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trade/off Summit 2026

trade/off Summit 2026

Date: 12 May 2026

Location: Halle 02 in Heidelberg

The trade/off Summit is the leading executive conference on the productive use of artificial intelligence in SMEs and large corporations. Held annually in Heidelberg since 2022, the summit brings together decision-makers from industry, business and technology to discuss practical strategies for AI-driven business growth.

This year’s edition focuses on the theme Agentic AI: The more autonomous AI systems become, the more decision-making processes within companies change. Agent-based systems set their own priorities, initiate processes and intervene deeply in value chains. As a result, AI is evolving from an experiment into a genuine competitive factor – and is fundamentally changing the way organisations operate, make decisions and create value.

In 2026, the trade/off Summit is expected to welcome around 600 carefully selected participants and over 30 high-profile speakers. 80 % of the participants are decision-makers at C-level or in senior management. This year’s event is co-hosted by paretos and Aleph Alpha.

The trade/off Summit is aimed at senior executives and decision-makers from companies where processes are complex and value chains are long – ranging from high-growth medium-sized businesses to DAX-listed corporations. Participants come primarily from the manufacturing, supply chain and retail sectors.

 

The programme is divided into three tracks:

 

  • Towards an Agentic Future – How organisations are using AI in key processes and how the shift towards decision-oriented AI agents is playing out in practice.
  • Running AI at Enterprise Scale – How to create autonomous, transparent and reliable AI ecosystems, and why governance and explainability are becoming key performance factors.
  • Leading Through the Next AI Shift – How leadership teams are guiding their organisations through the AI transformation, with new skills and strategic decisions in the age of AI.

 

Speaker Highlights (selection)

 

  • Nicola Winter – former Eurofighter pilot, leadership expert and bestselling author
  • Nina Steinheil – Global Lead for Supply Chain Data, Analytics & AI at the Merck Group
  • Ilhan Scheer – Co-CEO of Aleph Alpha
  • Dr Nils Reimers – VP of AI Search at Cohere, founder of SBERT
  • Christoph Burkhardt – Silicon Valley pioneer, AI evangelist and author
  • Prof. Dr Eckhard Elsen – Particle physicist at DESY, former Director of Research at CERN

 

All information and tickets: www.tradeoff.ai

As a community partner, the KI Park network receives an exclusive ticket discount of 10 %. Use the code KIPARK-10, to redeem it.

KI Park members receive 30 % discount — please contact us for the code karina@kipark.de.

 

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