Zurich AI Festival 2026 — Trusted Intelligence

The Zurich AI Festival is the international technology festival of the Greater Zurich region. For six days, the festival brings together founders, investors, researchers, and tech leaders around the theme of trustworthy AI. Central to the discussion is the question: what is needed to trust AI in the systems that drive our society?

About the festival

The Zurich AI Festival is an initiative of the ETH AI Center and the Greater Zurich Area, in collaboration with the City of Zurich, the Canton of Zurich, and Zurich Tourismus. The 2025 edition attracted more than 6,500 participants from 80 countries, with 300 speakers and 26 events spread across 17 locations. The festival positions the Greater Zurich region as a global hub for ethical, impactful, and inclusive AI.

Program and content

The festival consists of more than 35 events spread over six days and multiple locations in the region. The four anchor events are: AI Meets Reality (September 28, Vitus Areal Winterthur), AI Policy Summit (September 29-30, ETH Zurich Main Campus), AI Environment Summit (September 30, Innovationspark Dübendorf), and the AI+X Summit (October 1, StageOne Oerlikon). In addition to these summits, there are workshops, public debates, and exclusive networking sessions. The theme for 2026 is Trusted Intelligence: how can AI systems be open, transparent, and accountable to society? This is particularly relevant because the EU AI Act enters full force in August 2026, just before the festival.

Who is the event for?

The festival is intended for AI developers and tech leaders, founders and investors, policymakers and government professionals, academics and researchers, and everyone who wants to help shape the future of trusted and responsible AI.

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