Startups are at the core of our ecosystem. As Oliver Holle once put it, startup founders are like artists — except instead of a canvas, they use business plans, investor decks, and way too many Slack channels (who’s not guilty of that). At CultTech, we admire this mindset, especially when it’s built on sustainability, because every great startup needs a strong foundation to last.

At Summit 2024, startup pitches were brought to the stage by our partners at CultTech Accelerator, a program that helps early-stage founders shape their ideas into investable businesses. Divided into two Demo Days, the pitches showcased startups transforming creative productivity, education, cultural networks, and content distribution. From AI-driven music tools to new models for digital art ownership, each team presented their vision for the future of culture-tech in front of investors, aiming to take their business to the next level.

At CultTech Summit, startup pitches aren’t just presentations—they are glimpses into the future of creative industries.

Panels are where ideas collide. Instead of just hearing one perspective, these discussions bring together experts with different backgrounds to explore complex topics from every angle. Moderators guide the conversation, making sure it’s a real exchange — not just a series of separate speeches.

At Summit 2024, we tackled everything from the evolution of museums in a digital-first world to the future of fashion and media storytelling. We questioned whether Web3 is here to stay or just another tech bubble, and we explored new investment models for culture, moving beyond government funding and philanthropy.

Panels don’t just cover industries — they explore how culture reshapes entire systems. So last year, we also looked at how cities and culture influence each other, from Ars Electronica’s role in Linz’s transformation to NEOM’s vision of building culture into a futuristic city from the ground up. Another discussion tackled AI’s growing impact on EU cultural policies, while ‘Making Culture Inclusive’ invited the audience into a live conversation on diversity in tech, art, and creative industries.

From art to policy, from emerging tech to social impact, panels are the pulse of the CultTech Summit — expect even bigger conversations in 2025.

Keynotes set the stage for the Summit. Unlike panels or debates, they give one speaker the floor to present a big idea—something that shifts perspectives and sparks new ways of thinking about culture and technology. They help us step back from day-to-day challenges and ask: Where are we headed?

At Summit 2024, Adriano Picinati di Torcello brought insights from the Deloitte & ArtTactic Art & Finance Report, exploring how financial models are reshaping the creative economy. As a key figure in the art finance sector, he examined what these shifts mean for artists, collectors, and investors alike.

On the other side of the conversation, Sylvain Levy reflected on the evolving role of digital tools in art collecting. His family’s DSLCollection, one of the most forward-thinking private collections of Chinese contemporary art, has embraced virtual museums, AR, and interactive experiences to make art more accessible in the digital age.

Debates at the CultTech Summit are where ideas clash head-on. Unlike panels that explore topics from multiple angles, debates pit experts against each other, each defending opposing viewpoints. This format sharpens the focus on contentious issues, encouraging critical thinking and deeper understanding.

In 2024, we took on some of the most polarizing questions in culture and technology. Is AI Art — Art? brought media artist Stephanie Meisl, who embraces AI in creative expression, into a direct clash with Jan Svenungsson, a visual artist and professor questioning whether AI can ever replicate human intentionality. Moderated by Klaus Speidel, the debate pushed the boundaries of what we define as art.

Meanwhile, in To Learn or to Unlearn, Bistra Kumbaroska argued for breaking away from rigid knowledge structures to foster innovation, while Vivek Velamuri defended structured learning as the foundation of entrepreneurship. With Hannah Scott moderating, the discussion explored how we navigate knowledge in an era of rapid change.

Performances are a great way to reflect culture, and that’s why they are a huge part of the CultTech Summit. We bring together artists who push the limits of music, theatre, and digital arts, often using tech to take things to a new level.

Last time, we had Mahamaya Electronic Devices by Ivan Vyrypaev — a fusion of electronic music, rapid-fire dialogue, and hypnotic visuals. This high-energy performance blurred the lines between theatre, philosophy, and digital art, leaving the audience both mesmerised and deep in thought.

At the closing party of the Summit, Cécile DeLaurentis took the stage, turning sound into a full-on sensory experience. Blending her jazz roots with AI-driven production, she performed using Embodme, a next-gen synthesizer designed by one of the CultTech Accelerator alumni. The result? A performance that felt both futuristic and deeply personal.

For 2025, expect even more performances that push creative and technological boundaries.

The CultTech Summit isn’t just another business conference — we’re here to push boundaries and mix things up. That’s why we put just as much focus on art as we do on tech. Our exhibitions aren’t just something to look at; they challenge, question, and make you see things differently.

Last year, we had Who Smiles Through Me, an exhibition curated by Where Dogs Run, an artist collective known for its experimental approach to art and technology. Their work often plays with perception, human-machine interaction, and the ways digital systems shape our reality. This exhibition explored how our senses—sight, hearing, touch—are being reshaped by technology. Works from artists like Alexandra Dementieva and Aernoudt Jacobs made us ask: how much of what we feel is still ours, and how much is filtered through digital control and media influence?

Networking is at the heart of the CultTech Summit — it’s what makes this community thrive. Bringing together artists, engineers, investors, and founders isn’t just a nice extra — it’s the whole point. The magic happens when these worlds collide, sparking ideas that wouldn’t have come up otherwise.

This year, we’re taking it up with a dedicated networking space — somewhere designed just for those in-person conversations that lead to real opportunities. And of course, it’s not just about formal meetings. From flying dinners to exhibitions and even late-night parties, the Summit is full of moments where connections happen naturally.