Bits & Pretzels Festival 2025: What visitors can expect this year

Bits & Pretzels is considered one of the most influential entrepreneurship platforms in Europe. The program for this year's edition is already available.

From September 29 to October 1, 2025, the Bits & Pretzels festival will once again take place during Munich's Oktoberfest – this time under the motto "Connecting Europe ." 7,500 participants are expected, including 1,500 investors, more than 70 percent of international speakers, and various European growth companies. The festival's mission is to foster collaboration between startups, investors, and policymakers, thus helping to shape the next phase of European innovation policy.

What once began as a humble founders' breakfast has evolved into one of the most influential platforms for entrepreneurship in Europe. This year's program includes leading voices from technology, business, society, and politics. Among them is Niklas Zennström – the entrepreneur who revolutionized communication with Skype and built one of Europe's leading venture capital firms, Atomico.

Thematically, the 2025 festival will focus on Europe's global ambitions in artificial intelligence, the continent's role in the New Space Initiative, and the pursuit of strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty. The full program is already available.

Check out the program for the Bits & Pretzels Festival 2025 here!

Artificial intelligence remains at the center of public debate, and Bits & Pretzels brings the topic into focus with practical applications and strategic discussions. Europe's most innovative AI startups—including Hugging Face, Mistral AI, and Parloa—will be on stage alongside leading technology experts and policymakers to discuss economic opportunities, regulation, and the latest breakthroughs.

"Europe shouldn't focus exclusively on ethical frameworks and fairness debates when it comes to AI," said Bernd Storm van's Gravesande, co-founder of Bits & Pretzels. "The real priority is to understand AI as an economic tool—one that can optimize processes, improve products, and transform entire industries. Bits & Pretzels provides the platform to explore this vision."

In keeping with the motto " Connecting Europe," this year's festival will place greater emphasis on international cooperation than ever before. New European partner countries and guests from all over the world will participate, creating opportunities for cross-border dialogue.

"In 2025, we'll be focusing even more on bringing together the key players in the European startup ecosystem," said co-founder Andy Bruckschlögl. "In a fragmented market like Europe, startups and scaleups need clear answers to questions about scaling and financing. They also need direct access to decision-makers—and we provide that."

Bits & Pretzels' flagship formats include the Investor Summit, which brings together more than 1,500 investors – including over 300 limited partners – and the CIO Summit. Both events place industry leaders at the forefront of the discussion.

"Europe has enormous entrepreneurial potential. Now it's time to turn this into real economic impact," said co-founder Felix Haas. "To achieve this, we need capital, exit opportunities, and a culture that rewards entrepreneurial courage. That's exactly what Bits & Pretzels stands for."

The event's motto may change from year to year, but the core of the festival remains the same: to provide startups with a strong platform to network, learn, and grow. The Startup Exhibition allows young companies to present their ideas, structured networking formats bring founders together with investors and companies, and targeted sessions focus on scaling, financing, and international expansion. The event also offers face-to-face meetings, allowing startups to plan meetings in advance and make the most of their time in Munich.

"Bits & Pretzels was built by founders for founders," said co-founder Andy Bruckschlögl. "Our mission every year is to give startups the access and visibility they need to succeed."

Even more insights into the Bits & Pretzels Festival 2025 – discover the program now!