion requires clarity on where advantage comes from, how it is maintained and how it scales with the business.

These are the questions that define the current moment.

The shift from challenger to champion changes what success looks like.

It requires companies to move beyond speed alone and invest in the systems that support long-term growth. It places greater emphasis on defensibility, on strategic positioning and on the ability to operate effectively in complex markets. It also brings new pressures, from managing larger teams to navigating regulatory environments and maintaining performance at scale.

For many companies, this is the stage where early advantages are tested.

Understanding how to navigate that transition is critical for founders, operators and investors alike.

Sifted Summit brings those perspectives together in one place, grounded in real experience from companies that are actively scaling.

This year’s programme is built around three core pillars:

How challengers are rewriting the rules.

• AI-native companies vs legacy software

• Deeptech and vertical SaaS breaking category conventions

• Building product moats in a commoditised tech stack
   

Sessions will tackle questions like:

• How to build defensibility when Big Tech can copy you

• The AI-native company playbook

• Where real product moats are emerging in an AI-first world
   

How to compete intelligently in Europe.

• Regulatory arbitrage as strategy

• GTM models that beat incumbents

• Capital efficiency as a competitive weapon

Expect candid debates on:

• AI concentration risk and Europe’s strategic response

• Stick or twist: build in Europe or relocate to the US?

• Using structure, speed and focus to outplay larger competitors
   

How challengers become category leaders without losing their edge.

• Scaling culture without stagnation

• From Series A to public markets

• New liquidity models, secondaries and IPO pathways

Including the uncomfortable question: How do you scale without becoming the big tech competitor you once fought?

The Sifted Summit 2026 speaker lineup will reflect different stages of the journey from challenger to champion.

The Challengers
Breakout founders actively competing with incumbents. Leaders who’ve crossed £100m+ ARR and are operating on a global stage.

The former Challengers, now Champions
European founders who built category-defining companies. Reflecting honestly on what changes at scale, and how to avoid stagnation once insurgency becomes incumbency.

The strategists
Investors, policymakers and ecosystem leaders shaping capital flows, AI concentration dynamics and regulatory change.

This year’s theme is a framework for understanding how Europe builds its next generation of giants. Deliberately, strategically and on its own terms.

And this year, that conversation moves from theory to action.

Registration for Sifted Summit is officially open - secure your ticket at the best available rate today.