AI01
The core.
AI is becoming the operating system of the economy. Digital was the opening move, and robotics takes it into the physical.
29 October 2026 · The heart of Europe
SURGE
AI. Energy. Robotics.
The convergence rewriting the future.
Hand-selected founders, investors and executives, and the conversations that set the next decade in motion.
◆ Novu Campus, Zurich Airport◆ One curated day◆ 100 to 150 attendees
AI, energy and robotics are converging. SURGE puts the people driving all three in one room.
One day in Zurich. No spectators.
The purpose is simple. Europe's next industrial chapter will be written by the companies that find each other early. SURGE exists to make those introductions, between scale-ups and corporates, founders and capital, research and industry.
The Three Pillars
Three pillars.
One conversation.
Energy02
The foundation.
AI at scale runs on power. Grid resilience, industrial decarbonisation and next-generation storage are where capital is taking positions that will hold for decades.
Robotics03
The embodiment.
Intelligence made physical. Robotics is crossing from industrial curiosity to industrial necessity, and Europe's window to shape that shift is open now.
Who Is In The Room
The leaders
who call the shots.
Built for the people who make the call, not the ones who carry it back.
Deep Tech FoundersVCs and InvestorsResearch and Academic ExpertsAI, Energy and Robotics CEOsCorporate Innovation LeadersCorporate Partners
A sense of the room
Dr. Christian Schaffner
Director, Energy Science Center, ETH Zurich
Founder of Energy Launchpad, connecting research and industry across Switzerland's energy sector.
Philipp Müller
Founder & Board, German AI Association, Berlin
Board member of the German AI Association. Co-founder, Signatrix (Exit) with computer vision live in 5,000 stores in 28 countries.
Enzo Wälchli
Ex CCO ANYbotics & GP Operator Circle VC
Scaled ANYbotics into a global leader in robotics. Now GP at Operator Circle investing alongside 35 Swiss scale-up operators.
Kevin Sartori
Co-founder, Auterion, USA & CH
Open-source autonomy for drones and robotics, scaled "soonicorn" Auterion to over 150 people and USD 180M raised.
Thomas Antonioli
Founder and CFO, Terra One, Berlin
Driving the industrial energy transition from Berlin, with over EUR 150M raised.
Pier Giuseppe Rivano
Founder, Unbound Potential
Building next-generation battery technology spun out of ETH Zurich, backed by a CHF 15M seed round.
Dominik Perisa
Partner, ex b2venture, Berlin
Previously at Cherry Ventures. Among Europe's leading AI and technology investors.
Andrea Casasco
Founding Partner, 2100 Ventures, London
Backing century-defining European founders from London.
100+
Founders, investors, operators
A hand-picked room of 100 to 150 decision-makers fills the seats around the speakers.
Further speakers to be announced.
Programme
The day,
at a glance.
Executive Brunch
By invitation only, for speakers, founders and C-suite. Valuable connections begin before the day officially opens.
Main Programme
Keynotes, panels and curated personal introductions. Real questions, unscripted answers, and time to talk in between.
Apéro Riche
The conversations begun on stage carry on into the evening.
The full programme follows closer to the event.
Why Zurich
Ten minutes
from arrivals gate
to the room.
Novu Campus sits inside The Circle at Zurich Airport, among the most efficient hubs in Europe. Most Western European cities are within ninety minutes' flying time. The walk from arrivals to the venue takes ten.
Arrive for brunch, leave after the last conversation. SURGE is designed for calendars with no spare days.
SURGE KEEPS GOOD COMPANY
Switzerland has been building industrial technology for more than a century. Zurich even hosts Google's largest office outside the United States, with the global names in energy, AI and industry close by.
ABB
Accelleron
Axpo
GE Vernova
Google
Hitachi Energy
Nvidia
OpenAI
Schneider Electric
ETH Zurich
Join SURGE 2026
This is not a room that listens.
It is the room that decides.
Prefer to write directly? info@surgesummit.ch