For the very first time, the world’s leading forum for security policy came along with a dedicated stage for technology and innovation: The MSC Startup Hub.
As official MSC partners, UnternehmerTUM and TUM Venture Labs welcomed global decision-makers and leading innovators, together with cutting-edge start-ups, to address technological solutions for the geopolitical challenges in these pivotal times.
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With kind support from IHK München und Oberbayern, the MSC Startup Hub is made possible.
The MSC Startup Hub brings together more than 1,000 global decision-maker and industry leaders with the innovation ecosystem. By bridging these worlds that often operate in silos, we join forces to turn dialogue into impact, empower global champions and strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty
The program features a lot of sessions, and a series of exclusive roundtable talks on the key topics such as autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, energy security, health and biotechnology, critical raw materials, new space, and semiconductors.
With the MSC Startup Hub, UnternehmerTUM and TUM Venture Labs bring together today's crucial ingredients, uniquely pooling transatlantic forces to promote independence, resilience, and long-term competitiveness worldwide.
At MSC Startup Hub, we bring founders, investors, and industry leaders together to tackle mission‑critical challenges. By turning Europe’s deep‑tech strengths into scalable solutions, we strengthen resilience, prosperity, and freedom.

Helmut Schönenberger, CEO UnternehmerTUM
In the TUM Venture Labs we enable our next generation to have an impact in this world through building and scaling deeptech-based entities. We form the 'machine room' of European (Tech) Sovereignty. At the MSC Startup Hub we forge and harden the crucial alliances required to reach this goal.

Philipp Gerbert, CEO TUM Venture Labs
Diplomacy and entrepreneurship share much common ground. Both are enabling professions at the heart of global prosperity and stability and both depend on individual performance and functioning networks. As global security dynamics and rapid technological change push both professions even closer together, we have teamed ...
up with Europe's most successful start up incubator UnternehmerTUM to host a unique platform for policymakers and innovators at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference 2026. We believe that this addition to our existing high-level formats will help to advance crucial debates on many key issues such as resilience, economic security, and defence technology.

Benedikt Franke, Vice-Chairman & CEO Munich Security Conference
The MSC Startup Hub shows how closely economic strength, technological innovation, and resilience are linked. At the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Munich, innovation meets entrepreneurial spirit. By bringing together startups, investors, established companies, and policymakers we join forces. The MSC Startup Hub ...
turns Europe’s deep-tech excellence into scalable business models and sends a clear signal for competitiveness and economic security.
Manfred Gößl, IHK für München und Oberbayern
The Hightech Agenda offers a unique opportunity to reinvent Germany as both an industrial and a technology nation. To unlock this potential, we need focused ecosystems that bring together research, industry, capital, and founders. Innovation only turns into impact when these forces work together—and when we significant ...
ly accelerate our approach to innovation. This is exactly what the MSC Startup Hub is built for.

Michael Brigl, Head of BCG Central Europe
Deep dives into …
Cybersecurity
Autonomous Systems
Artificial Intelligence
New Space
Defense Innovation
Security Innovation
Critical Raw Materials
HighTech Agenda
Semiconductors
Energy Resilience
Health & Biotech
Agenda 2026
12.2. Thursday
| Time | Format | Session | Speakers | Co-Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:45 | Panel |
New ThreatsOne (cyber) technology to solve them all? 16:45 – 17:35 (50 minutes) |
Sarah Theinert
Benjamin Bachmann |
|
| 17:45 | Panel |
The Scale AwakensWhy Europe lacks cyber champions? 17:45 – 18:35 (50 minutes) |
Sarah Theinert
Lennart Bock |
|
14.2. Saturday
| Time | Format | Session | Speakers | Co-Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 |
KickoffLive-Streaming from Atrium 9:00- 9:30 (30 minutes) |
Helmut Schönenberger
Manfred Gößl |
||
| 9:30 | Panel |
Rock Bottom?Europe’s Fight for Critical Raw Material 9:30 - 11:00 (90 minutes) |
Abigail Hunter
Franziska Brantner |
|
| 11:30 | Panel |
HighTech, Low Impact?Europe’s Fight for Relevance 11:30 - 13:00 (90 minutes) |
Larissa Holzki
Dorothee Bär |
|
| 13:30 | Panel |
Lights On?Europe’s Fight for Energy 13:30 - 15:00 (90 minutes) |
Varun Sivaram
William Chueh |
|
| 15:30 | Panel |
Silicon Statecraft?Europe’s Fight for Chips 15:30 - 17:00 (90 minutes) |
Zanny Minton Beddoes
Helmut Gassel |
|
| 17:30 | Panel |
Superspreader?Europe’s Fight for BioTech 17:30 - 19:00 (90 minutes) |
Johannes Frühauf
Max Breet |
|
| Time | Format | Session | Speakers | Co-Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 |
KickoffKicking-off our sessions 9:00- 9:30 (30 minutes) |
Helmut Schönenberger
Manfred Gößl |
||
| 9:30 | Panel |
Not Fast but Furious?Europe’s Fight for Innovation Speed 9:30 - 11:00 (90 minutes) |
Philipp Gerbert
Christian Badia |
|
| 11:30 | Panel |
Outsmarted?Europe’s Fight for AI Sovereignty 11:30 - 13:00 (90 minutes) |
Ylli Bajraktari
Vilas Dhar |
|
| 13:30 | Panel |
Race to the Top?Europe’s Fight in/for Space 13:30 - 15:00 (90 minutes) |
Jeanne Meserve
Nina Armagno |
|
| 15:30 | Panel |
Huge Yard, no Wall(s)?Europe’s Fight for Knowledge Security 15:30 - 17:00 (90 minutes) |
Martin Keller
Darrin Jones |
|
| 17:15 | Networking |
Closing ReceptionDrinks & Snacks End: 20:00 |
TBA |
|
| Time | Format | Session | Speakers | Co-Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:30 | Closed-Door Roundtable |
Black Hole?Launching a New Space Industrial Plan for Europe 9:30 - 11:00 (90 minutes) |
Claudia Major (Moderator) undisclosed |
|
| 11:30 | Closed-Door Roundtable |
Critical Raw MaterialsEuropean Value Chain Buildup for Processing, Manufacturing and Recycling 11:30 - 13:00 (90 minutes) |
Roland Gauß (Moderator) undisclosed |
|
| 13:30 | Closed-Door Roundtable |
From Nano to Giga?Boosting European Industrial Capacity in Security-Critical Technologies 13:30 - 15:00 (90 minutes) |
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg (Moderator) undisclosed |
|
| 15:30 | Closed-Door Roundtable |
Powerplay?Rebooting the Transatlantic Alliance for AI Primacy 15:30 - 17:00 (90 minutes) |
Philipp Gerbert (Moderator) undisclosed |
|
| 17:30 | Closed-Door Roundtable |
Fishing Chips?Driving Semiconductor Strategies in Europe 17:30 - 19:00 (90 minutes) |
Peter Leibinger (Moderator) undisclosed |
|
| Time | Format | Session | Speakers | Co-Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 | Closed-Door Roundtable |
NATO REDI?Rethinking European Defense and Innovation 11:00 - 12:30 (90 minutes) |
Philippe Dickinson undisclosed |
|
| Time | Format | Session | Speakers | Co-Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:30 | Walk-In |
Can Europe Scale?EU Inc., Growth Capital & the Future of European Competitiveness 11:30 - 13:00 (90 minutes) |
Inga vom Holtz
Iwona Biernat |
|
| 15:30 | Walk-In |
Energy ResilienceWhere technological nuance and economic pragmatism guide big strategic bets 15:30 - 17:00 (90 minutes) |
Lars Eiermann
Jimmy Chen |
|
| Time | Format | Session | Speakers | Co-Hosted by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 | Networking |
NetworkingDrinks & Snacks 9:00 – 17:00 |
|
|
| 17:15 | Networking |
Closing ReceptionDrinks & Snacks End: 20:00 |
TBA |
|
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