The 2026 Theme

David vs Goliath: how Europe's next giants will be built

Europe is at a turning point.

A new generation of founders and scaleups is competing with global incumbents. Not by copying them, but by building differently. More focused. More capital efficient. More deliberate.

At Sifted Summit 2026, we explore how today’s challengers out innovate, out manoeuvre and out grow the giants, and what it really takes to build enduring, globally competitive companies from Europe.

This year’s programme is designed for later-stage founders, operators and investors navigating real competitive pressure in an AI-first, regulation-heavy, capital-disciplined market.

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The 2026 Programme

Two stages. Operator-level depth. High-trust conversations.
Built for founders and scaleup leaders who are serious about competing.

Challenger Stage

Big conversations. Hard truths. Category-defining journeys.

For scaleup leaders, investors and founders thinking at European and global scale.

High-impact panels and interviews with the people shaping Europe’s competitive future, from breakout challengers to former Davids who became market leaders.

What to expect:

  • Fireside interviews with founders who scaled to £100m+ ARR and beyond
  • Strategic debates on AI concentration, regulation and Europe’s response
  • Candid conversations about IPOs, secondary markets and late-stage liquidity
  • Honest reflections on the emotional toll of building at scale
  • The relocation question: stay in Europe or move to the US?

Key takeaway:

Clarity on how giants are actually built in Europe. Grounded in actual experience, not theory.

Workshops

Practical. Closed-door. Immediately useful.

Expert-led sessions designed for later-stage startups and scaleups navigating complexity. Topics include:

  • How to find and keep the A players: hiring strategies for top scaleups
  • How to run a great secondary round
  • From founder to angel investor: How to cope with your amazing dealflow 
  • Thought leadership in the age of AI 

You’ll walk away with frameworks, tools and templates you can apply the next day.

Next Stage

For operators.
By operators. 

Candid, practical sessions built for the people scaling companies in real time.

Tactical, operator-first discussions designed to cut through noise and surface what is actually working inside Europe’s fastest-growing businesses.

What to expect:

Operator-led discussions on:

  • Hiring and retaining A-players in competitive markets
  • Using capital efficiency as a competitive weapon
  • AI in marketing, growth and internal operations
  • The myth of the “efficient” scaleup and where costs really hide
  • Protecting culture while scaling fast

Key takeaway:

Practical frameworks, operational clarity and proven tactics to scale intelligently, without losing focus, culture or momentum.

Roundtables

Off the record. Peer-level. High trust.

Curated founder, investor and operator built for honest exchange, not performance. Topics include:

  • Partnering with AI giants: compete or collaborate?
  • Surviving the emotional strain of scale
  • Europe’s regulatory landscape: threat or opportunity?
  • Founder transition moments: hear from  the founders who stepped aside and those who didn't

These sessions are designed for candour, nuance and serious conversation.

Built for Europe's Next Giants

Sifted Summit is for

Founders competing with incumbents
Operators scaling under pressure
Investors identifying asymmetric advantage
Policymakers and corporates shaping Europe’s competitive future

The focus is practical, strategic and ambitious

If the theme asks how today’s Davids become tomorrow’s Goliaths, the programme shows exactly what that journey looks like, on stage and in the room.

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