Austria @ SXSW London 2026 – a week at the Intersection of Technology, Innovation & Global Ambition.
SXSW London has long been a barometer for where culture, technology and business are heading. This year, for the second time, it came to London.
As part of the Austrian economic delegation organized by ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA and Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, our Managing Director Lukas Keplinger and Startup Consultant Clemens Zillner spent four days in London, embedded in one of the most forward-thinking gatherings of innovators, investors, founders and policymakers the European tech calendar has seen in years.
• What stood out?
Hermann Hauser, legendary investor and co-founder of Amadeus Capital Partners, made a case that resonated strongly with our own convictions:
Europe needs a unified market to make entrepreneurship globally competitive. Without it, the spin-off and scale-up potential that European research institutions produce will continue to flow elsewhere.
• Beyond the main stages:
The real value of a week like this lies in the conversations that happen in between – and this delegation delivered on exactly that.
The curated matchmaking evening organized by the BOLD Community, brought together founders, investors, creatives and policymakers for an international exchange across industries and ecosystems.
The week culminated in the B2B Austrian Night at the historic Stationers‘ Hall – co-hosted by Bene UK and opened by Carmen Goby, Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, alongside welcome words from Trade Commissioner Michael Mueller and Reanne Leuning of Advantage Austria.
Over 300 guests from business, technology and the creative industries came together for an evening of Austrian hospitality, live entertainment and genuine connection. A fitting close to a week that proved one thing above all: showing up matters.
• Why does this matter for the Austrian startup ecosystem?
Internationalization is not a growth strategy reserved for later-stage companies. It is a mindset that needs to be built early – and exposure to the right rooms at the right time accelerates that.
Bringing that outside perspective back to Linz and into our work with founders is precisely why we invest in being present at events like this.
We are grateful to Advantage Austria and WKO for organizing a programme that was substantive, well-connected and genuinely valuable.
We look forward to bringing the insights back where they belong: into the work.
Photo credit: Advantage Austria UK
