From October 6–8, tech professionals, executives, founders and investors are getting together in Bucharest for regional discussions on technology, business and investment.
Across three action-packed days, more than 3,000 tech leaders, founders, investors and executives from Central and Eastern Europe and beyond will meet in Bucharest for How to Web Conference 2026. The event unites those actively shaping products, steering digital transformation and backing the region’s next generation of tech.
Built around the core theme “What will you build when you can build anything?”, this year’s edition tackles the immediate challenge facing product teams, scale-ups and enterprises alike: how do you turn today’s unstoppable pace of tech innovation into practical products, resilient organizations and bottom-line growth? The agenda follows this narrative from high-level vision down to execution through keynotes, real-world case studies and live demos.
“Over the past decade, our region has witnessed a heavy focus on paper valuations and funding headlines, yet far less attention on how everyday CEE businesses are actually changing the way they operate through technology built right in their backyard. Securing the next venture round is only part of the equation, but real momentum happens when local enterprises, SMEs and public institutions start buying directly from local startups. That’s the exact dialogue we’re sparking at How to Web Conference this year between founders, investors and prospective buyers,” says Ionuț Stanimir, Marketing and Communications Director at BCR.
A high-density hub for regional dealmaking
How to Web Conference is engineered to bridge casual introductions into active partnerships, investment syndicates and joint ventures. Building on last year’s landmark 9,000+ business meetings, the 2026 gathering is set for a similar volume thanks to a highly targeted lineup of decision-makers and builders.
Through the event app, attendees can go zero in on key contacts and lock in 1:1 meetings long before arriving in Bucharest. Dedicated meeting lounges, VIP spaces, the Business Room, Expo Area and city-wide gatherings provide the backdrop for commercial deals, fundraising pitches and technical exchanges. Instead of spending months traveling across fragmented European markets, the event condenses international access into a single venue in Bucharest.
The five meta-themes shaping the next wave of tech
The 2026 agenda circles around five key meta-tracks: Productivity & Human Capital, Future of Work, How to Stay Competitive in the AI Era, Agentic Systems & AI-Native Tech, and Startup & Market Dynamics. These themes explore how autonomous systems and AI are fundamentally altering business performance, organisational structures, product design and labor dynamics.
The agenda prioritizes real-world execution over high-level theory. Nesrine Changuel, author and former product leader at Google and Spotify, will share frameworks for building products that forge genuine user loyalty, while Dave Harland will tackle brand differentiation in an automated landscape. From OpenAI, Teodora Mușatoiu will demonstrate how autonomous agents are reshaping software development, alongside Sara Maldon (Make) and Michal Kramarz (Google Cloud) breaking down real AI impact and business ROI. Rounding out this practical focus, Michael Walker (Totogi) will dive into orchestrating complex AI architectures.
The program will also dive deep into Europe’s capacity to build category-defining tech, touching on startup policy, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity and data governance. Meanwhile, BCR representatives will join the debate on CEE’s next economic growth engine, analyzing where sustainable demand for technology will come from across enterprises, public institutions and new go-to-market channels.
Three days of multi-track focus and direct access
The action begins on October 6 with dedicated business and investment programming, anchored by the signature Investors Summit, an exclusive pre-conference gathering bringing together more than 250 international and regional VCs, LPs, executives and founders.
On October 7–8, the conference will open up across three parallel stages: Build & Grow Stage, Startup Stage and Focus Stage. Between interactive workshops, roundtables, deep dives and live demos, attendees will be able to switch between macro industry trends and granular engineering, product, GTM, leadership or fundraising challenges.
The format ensures content and networking constantly feed into one another: an insightful stage talk can spark an idea, which can then be picked up immediately in the business lounges with specialists or potential partners. The Demo Area and Startup Showcase will bring products directly in front of buyers, while intimate roundtables will encourage open exchange.
A heavy-hitting group of global and regional venture funds will be on the ground, including Atomico, Creandum, Eurazeo, Notion Capital, Credo Ventures, Cherry Ventures, OTB Ventures, 20VC, Dawn Capital and Inovo VC. For regional founders, this will provide direct access to active European and US capital for fundraising, pitch feedback and long-term network building.
Tailored paths for high-growth startups
Startups will have access to dedicated tracks engineered for their specific stage. Spotlight will put 20 of CEE’s top early-stage startups in front of the industry through live pitching, 1:1 mentorship, investor intros and Expo exposure. Accelerate Fundraising will provide hands-on feedback for founders preparing their next round, while Accelerate Sales will pair teams with seasoned sales executives to refine their go-to-market execution.
Combined with the Startup Showcase, Demo Area and matchmaking app, the event will offer founders clear pathways to secure capital, land clients and scale internationally.
Side events taking over the city
The action will extend well beyond the main stage. A curated lineup of side events will run throughout Bucharest all week, bringing attendees together for niche meetups, informal workshops and evening socials hosted by How to Web, event partners and regional ecosystem leaders.
“As the capacity to build accelerates at this rate, the core question goes from what we can build to what is truly worth building and what lasting footprint it leaves in the market. How to Web Conference 2026 will gather the voices who can answer that question from every angle – engineers, product leads, venture backers and corporate transformers. Our goal is to give every attendee complete clarity for the decisions they need to execute the moment they leave Bucharest,” notes Monica Zara, head of conference at How to Web.
Securing tickets for How to Web Conference 2026
How to Web Conference 2026 will take place in Bucharest from October 6–8. Tickets are available online, with options tailored to learning, networking and business development goals for tech professionals, executive leaders, founders and investors.
Early Bird rates are in their final days, with pass prices increasing across all categories on Friday, September 18.
Grab your ticket now.
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