Italian Tech Week, one of Europe’s leading and most influential tech events, today announces its evolution into Wave by Vento, alongside the Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei as the headliner for its 2026 edition.

The name change reflects how the event has evolved since 2018. What began as Italian Tech Week has grown far beyond a national conference, becoming a global meeting

point for founders, investors and leaders shaping the future of technology. Wave by Vento better reflects this movement: built in Italy, designed for the world.

Following a landmark 2025 edition, headlined by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and welcoming more than 15,000 founders, investors and operators to Turin, Wave by Vento 2026 signals a step-change in scale, depth and global relevance.

Built by Vento, Italy’s most active private early-stage fund, Wave by Vento is designed as a place where Europe meets the world and where global leaders engage directly with the continent’s next generation of builders.

First speakers for 2026 announced

Dario Amodei is the headliner announced for the 2026 program, which will take place on 7-9 October. Founded in 2021, Anthropic has developed the Claude family of large language models and has become one of the most prominent AI safety and research companies globally.

Amodei will be in conversation with John Elkann, CEO & Chairman of Exor, Stellantis & Ferrari. Their discussion will form part of a cross-section of global technology, business and policy leaders at Wave by Vento, enabling conversations across AI, robotics, fintech and the physical economy. Other speakers include:

• Jony Ive, former Chief Design Officer, Apple and founder, LoveFrom
• Antonio Filosa, Chief Executive Officer, Stellantis
• Joe Tsai, Co-Founder & Chairman, Alibaba Group
• Linda Rottenberg, Co-Founder & CEO, Endeavor
• Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
• Sebastian Mallaby, Author of The Power Law
• Charlie Songhurst, Board Member, Meta
• Dorothy Chou, Director of Public Engagement Lab, Google DeepMind
• Bryan Kim, Partner, a16z
• Anas Biad, Partner, Sequoia Capital
• Kitty Mayo, CEO, Project Europe
• Eléonore Crespo, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Pigment
• Luana Lara Lopes, Co-Founder & COO, Kalshi
• Zhaopeng Chen, Founder & CEO, Agile Robots Additional speakers will be announced in the coming months. A new chapter: Wave by Vento moves to a paid format

For the first time, Wave by Vento will adopt a paid ticketing model, reflecting the scale of the event, the depth of its programming and the growing demand from founders, investors and global partners. Four pass categories will be available: Startup, Investor, General and VIP. Students and accredited press will continue to have free access.

While each pass offers a different level of access, all provide full entry to the three-day event, including both stages, masterclasses, live podcasts, networking sessions and

side events. Full details on inclusions and benefits for each pass category are available on the official website.

To mark the launch of Wave by Vento 2026, a limited launch price of €100 is now on sale for the Startup, Investor, and General Passes. The VIP Pass will be released at a later stage. Following the launch phase, additional pricing windows will be introduced.

Diyala D’Aveni, CEO of Vento, said: “Wave by Vento reflects our belief that technological progress doesn’t arrive all at once; it builds, accelerates and rewards those who move early. With Wave, we’ve created a platform for founders, investors, corporate leaders and policymakers who are shaping what comes next before it

becomes obvious — and having Dario Amodei, one of the most consequential figures in AI today, speak at this year’s event is a testament to that ambition. But more than that, it’s becoming a real networking and deal flow engine, where Europe’s next generation of founders meet tier-one investors and global leaders to turn ambition into execution

and build the next generation of innovation giants.”

More details on the 2026 program and speakers will be announced soon. For pass sales and updates, visit: https://wavebyvento.com/getyourpass

ENDS

About Wave by Vento

Since 2018, Wave by Vento (formerly Italian Tech Week) has established itself as one of Europe’s most influential tech conferences, bringing together founders, investors, operators and policymakers from across Europe and beyond. Each year, the event hosts global technology leaders and entrepreneurs to debate the most pressing questions

shaping the future of innovation, from AI and company building to geopolitics and the physical economy.

Held annually in Turin and organised by Vento, Wave has welcomed speakers including Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission), Sam Altman (OpenAI), Patrick Collinson (Stripe), Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), Daniel Ek (Spotify) and Brian Chesky (Airbnb). The event has become a key meeting point where Europe’s

growing startup ecosystem connects with the global tech community.

For more information, visit https://wavebyvento.com/ and follow Wave by Vento on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

About Vento

Vento is a venture capital firm backing early-stage startups with at least one Italian founder as they build globally. With its second €75M fund launched in January 2025 and fully backed by Exor, Vento has backed 160+ companies to date, becoming Italy’s most active private early-stage fund. Headquartered in Turin, Vento is chaired by John Elkann.

Beyond investing, Vento supports the ecosystem through Reef, a five-month venture

building program in Turin that brings together 40 talented individuals each year to form teams and launch new startups, and Wave (formerly Italian Tech Week), its flagship

event gathering 15,000+ people annually.

For more information, visit https://www.vento.ventures/