AI trade fairs and data events in Germany: An overview

data:unplugged – Germany's leading AI trade fair and biggest AI festival

What began three years ago as a festival in Münster is today Europe's biggest movement for data, AI and digital transformation. Alongside the annual festival, there are smaller exchange formats, most recently the d:u Deep Dive in Berlin.

d:u27 Festival – 13 & 14 April 2027 (Münster)

d:u26 in Münster is done, the biggest edition so far with more than 11,000 participants. On 13 and 14 April 2027, d:u returns to Münster for its fourth round: bigger and deeper, with around 17,000 participants, six stages, more than 350 speakers, over 80 masterclasses and more than 250 exhibitors at the expo. That makes d:u the biggest data and AI festival in Germany – and, with its expo, the country's leading AI trade fair.

Alongside the Main Stage for strong impulses and big names such as Philipp Klöckner, Herbert Diess, Markus Lanz and Wladimir Klitschko, there will once again be an SME Stage, by and for mid-sized companies, where concrete data and AI use cases, learning curves and best practices are shared. The Data & Analytics Stage with its deep tech topics remains a core part of d:u. New for 2027 are dedicated stages for finance and health.

The festival has grown across three sold-out editions to more than ten thousand participants. d:u27 continues that path and deliberately remains a festival rather than a conference: stage programme, hands-on formats and experience interlock, with content and networking standing side by side as equals.

Münster therefore remains the central meeting point of the German data and AI scene – from SMEs and family businesses through start-ups and tech corporations to research, policy and society. For teams, booking early pays off: with the d:u27 Group Pass ("Buy 4, get 5") you bring colleagues along directly. Secure your ticket for d:u27 early.

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BIG BANG AI Festival (Berlin)

The BIG BANG AI Festival takes place in Berlin on 16 and 17 September 2026. More than 350 speakers from business, tech, health and politics share their knowledge of current AI trends across over 100 sessions. The organisers expect more than 11,000 guests.

One particular highlight: all participants receive an official AI certificate as proof of continuing education. The venue – the historic Alte Münze in Berlin – offers street food stalls and plenty of networking opportunities alongside the extensive stage programme. In 2025 British pop legends Right Said Fred provided the festival atmosphere, and visitors can look forward to live entertainment in 2026 as well.

The BIG BANG AI Festival addresses everyone who wants to understand and apply AI, across all industries – from start-up founders to C-level executives.

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AI Festival Heilbronn (Wohlgelegen)

The fifth edition of the AI Festival Heilbronn took place on 25 and 26 July 2026 at the Zukunftspark Wohlgelegen, hosted by the IPAI Foundation. As always, admission was free and no registration was required.

The concept: making AI accessible and engaging in a low-barrier, hands-on way. Alongside keynotes, workshops and talks, there were interactive exhibitions, live demos of innovative applications, art installations and a sports and children's programme. More than 50 speakers and over 50 participating institutions – including ETH Zurich, Fraunhofer, SAP, Audi and Porsche – filled more than 100 programme slots. For comparison, the 2025 edition drew 13,500 visitors.

The AI Festival Heilbronn is a different kind of format from the rest of this overview: it addresses the general public, families and the simply curious, rather than professionals with a training budget. As a place to take the edge off scepticism within your own team, or to make AI tangible for the first time, it is still worth considering. A date for 2027 has not been published yet.

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Rise of AI Conference (Berlin)

On 5 and 6 May 2026, the AI community gathered in Berlin for the Rise of AI Conference – marking the conference's tenth anniversary. The event is known as the annual meeting place for AI pioneers, decision-makers and visionaries from more than 30 countries.

Rise of AI deliberately chooses limitation over scale: around 300 participants in total, with on-site capacity capped at 200. More than 40 speakers discussed industrial use cases, trustworthy AI, AI governance and societal implications across the Meta Stage, the Applied AI Stage and the Cognitive Lab. AI Topic Tables round out the programme, giving smaller groups room to keep talking.

The next edition is scheduled for 12 May 2027 in Berlin. If the curated atmosphere appeals to you, apply early – with 200 on-site places, this is not an event you get a ticket for on short notice.

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AI Conference: Science x Business (Heidelberg)

The AI Conference: Science x Business took place on 14 and 15 April 2026 at the Karlstorbahnhof in Heidelberg, hosted under the dcyphr brand. It is aimed specifically at decision-makers, founders and tech enthusiasts from mid-sized companies who want to put data-driven technologies to practical use.

With 1,000 participants, 100 speakers and more than 50 partners, the conference offered a hands-on programme covering generative AI in marketing and HR, AI infrastructure, automation, cybersecurity and robotics. The interactive formats stand out in particular: masterclasses, round tables and business speed dating, plus an evening networking party.

The event combines scientific expertise with practical business application, focusing on concrete use cases and implementation examples – ideal for anyone who wants not just to understand AI but to deploy it. A date for 2027 had not been confirmed at the time of writing.

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Bitkom AI & Data Summit (Berlin)

On 22 and 23 September 2026, the AI & Data Summit of the German digital association Bitkom takes place at the bcc Berlin. The organisers expect more than 2,500 participants, over 200 speakers and more than 140 sessions. For comparison: in 2025 the summit drew 2,300 participants and 200 speakers.

The AI & Data Summit addresses senior decision-makers from industry, tech and research as well as policy representatives. The focus is on practical examples of how companies benefit from AI and data in concrete terms – beyond the first pilot projects.

In 2026 the conference again runs in parallel with the Quantum Summit, giving participants access to quantum computing topics as well. Alongside the extensive stage programme there are expo areas and plenty of room for networking. A date for everyone looking to anchor data and AI strategically in the business. If that perspective interests you, you will find it in concentrated form on the SME Stage at d:u27, where mid-sized companies report what worked in their projects and what did not.

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DATA festival (Munich)

The DATA festival took place on 16 and 17 June 2026 at Munich's Muffatwerk. The organisers – BARC among them – describe the event as a format for those who are ready to build something.

This is where the core community of practising data and AI professionals gathers: people who do not just talk about data but deliver projects. The festival stays deliberately small. In 2026, around 300 participants from 150 companies and 15 countries met 67 speakers, and the number of exhibiting software vendors is capped. That is precisely where the format draws its value – you end up in conversation rather than walking trade show aisles.

Sessions and panels cover current topics from generative AI through cloud data architectures to data governance. The 2027 date is already set: the DATA festival returns in Munich on 17 and 18 March 2027.

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TDWI Conference (Munich)

The TDWI Conference took place at the MOC Munich from 23 to 25 June 2026 – for more than 20 years the most established vendor-neutral expert conference for data, analytics and AI in the German-speaking world. This independent conference draws around 1,000 data experts every year, from business analysts through data scientists to BI project leads.

Across more than 130 talks and workshops, some 150 specialists share practical knowledge on every aspect of extracting value from data. The range of topics is unusually broad and deep at the same time: data strategy, data governance, modern data architectures, business intelligence, analytics and, of course, AI.

Many in the community describe TDWI as the data industry's class reunion – the place where you run into familiar faces and new ones from across the data universe every year. The next edition is confirmed: 15 to 17 June 2027, again at the MOC Munich.

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ML Conference (Berlin & Munich)

The ML Conference is aimed specifically at machine learning developers, data scientists and AI engineers. The conference series, with editions in Munich and Berlin, is known as "The Event for Machine Learning Technologies & Innovations".

The programme is technical in character, offering hands-on workshops, live coding sessions and in-depth talks on generative AI, MLOps and LLMOps, deep learning, AI strategy and AI governance. ML engineers and AI researchers speak about concrete use cases and solution architectures.

MLCon stands out for its training formats: in addition to the conference days there are bootcamps and power workshops that take you straight into the material. The next edition runs on 18 and 19 November 2026 at the Maritim ProArte Hotel in Berlin, embedded in AI Native Week, with bootcamps on 16 and 17 November and power workshops on 17 and 20 November. The Munich date for 2027 has not been published yet.

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Big Data & AI World (Frankfurt am Main)

The German-speaking community of data and AI professionals met at the Frankfurt Exhibition Centre for Big Data & AI World on 6 and 7 May 2026. The event is part of Tech Show Frankfurt and combines an extensive expo with a conference stage where industry experts present the latest developments.

The scale of the 2026 edition: more than 8,000 trade visitors, over 330 exhibitors and more than 130 talks. Four trade shows run in parallel under the Tech Show roof – Big Data & AI World, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, Data Centre World and Cloud & AI Infrastructure. IT decision-makers, data scientists and innovators come together here to exchange notes on technologies, case studies and strategies. Whether the topic is scalable data architectures, real-time analytics or successful AI projects, the talks deliver practically relevant insights.

At the same time, visitors can make contacts at the stands of leading providers in the exhibition halls and have solutions demonstrated live. Big Data & AI World therefore offers a comprehensive marketplace for data topics and is particularly interesting for anyone looking for an overview of technology providers and trends. The next edition takes place on 19 and 20 May 2027 in Hall 3 of Messe Frankfurt.

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Planning your AI and data event calendar

Germany offers an impressive variety of AI and data events – from accessible festival formats through hands-on conferences to established trade fairs. Whether you are interested in strategic AI implementation, technical deep dives or community exchange, there is a format to match, and room to discuss, experience and shape things together.

For the rest of 2026, the BIG BANG AI Festival and the Bitkom AI & Data Summit follow in September, with the ML Conference in Berlin in November. For 2027, the DATA festival in March, d:u27 in April, Rise of AI and Big Data & AI World in May, and the TDWI Conference in June are already scheduled.

Our recommendation: do not try to be everywhere. Two or three events that match your current priorities will do more for you than a full calendar. AI competence and data readiness affect every part of a business. For effective implementation, it is crucial to bring your key people along, train them and prepare them positively for what is coming.

That is exactly what d:u is built for. The next big d:u date is already set: on 13 and 14 April 2027, the d:u27 Festival returns to Münster and brings more than 17,000 participants, decision-makers and data experts into the business reality of AI for two days – across six stages, with 350+ speakers and 80+ masterclasses. With the Group Pass you bring the whole team. Secure your ticket for d:u27 now.