Le plus grand rendez-vous Tech du Luxembourg s’est clôturé hier soir, après deux journées intenses et un nouveau record d’affluence pour cette 3ème édition. IA, digital finance, souveraineté technologique… Entendues sur les différentes scènes de Nexus Luxembourg cette année, voici 40 déclarations d’intervenants qui ont donné le ton de l’événement.
Our objective is clear. Europe must become a place not only where AI is regulated but a place where AI is developed, manufactured, deployed and scaled.
— Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner
“Nexus Luxembourg 2026 brings together entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, companies and policy makers shaping Europe’s technological future at a very decisive moment for Europe.”
— Henna Virkkunen, EU Commissioner
Luxembourg wants to be an AI platform for all of Europe. We do not think nationally, we think European. We need an AI of Europe, by Europe, for Europe. Europe can lead if we act together. Because in this new age of AI, no country can win alone.
Luc Frieden, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
“Luxembourg continues to be a trusted European gateway for international business, bringing together public institutions, companies, startups, and investors. This unique ecosystem is more important than ever as technological change reshapes our economies, societies, and even geopolitics.”
— Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Cooperation, Government of Luxembourg
“Luxembourg is ready for the future of digital finance. Today, I can update you on the progress we are making here in Luxembourg, including our next steps on a blockchain bond issuance, the MiCA segregation update, and the new stock options regime. We move early when the opportunity is there, with clear rules, close cooperation with the sector, and a strong commitment to competitiveness.”
— Gilles Roth, Minister of Finance, Luxembourg
“Luxembourg has made a strategic choice to prioritise innovation as the driving force behind its competitiveness and as a key element of its economic diversification. The 16th graduation ceremony of Fit 4 Start at Nexus is fully in line with this approach. By bringing together an international audience focused on start-ups and innovation, this event provides the ideal setting to showcase our acceleration programme and boost its visibility within a committed and rapidly growing ecosystem.”
— Lex Delles, Minister of Economy, Luxembourg
“We are pleased to support an initiative that brings together different communities and perspectives around innovation, not as an end in itself, but as a means to respond to real challenges. For a city, these challenges are concrete. They include reducing emissions while maintaining quality of life, adapting to climate change, managing public space, and modernising services in an inclusive way. None of this can be achieved in isolation; it relies on cooperation across a network of like-minded professionals.”
— Lydie Polfer, Mayor of the City of Luxembourg
“We stand at a pivotal moment for Europe’s sovereignty and competitiveness. The path forward is not to observe, but to lead with ambition, speed and purpose. We must be builders of this transformation, not passengers. Luxembourg has the infrastructure, the talent, and the determination to play a leading role in this AI paradigm shift. The next step is clear: empowering our companies to innovate, deploy AI and scale beyond borders.”
— Carlo Thelen, Director General, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
Europe has taken the strategic choice to aim for digital sovereignty – and Luxembourg is proof that it is also an operational reality. Admittedly, we don’t have the same compute power as global hyperscalers, but for many use cases, access and trust matter more than raw scale.
Mario Grotz, CEO, Luxinnovation
“The conversations at Nexus Luxembourg 2026 confirmed that AI is not simply a technology trend; it is becoming a strategic pillar of Europe’s future. With more than 650 speakers including 250 startups, the event highlighted a growing consensus around European tech sovereignty, innovation and responsible AI. Europe has the talent, the values and the ambition to lead. The challenge now is to accelerate collaboration, investment and deployment so that AI developed in Europe creates value for Europe and benefits humanity as a whole.”
— Mike Koedinger, Co-founder, Nexus Luxembourg; Founder & CEO, Paperjam
“Nexus Luxembourg 2026 has shown that innovation, collaboration, and ambition are not passing trends in Luxembourg — they are here to stay. Thanks to our partners, our ecosystem, and our international community, we have strengthened Luxembourg’s position on the global innovation map. The journey continues in 2027.”
— Kamel Amroune, Co-founder, Nexus Luxembourg
“Nexus Luxembourg 2026 has been a milestone edition, defined by inspiring insights, meaningful conversations and high-level networking. This year, we didn’t just discuss the future; we actively shaped the next chapters of our industry. We leave this edition inspired and ready to turn these insights into impact and we are proud to foster such a dynamic ecosystem right here in Luxembourg.”
— Laurent Futin, Managing Director, Nexus Luxembourg
“If we have less money and more work, we need to find a partner. And if technology can be a partner, especially in prevention, I think we would be stupid not to use it.”
— Xavier Bettel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Cooperation, Government of Luxembourg
The future belongs to agents. They are the ones who will shape our future.
Fouad Bousetouane, Co-founder and AI Director, InterspectAI
“We must hold the bottom line for data security to stabilise consumer and market expectations.”
— Ma Chao, Secretary-General, National Internet Finance Association (NIFA), China
“When we look at organisations today, there is one thing that is clear. The organisations that are winning the AI race right now are not only the ones experimenting with AI — they are the ones actually scaling it across the enterprise.”
— Pierre-Adrien Grange, Country Lead, Microsoft Luxembourg
“It is essential that states ensure their values are embedded in the technologies they use.”
— Eva-Maria Hempe, Director General Public Sector EMEA, Nvidia
“We don’t want to create an AI divide where the only people that have access to the benefits are people in wealthy economies like the one we’re in now.”
— Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic and Special Procedures Division, UN Human Rights Office
“If I were in a bank’s position, I would consider focusing fully on crypto-assets as a potential revenue source.”
— Irina Kessel, Head of Digital Assets and 24/7 Banking Products, Avaloq
“If you wanted to invest a billion four years ago, the equivalent today is between 100 and 200 million for the same or greater computing power.”
— Octave Klaba, Founder and CEO, OVHcloud
“The future of AI is not only a technological question, but it is an energy question.”
— Paul Konsbruck, LuxConnect
“InvestEU has been a successful instrument, and we trust the Competitiveness Fund can be as capable of mobilising private investment in strategic sectors. With this fund, we are trying to take it to the next level.”
— Kristine Kozlova, Head of Unit, InvestEU Governance and Advisory (GROW.C.3), European Commission
“The important part is not that it’s cheap. The important part is that it allows you to move money from keeping the lights on to innovation.”
— Marc Linster, Digital Learning Hub
“Innovation and regulation are not necessarily one against the other.”
— Claude Marx, Director General, CSSF
“We want to collect and use existing data in a responsible and secure manner and put it to the benefit of citizens, companies and research.”
— Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitalisation, Government of Luxembourg
“If you want to get a journalist’s attention, it is better to build a relationship than simply send an AI-generated press release.”
— Jon Mauno Pettersson, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Breakit
The big lesson learned is that once things start, it’s an avalanche, so we need to prepare for the quantum avalanche.
Valentin Plugaru, Chief Technology Officer, LuxProvide
“Digital capabilities are now seen as a major sovereignty issue, on a par with energy or telecommunications.”
— Laurent Pulinckx, Chief Information Officer, Creos Luxembourg
“AI, the brain that is trapped behind the screens.”
— Aditya Raj, Fujitsu
“We have decided to initiate the first tokenisation in Luxembourg given the local ecosystem, regulations, its stability and because we have a full set of expertise right here.”
— Sébastien Rouyr, Head of Transfer Agency Product and Business, State Street
“Nexus allowed us to build real connections with Luxembourg’s institutions, which are remarkably accessible. There is a dynamic here that you rarely find elsewhere — agile, efficient, and genuinely committed to supporting Europe’s digital and ecological transitions. It’s truly refreshing.”
— Thomas Semah, CEO, Yneuro
“The chances of Luxembourg becoming the gateway for AI in Europe are very high. All the factors are in place. You have the regulators, you have the government, you have the people, you have the economic flexibility. It is up to Luxembourg to seize that opportunity — or let it pass.”
— Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm
“We essentially provide the model with a replay of what some domain expert would do.”
— Pierre Stock, Vice-President Scientific Operations, Mistral AI
“AI agents need tools, memory, guardrails and rules governing how the model accomplishes a task.”
— Pierre Stock, Vice-President Scientific Operations, Mistral AI
“It is never too early to start getting acquainted with quantum physics and its applications.”
— Olivier Tonneau, Founder and Partner, Quantonation
“The unofficial slogan of the AI race so far has been ‘bigger, faster, better’. To make technology truly work for people, we need a different approach: ‘slower, wiser, kinder’.”
— Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
“The scarce resource is not AI. It is courage.”
— Emmanuel Vivier, HUB Institute
« 2025 was the year AI could talk. 2026 is the year AI can act. »
— Emmanuel Vivier, HUB Institute
700 billion dollars: that is what Meta, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft plan to invest in AI in 2026. That is half the French state budget.
Emmanuel Vivier, HUB Institute
“Yes, where your data is stored matters greatly when we talk about digital sovereignty or sovereign AI — but it goes well beyond that. On the data side, it also encompasses data governance, your technology stack, your entire infrastructure, the legal and jurisdictional dimensions, everything that underpins how you run your business and manage your operations.”
— Natalie de Vries, Head of Data and AI Advisory Benelux, Atos
“Luxembourg has been working in the last decade seizing opportunities on both the business and the tech side. That window is open again — globally, but also in Luxembourg.”
— Patrice Witz, Technology Partner and Digital Leader, PwC Luxembourg
