· VIENNA
Future Forward 2026 is a one-day innovation and tech conference in Vienna on for CEOs, founders, investors and corporate innovation teams.
Austria's most impactful innovation conference.
weXelerate Innovation Hub · Praterstraße 1, 1020 Vienna · Held in English
FF25: 899 attendees · 40% CEOs & founders · 42 nations
The future is uncertain. Let's navigate it together. One day to change the trajectory of your business.
Future Forward is Austria's cross-industry innovation conference, organised by weXelerate since 2023. On one day at the weXelerate Innovation Hub you get main stage keynotes, deep dive tracks on AI, quantum, energy and finance, 40 live startup pitches, an Innovation Expo and curated investor matchmaking. It is the business conference in Austria where CEOs, founders, investors and corporate teams meet, and a networking event in Vienna that runs into the afterparty.
Meet attendees, book 1:1s and get your personal agenda before you arrive.
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+Shimrit MamanH.E. Ingrīda LevrenceEmily Kate GenatowskiAwi LifshitzYour entry to Future Forward 2026. Choose your ticket type today.
What past participants had to say
“THE event of the year in Vienna […] I was, and it was NEXT LEVEL.”Esmeralda TopuziRead post ↗
“Always Worth It. What keeps bringing me back each year is the rare mix it creates.”Alida StrandjRead post ↗
“Packed with amazing content & speakers, thought-provoking discussions, and a highly engaged audience.”Stefan WinklerRead post ↗
Everything about the day, in one place.
Your day, hour by hour: Thursday, , 09:00 until open end. Pick your path through it.
Swipe to see the full day →
Pre-Event · 25 November 2026 · SO/ Vienna
The evening before Future Forward. An exclusive dinner for speakers and personally invited guests.
Find your way around the Hub. Every stage and track on four floors, colour-matched to the signs on site.
Three tracks. One special. Parallel sessions from 11:15 to 16:00.
Track 01
Hosted by AI Austria
AI moves into action. AI agents executing business processes, radically lean companies, robotics and intelligent industrial systems: a new generation of businesses is taking shape.
Track 02
Who owns the power and the grid? Energy prices and data centres are reshaping what your business pays and where it can grow. Who owns the payment rails? The digital euro and Europe's new money change how you pay, hold and move value.
Track 03
Europe missed the lead in AI. In quantum, it still has one. No formulas, no vendor pitches: what is real today and where research and industry need to work together now.
Quantum scientists join free via Qubit Founders.
Special Track
Breaking down risk silos. Climate, cyber, people, supply chain and operational risk, managed as one: a common risk intelligence layer across functions.
The first voices are in. More keynotes and a panel to be announced.
Keynote
Head of the Israel Space Agency
Dr. Shimrit Tirosh Maman became the first woman to chair the Israel Space Agency in 2025. A senior scientist at Ben-Gurion University, she led the UN-SPIDER regional office for space-based disaster response, represented Israel at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and founded SheSpace, an international program for women in space science.
Opening & Welcome
Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia to Austria
Latvia's ambassador in Vienna since 2025, also accredited to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Slovakia. A diplomat since 1991, she served as ambassador to Georgia and as Under-Secretary of State for European Affairs before her posting to Austria.
Speaker
AI Researcher, University of Vienna
Emily lives with a humanoid robot as part of her research on human and AI integration. A former Googler at Google Arts & Culture with degrees from Harvard and Columbia, she built one of the first university courses on large language models in humanities research and spoke at TEDAI Vienna about her year with a robot roommate.
Opening & Welcome
CEO, weXelerate
Awi leads weXelerate, the Vienna innovation hub behind Future Forward, and has been part of its leadership since the hub was founded. From the hub he connects corporates, startups and investors across Austria's innovation ecosystem.
Keynotes & Panel
Announced soon
2025 Speaker
Founder & CEO, Sirolli Institute
Ernesto created Enterprise Facilitation, a method that helps communities grow local businesses by listening to the people who start them. His TED talk "Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!" has become one of the most watched talks on entrepreneurship.
2025 Speaker
Alpine Ski Champion & Entrepreneur
One of Austria's most successful skiers. Benni won two Olympic gold medals in Turin 2006 and the overall World Cup title in the same season, and brings that mindset of performance under pressure to business.
2024 Speaker
Google Cloud Germany
Ranja brought the Google Cloud perspective to the Future Forward stage, sharing how companies put cloud and AI to work.
2024 Speaker
Conductor & Violinist
Born in Tokyo and raised in Vienna, Joji won the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in 1989 and later studied conducting with Lorin Maazel. He has led orchestras across Europe and Japan and is known as an entrepreneur behind new, innovative projects.
2023 Speaker
Founder, ServiceSpace
Nipun founded ServiceSpace, a global volunteer network built on the gift economy, and started projects like Karma Kitchen, where your meal is paid for by the guest before you. He served on the US President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
2025 Speaker
Author & Storytelling Expert
Markus is an author and storytelling expert who shows how leaders and brands win attention with stories people want to repeat.
What happens beyond the stages.
215 curated 1:1 meetings
Set your goals in the b2match app and book your meetings before you arrive. You walk in with a schedule, not a hope. Included with Founder, Full-Day and VIP tickets.
Book meetings →
40 live startup pitches
40 startups pitch live to the room, 5 minutes each. Expo startups get a shot at the stage.
Apply as a startup →
38 expo booths
Walk the Innovation Expo and meet the startups and partners behind each booth, face to face.
Live podcast studio
brutkasten records live episodes through the day, right inside the Hub.
G1 Unitree humanoid robot
A G1 humanoid robot by Unitree moves through the room. Say hello and see physical AI up close.
Speaker lounge
The lounge for speakers and VIP ticket holders, with food and drinks included for VIPs. Access with a VIP badge.
Get a VIP ticket →
Food truck networking lunch
Lunch comes from the food trucks on the ground floor. Grab a plate and keep the conversation going.
Afterparty act
The act stays secret until the night. Included with Full-Day and VIP tickets, or join with a €29 Party-Only ticket.
Get your ticket →The people who shape tomorrow, in one room.
The 2025 room, by the numbers
Based on analysis of unique participant roles from Future Forward 2025.
"Where the 40% who decide meet the 30% who build."
Who makes FF26 possible.
Five ways to become part of the event. Help shape the day, not just attend it.
Two ways to take part. Applications are open until 20 October 2026. Pick one or do both.
Pitch live to investors and corporate decision-makers in one room.
Demo your product all day to 1,000+ attendees. 40% are CEOs or founders.
Put your brand at the heart of Austrian innovation. At Future Forward 2025, 40% of attendees were CEOs and founders and another 23.5% were in management and director roles, from 42 nations.
Share your expertise with 1,000+ innovation leaders. We're looking for bold, original voices to join our speaker line-up. No sales pitches, only genuine insight on the topics reshaping business, technology and society.
Be part of the crew and help us run the mission. Volunteers are the backbone of Future Forward: you work behind the scenes of Austria's cross-industry innovation conference and build a network before your career even starts. Apply by 2 November 2026.
Cover the future. Future Forward is Austria's cross-industry innovation conference. Get accredited press access, a media kit and direct interview opportunities with our speakers and startups.
Tell your network you're going. Your personal #FF26 visual, ready to post in two clicks.
Add your photo and it lands in the official Future Forward frame. Post it and the people who trust you know where to find you on 26 November.
Your face
Ready to post
Scan toYour questions, answered. Everything you need to know before you arrive.
Future Forward is Austria's cross-industry innovation conference: a one-day event in Vienna that brings together CEOs, startup founders, investors, corporates and innovators from around the world. 2026 is the 4th edition, held on 26 November 2026 at the weXelerate Innovation Hub.
Future Forward 2026 takes place on Thursday, 26 November 2026 at the weXelerate Innovation Hub, Praterstraße 1, 1020 Vienna, Austria. Doors open at 09:00. The afterparty runs until open end.
All talks, panels, pitches and matchmaking at Future Forward 2026 are in English. The conference brings together attendees from 40+ nations.
Yes. Future Forward 2026 is an innovation and tech conference in Vienna with a business focus. The deep dive tracks cover agentic and physical AI, quantum technologies, sovereign energy and finance, and strategic resilience, and a G1 humanoid robot by Unitree is on the floor all day. In 2025, electronics, IoT and AI was the largest sector in the room, with 28% of attendees.
Yes, but not a startup-only one. Future Forward is a startup event in Vienna where startups meet the companies and investors they want to work with: in 2025, 30.5% of organisations were startups and scale-ups, 31.5% established companies and the rest enablers such as consultants, investors, research and the public sector. Startups pitch live in the Startup Arena, exhibit at the Innovation Expo and book 1:1 meetings.
Track 01, Agentic & Physical AI, is hosted by AI Austria and covers AI agents that execute business processes, radically lean companies, robotics and intelligent industrial systems. Speaker Emily Kate Genatowski, an AI researcher at the University of Vienna, researches human and AI integration. If you are looking for an AI conference in Vienna with a business focus, start with this track. Sessions will be announced soon.
Through live pitches and investor matchmaking. 40 selected startups pitch live in the Startup Arena, 5 minutes each. Founder, Full-Day and VIP tickets include curated 1:1 matchmaking via b2match: you set your goals in the app, get suggested matches and book meetings before the event, from 11:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 16:00. In 2025, attendees held 215 curated 1:1 meetings.
Founder Ticket €79 (founders of companies max. 2 years old), Full-Day Ticket €269, VIP Ticket €499 (limited to 20 spots) and Party-Only Ticket €29. Founder and Full-Day prices go up on 28 October 2026. Tickets are sold via b2match.
All tickets include access to the main stage, workshops and Innovation Expo. Founder, Full-Day and VIP tickets include matchmaking sessions. Full-Day and VIP tickets also include the afterparty. The VIP Ticket adds VIP Lounge access with food and drinks and the opportunity to meet executives, speakers and other inspiring people. See the Tickets section for full details.
Matchmaking is powered by b2match. After registering, you complete a profile with your goals. The algorithm suggests relevant matches, you confirm meetings, and a personal schedule is generated. In 2025, attendees held 215 curated one-on-one meetings in dedicated matchmaking zones.
Yes. Future Forward runs on b2match, and the app comes with every ticket type. Download b2match on the App Store or on Google Play and sign in with the email you used to register. You can also use it in your browser.
Before the event: browse the attendee list, send messages and book 1:1 meetings weeks ahead. AI-based suggestions surface the most relevant investors, founders and partners from 1,000+ attendees based on your profile and goals.
Your personal agenda: confirmed meetings and sessions in one live schedule, with push reminders and updates on the day.
On site: scan the personal QR code of anyone you meet to save their contact, then export your contacts after the event.
Matchmaking: curated 1:1 meetings are part of Founder, Full-Day and VIP tickets. In 2025, attendees held 215 of them.
Please note that refunds are not available once a ticket has been purchased. However, if you are unable to attend, you have the option to transfer your ticket to another person. For instructions on how to initiate a transfer, please refer to the question below. We encourage you to review all event details carefully before purchasing, as this policy helps us ensure a consistent and high-quality experience for all participants. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Yes, tickets are transferable. If you are unable to attend, you can transfer your ticket to someone else. Please contact us at event@futureforward.at with the new attendee's details (first name, last name, and email) at least 48 hours before the event.
Send a note to event@futureforward.at and our partnerships team will share the media kit and package overview. We build a custom package for each partner; there are no off-the-shelf sponsorships.
Applications for the Startup Pitching Arena and the Innovation Expo are open until 20 October 2026. We select 40 startups for live 5-minute pitches. Apply via the Get Involved section. Startups must be incorporated and have a working product or MVP.
Yes. The Future Forward Afterparty starts at 18:00 and runs until open end, with a secret act still to be revealed. Live DJ, open bar and the best conversations of the day. Included with Full-Day and VIP tickets. Party-Only tickets are available for €29.
Future Forward takes place at the weXelerate Innovation Hub, Praterstraße 1, 1020 Vienna: about 10,000 m² in the heart of Vienna, home to 200+ startups, corporates and innovation teams. For one day, Future Forward takes over the entire building.
U-Bahn: U1 & U4 to Schwedenplatz, 5 min walk
Tram: Lines 1, 2 & O, stop Schwedenplatz / Praterstraße
Bus: Lines 2A & 3A stop nearby
From the airport: CAT or S7 to Wien Mitte, then U4 to Schwedenplatz, about 25 min
Bike: Parking available on site
See the map ↓
Future Forward is organised by weXelerate GmbH, an Austrian startup accelerator and innovation hub in Vienna's 2nd district. weXelerate is home to 200+ startups and corporates and has been part of Austria's innovation ecosystem since 2017.
More questions? event@futureforward.at