First confirmed speakers: global leaders at the origin of what’s next

The next cycle of technology starts to take shape.

On October 21-22, VDS 2026 will once again bring together founders, investors, corporates, scientists, athletes and technology leaders building what comes next. Held at the iconic City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, this ninth edition will take place under the concept GENESIS. Origin of What’s Next, a claim that captures a defining moment for the decade ahead: intelligence is becoming infrastructure, deep technologies are moving from experimentation to deployment, and the future will be shaped by those able to connect ideas, capital and execution at global scale.

The first confirmed speakers already reflect that ambition. More than 70 international voices have joined the VDS 2026 speakers lineup, bringing perspectives from elite sport, space tech, artificial intelligence, SaaS, EdTech, venture capital, fintech, defence, wellness, robotics and global entrepreneurship.

 

The first name in this new wave is Víctor Claver, former NBA player, 2019 FIBA World Champion with Spain, two-time Olympic medallist and one of the key figures of Spanish basketball’s golden generation. Born in Valencia and developed through Valencia Basket before competing with the Portland Trail Blazers, FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team, Claver brings to VDS a perspective that goes far beyond sport. His career speaks about elite performance, pressure, leadership and reinvention. Now connected to the startup ecosystem as an investor, and with experience as a DAZN analyst, he represents one of the most powerful bridges between high-performance sport, innovation and the future of athletes’ careers.

Space exploration and Earth intelligence will be represented by Carmen Köhler, analogue astronaut at the Austrian Space Forum and founder and CEO of P3R GmbH. Her story is one of the most inspiring in the programme: from training as a hairdresser to earning a PhD in Physics and becoming a leading voice in space exploration, artificial intelligence and Earth observation. Her work connects analogue space missions, satellite imagery, meteorological software and wildfire prevention, showing how frontier technologies can help protect life on Earth.

From the SaaS world, VDS 2026 will welcome Chris Cunningham, cofounder and Head of Marketing at ClickUp, one of the fastest-growing productivity platforms globally. ClickUp has reached a valuation of more than $4 billion, scaled to over 1,000 employees and become a serious competitor to platforms such as Asana, Monday.com and Notion. Cunningham’s work has helped turn content, community and product-led growth into a global growth engine, with campaigns capable of reaching billions of impressions and building one of the most recognisable brands in B2B software.

Artificial intelligence will be central to the GENESIS narrative, and Linda Hong Cheng, founder and CEO of Lychee Labs, brings one of the clearest signals of that shift. Lychee Labs is an Oxford-born AI lab building adaptive intelligence systems for high-stakes, mission-critical environments where decisions must be made under uncertainty. Cheng combines an elite academic foundation as a Clarendon Scholar at Oxford and AI research fellow at Columbia University with a founder’s ability to turn advanced research into real-world systems. Featured by the BBC and published across leading research environments including ICLR, her work moves AI beyond static prediction models towards adaptive, real-time decision-making, one of the frontiers that will define how intelligence becomes infrastructure.

Education, AI and global scale will come together with Dmytro Voloshyn, cofounder and CTO of Preply, one of Europe’s standout EdTech companies. Preply has reached unicorn status and built one of the world’s largest language learning platforms, connecting millions of learners with tutors across more than 180 countries. By combining human tutors, data and artificial intelligence, the company is redefining how personalised education can scale globally. Voloshyn’s profile reflects a key idea behind VDS 2026: the next phase of technology will not be defined only by automation, but by the capacity to amplify human potential.

The founder perspective will also be represented by Nikiara Purmambietova, founder and CEO of ModestBeauty, a global marketplace dedicated to modest fashion. Her trajectory connects SaaS, global marketplaces and strategic consulting for early-stage startups, with experience working with major brands such as Metro C&C, Coca-Cola, P&G and Colgate-Palmolive. She brings the voice of a new generation of entrepreneurs focused on product, purpose, international ambition and scalable business models.

Capital will play a decisive role in this new technological cycle, and Jacky Abitbol, Managing Partner at Cathay Innovation, will bring a global investment perspective to VDS 2026. Based in Paris, Abitbol leads investment activity across Europe and Latin America and has participated in more than 40 investments, including companies such as Glovo, Owkin, Ledger, Nabla, AQEMIA and Flowdesk. His focus on AI, digital health, fintech and deep tech connects directly with the areas defining the next generation of European startups.

Defence, dual-use technologies and technological sovereignty will be part of the conversation with Teemu Seppälä, Technology and Innovation Director at DEFINE Finland. With more than 25 years of global innovation leadership and experience across more than 40 countries, Seppälä works at the intersection of startups, industry, government and defence end users. His participation reinforces one of the strategic dimensions of VDS 2026: how Europe can build resilient systems, critical infrastructure and competitive deep tech ecosystems in a world shaped by acceleration and geopolitical complexity.

The investment ecosystem will also include Zoe Peden, Partner at Ananda Impact Ventures, one of the European funds focused on companies capable of combining venture-scale growth with measurable impact. Her presence strengthens the role of VDS as a meeting point for capital that is not only looking for returns, but for technologies that can solve structural challenges across society, health, education, climate and inclusion.

Fintech will be represented by David Bäckström, CEO of seQura, one of Southern Europe’s leading platforms for flexible payments and Buy Now Pay Later solutions. As a late-stage European fintech with an estimated valuation in the $500 million to $1 billion range, seQura has become a key player in ecommerce infrastructure, helping merchants increase conversion, average basket size and customer purchasing power through embedded finance solutions. His participation adds a key layer to the digital wealth and commerce conversations that will shape the VDS 2026 agenda.

Early-stage venture and deeptech investment will take the stage through Christoph Klink, General Partner at Antler, where he oversees investments across Continental Europe. Since launching its Berlin operations in 2021, Antler has made more than 100 investments in technology startups spanning AI, resilience and deeptech, backing companies such as Peec AI, NeoCarbon and Voltrac, now recognized among the most promising startups in the DACH region. His participation brings a strong investor perspective to conversations around frontier technologies, founder ecosystems and the next generation of European innovation.

Global connectivity will come through Vykintas Maknickas, CEO of Saily, the travel eSIM app built within the Nord Security ecosystem, the group behind NordVPN. With coverage across more than 200 destinations and backed by a cybersecurity parent company valued at more than $3 billion, Saily reflects how digital mobility, privacy and seamless access to the internet are becoming essential infrastructure for travellers, remote workers and global professionals. His perspective connects with a world where talent, work and business are increasingly distributed.

The future of wellbeing at work will be explored by Mehnaaz Abidi, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Urban Sports Club, one of Europe’s leading platforms for flexible fitness and corporate wellness. The company pioneered an all-in-one subscription model for sport and wellbeing across Europe, and its acquisition by Wellhub marked one of the most relevant moves in the global wellbeing sector, with a peak valuation estimated around $600 million. Abidi’s role brings product, technology and user experience into a wider conversation about health, performance and the human layer of transformation.

Nicholas Nelson, General Partner at Archangel, will add another strategic investment perspective to the programme. As one of the European voices focused on frontier technologies, resilience and strategic sectors, his participation reinforces the growing relevance of security, defence technology and critical infrastructure in the startup and venture capital landscape.

Laura Urquizu, CEO and President of Red Points, will bring the voice of one of Europe’s most recognised SaaS leaders. Over the last decade, she has helped transform Red Points from a startup into a global technology company fighting online counterfeiting, brand abuse, identity theft, digital fraud and internet infringements through AI-powered solutions. Recognised among the Top 50 Global SaaS CEOs and consistently named one of the 50 most influential women in European tech, Urquizu brings a powerful perspective on scaling complex technology companies internationally.

Robotics, autonomous systems and swarm intelligence will be represented by Robert Cheek, COO of UVify. The company has become globally recognised for its work in drone technology, autonomous navigation and large-scale drone shows, including a Guinness World Record exhibition with 5,293 drones in Korea. A multi-year CES Innovation Award winner, UVify brings together hardware, Edge AI and precision engineering, showing how robotics is moving from industrial use cases into new forms of collective experience.

This first wave of speakers also includes leaders from companies and organisations such as Lumus Investment Collective, BEXPERA, Maisa AI, Miro, Plus Partners, INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, Quibim, Morpheus Logistik, EOS, Spintop Ventures, Twintual, Harvey AI, Shakers, JME Ventures, Kibo Ventures, Qualcomm, Cleantech for Iberia and N3XT Sports, among others.

Together, they show the direction of VDS 2026. This is not a technology event built around trends. It is a platform designed around the forces that will define the next cycle of progress: artificial intelligence becoming infrastructure, deep tech reaching deployment, capital moving into strategic industries, defence and aerospace gaining urgency, health and longevity opening new frontiers, and talent becoming the critical layer that determines how intelligent systems are built, governed and scaled.

That is the meaning of GENESIS. Origin of What’s Next.

At VDS 2026, founders, investors, corporates, scientists, athletes and public leaders will not gather only to discuss the future. They will come to activate it. Across two days, Valencia will become the place where high-value connections turn into decisions, where global ambition meets execution, and where what’s next moves from idea to impact.