Ex-British PM Boris Johnson, CEOs & Founders of Lovable, Legora, The Guardian, and Bolt Unveiled in Techarena 2026 Speaker Line-Up

Techarena 2026 has announced its speaker line-up for 11th and 12th February next year, bringing together business leaders, academics, investors, and policymakers shaping the future of technology, innovation, media, and policy. The roster features former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Fabian Hedin, Co-Founder of recent unicorn Lovable (Europe’s fastest-ever-growing company), and the CEO of The Guardian, Anna Bateson. 

The timing of the announcement coincides with Stockholm’s latest wave of technological success. The city that produced Spotify, Klarna, and King continues to mint unicorns, with Lovable and Sana joining the ranks this year. For international attendees, who comprised more than a third of Techarena 2025’s participants, the event offers access to Europe’s most concentrated startup and investor ecosystem.

Europe’s Fastest-Growing Businesses

The 10,000+ attendees gathering in Stockholm will hear from a diverse mix of industry pioneers, including some of Europe’s most impressive startups and scale-ups. This includes breakout Swedish success story Legora’s CEO Max Junestrand, Johannes Schildt, Co-Founder of healthtech unicorn Kry, CEO Fredrik Hjelm of sustainable mobility company Voi, and Markus Villig, CEO of multinational mobility business Bolt.

Influential investment leaders who have helped to shape and build the ecosystem will also be in attendance. Northzone General Partner Pär-Jörgen Pärson, Index Ventures Partner Bastian Hasslinger, NEA Partner Luke Pappas, and EQT Operating Partner Polly Barnes will share insights on navigating the startup and scale-up scenes.

The World’s Biggest Companies and Leading Experts

Addressing the most dynamic sectors in technology today, Techarena is also welcoming representatives from some of the world’s biggest enterprises, as well as expert journalists, academics, and scientists. Ford Motor Company’s Chief Data, AI and Analytics Officer, Franziska Bell, is joined by Ethereum Co-Founder Anthony Di Iorio, The LEGO Group Vice-President Operations Jesper Toubøl, DeepL CEO Jarek Kutylowski, and Booking.com PM Machine Learning Nathalie Halimi. 

Columbia University Professor Asha Saxena and Chirag Shah, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington, will discuss data and AI’s role in remolding industry and society, while media leaders Anna Bateson and WIRED’s Global Editorial Director Greg Williams will explore the significant hurdles and opportunities facing journalism and the communications landscape. European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who has been to the International Space Station on two missions, will also appear on stage. 

“New Era, Next Mindset” Embodied in Stockholm

Techarena 2026 arrives as Europe’s startup ecosystems surge, with Stockholm’s talent and investor concentration driving innovation across key tech sectors such as AI, energy tech, and health. The speaker line-up is guided by 2026’s theme: “New Era, Next Mindset”. With Europe investing heavily in digital infrastructure, Techarena 2026 represents a gathering committed to shaping the future of global business and innovation in a city that will be central to it. 

Recent Techarena speakers have included Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Sir Richard Branson, Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Of last year’s attendees, 40% were startup and scaleup founders and operators, while 15% represented VC and angel networks from across Europe and beyond. The gathering has proven instrumental in forging partnerships, pilot projects, and funding rounds for participating companies.

Additional speakers include:

• Mikayel Vardanyan, COO & Co-Founder, Picsart
• Job van der Voort, CEO & Founder, Remote
• Hélène Huby, CEO & Co-Founder, The Exploration Company
• Shilpika Gautam, World Record Holder & Founder, Opna
• Ken Villum Klausen, CEO & Founder, Lunar
• Oscar Höglund, CEO & Founder, Epidemic Sound
• Craig Douglas, Founding Partner, World Fund
• Peter Carlsson, former CEO & Founder of Northvolt, now Co-Founder, Aris Machina
• Siddharth Khullar, CEO & Co-Founder, Aris Machina
• Mary Hubbard, CEO, WordPress

Techarena 2026 takes place on 11th-12th February in Stockholm. For more information, visit www.techarena.se