START Summit

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5

stages

150 +

Speakers

7000 +

participants

30 +

side events

Eric Schmidt

Former CEO
Google

Eric Schmidt is a renowned technologist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, best known for leading Google as CEO and Chairman (2001–2011), driving its transformation into a global tech powerhouse. He later founded the Special Competitive Studies Project to enhance AI and technological competitiveness and co-founded Schmidt Sciences to advance scientific innovation. In 2024, he co-authored Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit with Henry Kissinger and Craig Mundie.

Thomas Wolf

Co-Founder
Hugging Face

Thomas Wolf is the co-founder and Chief Science Officer (CSO) of Hugging Face, a leading open-source platform in AI and machine learning. He is the creator of widely-used tools like the Transformers and Datasets libraries and is a driving force behind open-science initiatives such as the BigScience Workshop, which led to the development of the BLOOM language model. With a Ph.D. in Statistical and Quantum Physics and a background as a Patent Attorney, Thomas brings a multidisciplinary approach to advancing accessibility and innovation in AI.

Jeannette zu Fuerstenberg

La Famiglia &
General Catalyst

Dr. Jeannette zu Fürstenberg is Managing Director of the global VC firm General Catalyst (GC) and in charge of its European business.
Jeannette is also Founding Partner of La Famiglia VC, one of Europe’s most distinguished early-stage Venture Capital platforms connecting the established industry and the start-up ecosystem.
Today, La Famiglia VC is the nucleus of General Catalyst's Global Seed Investment Program. Jeannette’s early investment wins are companies such as Deel, Forto, Groq Helsing, Mistral, and Personio.

Matt cohler

Partner at benchmark
Former VP of Facebook

Matt is a partner at the venture capital firm Benchmark, where for over a decade he led early-stage investments in Internet and software startups. Prior to Benchmark Matt was vice president at Facebook, where he was the company’s seventh employee, and vice president at LinkedIn, where he was part of the company’s founding team. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors at public companies KKR, Asana, and 1stdibs, and at several private venture-backed companies such as DeepL. He previously served as a member of the board of directors at public and private companies including Instagram, Tinder, and Uber.

START Hack

Create, collaborate, code and compete at our annual hackathon.

Run by students, for students, START Hack bridges the gap between the worlds of business and technology to create exciting opportunities for talented young developers, including the chance to win life-changing and project-launching prize money.

START Fellowship

START Fellowship is a philanthropic incubator and accelerator program empowering young founders from low- and middle-income countries to put their ideas into reality through an interdisciplinary program. We strive for a world of equal opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Together with our network and community, we bring a value-add to entrepreneurial ecosystems by strengthening relations globally as a bridge-maker. Our goal is to support a diverse range of young entrepreneurs to have a positive impact on their communities and to lay the groundwork for a more equitable future for all of the world.