Sep 24–25, 2026 · Hala Laminor · București

AI Minds 2026.

Romania's applied AI conference.

Two days at Hala Laminor, Bucharest. Keynotes, technical sessions and case studies from teams running AI in production.

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1.000+
Operators: 20+
Speakers: 2
Days · 2 stages: RO·EN
Bilingual

AI in production◆ 1,000+ operators◆ 20+ speakers◆ Hala Laminor◆ 24–25 September 2026◆ RO · EN◆ Two stages◆ Limited seats◆ AI in production◆ 1,000+ operators◆ 20+ speakers◆ Hala Laminor◆ 24–25 September 2026◆ RO · EN◆ Two stages◆ Limited seats◆

Why AI Minds

A two-day conference on applied AI.

AI Minds 2026 brings together founders, product leaders, engineers and decision-makers from Romania and the wider region for two days at Hala Laminor in Bucharest.

The agenda covers keynotes, case studies from live deployments, technical sessions and panels on adoption, governance and ROI.

01

Practical content

Case studies from live deployments. Technical sessions on what works at scale.

02

Romanian and international speakers

Founders, engineers and managers running AI at companies based in Romania, CEE and Western Europe.

03

Two stages

A main stage for keynotes and panels. A separate technical room for 30-minute deep dives.

04

Networking with a curated audience

1,000+ operators in the room. Lunch and end-of-day breaks dedicated to networking.

Speakers

Speakers

Founders, engineers and managers running AI in production. New names are announced weekly until the agenda closes.

P

01

Patrick

Director, Deal Pursuit | EMEA at Google Cloud

R

02

Rod

Vice President — Supercomputing & AI at NVIDIA

05

Confirmed soon

—

06

Confirmed soon

—

See all speakers

Speaker applications → contact@theaiminds.ro

Program

Two days, two stages.

The agenda runs from 09:00 to 18:00 on both days. Keynotes and panels on the main stage; 30-minute technical sessions on the second stage. The final agenda is published one month before the event.

08:00

→ 09:00

main · opening

Check-in & Welcome Coffee

Doors open at 08:00. Volunteers scan tickets at the entrance. Coffee, tea and pastries in the networking area — use the hour to meet the first attendees.

09:00

→ 09:30

main · opening

Opening Address

Official welcome, house rules and what to expect from the two days. We announce the tracks, lead sponsors and how curated networking works.

09:30

→ 10:15

main · keynote

Keynote — AI and the Future of Business

An honest look at how AI is reshaping business models: what changed in the last 12 months, what will change in the next 12, and how to position your company so you don't have to rebuild it from scratch.

10:15

→ 11:00

main · keynote

Keynote — Infrastructure for AI

GPUs, vector DBs, retrieval pipelines, observability. A technical tour of the infrastructure stack that powers modern AI products — with real numbers on cost, latency and throughput.

11:00

→ 11:30

main · break

Coffee Break & Networking

Coffee, fruit, savoury snacks. Volunteers facilitate 1:1 introductions based on the preferences you declared at check-in.

11:30

→ 12:15

main · panel

Panel — From Pilot to Production

Three companies that took AI out of the POC stage and made it deliver business results: how they structured the team, what metrics drove their go/no-go calls, what they cut to ship on time.

12:15

→ 13:00

main · fireside

Fireside — Lessons from Founders

Unvarnished conversation with a founder who built an AI company: the costly mistakes, the moments they were tempted to quit, and what they would do differently starting today.

13:00

→ 14:00

main · lunch

Lunch

Catering included with every ticket. Tables of 8 grouped by topic (infra, sales, talent, M&A) — pick where to sit.

14:00

→ 14:45

main · keynote

Keynote — AI Strategies for CEOs

A concrete framework for the CEO who must decide: buy, build, or partner? How to prioritize high-impact use cases, measure ROI, and which capabilities to bring in-house.

14:45

→ 15:30

deep dive · workshop

Deep Dive — Building AI Agents

Technical session in the Deep Dive Room: architecture of a production agent — tool use, planning, eval, guardrails. Real code, not marketing slides.

15:30

→ 16:00

main · break

Coffee Break & Networking

Coffee, sweets, sparkling water. Partner booths open in the networking area.

16:00

→ 16:45

main · keynote

Keynote — Investing in the AI Era

A senior VC on current theses: which AI companies attract capital, which moats are real and which are illusions, current valuation multiples, and where they see opportunities in Central Europe.

16:45

→ 17:30

main · panel

Panel — AI Ethics & Governance

How to align an AI system with your company's values, what logs to keep, how to respond to incidents. Honest discussion of what works in practice, not just on paper.

17:30

→ 18:00

main · closing

Day 1 Wrap-up

Recap of Day 1 key ideas, Day 2 announcements and after-party logistics. Head to your hotel or the old town for dinner.

08:00

→ 09:00

main · opening

Check-in & Welcome Coffee

Same logistics as Day 1. If you missed a session yesterday, volunteers can give you the quick highlights.

09:00

→ 09:30

main · opening

Day 1 Recap & Day 2 Direction

Five-minute recap plus a Day 2 overview — which sessions to prioritize if you're a CTO, a PM, or a founder.

09:30

→ 10:15

main · keynote

Keynote — Talent & Culture in the AI Era

How to recruit, retain and grow engineers in a market where every big tech is chasing the same 200 people. What works, what doesn't, and why "remote vs office" is no longer the question that matters.

10:15

→ 11:00

main · keynote

Keynote — AI Applied at Scale

A case study from a 1,000+ employee company that integrated AI across every department: what worked, what blew up in their face, and how it shows up in the P&L a year later.

11:00

→ 11:30

main · break

Coffee Break & Networking

Strategic break — we use it to introduce you to the morning's speakers.

11:30

→ 12:15

main · panel

Panel — AI in Healthcare, Finance & Industry

Three highly regulated industries, three different approaches to AI. What's allowed, what's forbidden, and how to deliver real value within those limits.

12:15

→ 13:00

main · fireside

Fireside — AI Regulation & Policy

EU AI Act, GDPR, NIS2, DSA — what they mean concretely for a tech company in Romania. With a lawyer working on these files day in and day out.

13:00

→ 14:00

main · lunch

Lunch

Generous buffet, vegan and gluten-free options. If you have special requirements and didn't tell us, stop by the info desk — we'll sort it out.

14:00

→ 14:45

main · keynote

Keynote — Open-source vs Frontier Models

Llama, Mistral, Qwen vs GPT, Claude, Gemini. When to go self-hosted, when to use the API. Cost, latency, quality — and what happens to your IP in each case.

14:45

→ 15:30

deep dive · workshop

Deep Dive — Cost & Performance in AI

How to cut inference cost 40-70% without losing quality: prompt compression, model routing, aggressive caching, batching, targeted fine-tuning.

15:30

→ 16:00

main · break

Coffee Break & Networking

Final break of the event — use it for the contact exchanges that matter.

16:00

→ 16:45

main · keynote

Keynote — Security & Risk in AI

Prompt injection, data leakage, supply chain attacks on models and plugins. With real examples and a hardening checklist you can apply immediately.

16:45

→ 17:30

main · panel

Panel — AI Builders from Romania

Four Romanian founders building AI products for the global market. How to attract international customers from Bucharest, what to hire locally and what you need from abroad.

17:30

→ 18:00

main · closing

Closing Keynote & Acknowledgements

The last five ideas to take home, thanks to speakers and volunteers, and the official invitation to the after-party.

19:00

→ 23:59

networking · networking

After-Party — AI Minds Bar Edition

Final location announced on stage at closing and via email — a bar 10 minutes' walk from Hala Laminor. Open bar until 22:00, half-price drinks after with your badge. Unstructured networking, no agenda.

Tickets

Tickets and packages

Three tiers, all with full access to both days. TVA included. Stripe checkout, fiscal invoice for companies, QR ticket on email.

Regular

Full access to the event

89 € −50%

44^.50€

Stripe checkout · QR ticket on email

Networking Area
Expo Area
Main Stage & Deep Dive Stage
Networking Cocktail

Most popular

Business

Professional experience

179 € −50%

89^.50€

Stripe checkout · QR ticket on email

Everything in Regular
Coffee All Day
Lunch
Networking Cocktail

Choose Business

VIP

Executive

The Elite Experience

499 € −50%

249^.50€

Stripe checkout · QR ticket on email

Everything in Business
VIP Registration Point
Executive Lounge
Closed Door Round Tables
Networking Cocktail

Choose Executive

Stripe secured · 3-D Secure where required Invoice on request at checkout Group rates from 5 seats — write to us

Partners

Partners

Companies that support AI Minds 2026. For partnerships and sponsorships, contact us.

chroot.ro

Want to partner? contact@theaiminds.ro

Venue

Hala Laminor

Hala Laminor is located in District 3 of Bucharest, on the former Faur industrial site. Direct metro connection (Costin Georgian, line M1) and on-site parking.

Address: Bulevardul Basarabia 256, București
Transit: Costin Georgian (M1) ~1.5 km · Trams 14, 36
Parking: On-site, subject to availability
Access: Step-free entry

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