Athens Innovation Summit 2025: A Week of Events, Connections & New Horizons

Last week, Athens became the epicenter of innovation and global dialogue - where technology met ethics, policy met entrepreneurship, and local vision met global momentum. A wave of firsts, bold ideas, and breakthrough connections swept through the city, sparking conversations that reimagined what’s possible for Greece and beyond.

We’re deeply grateful to everyone who made it happen - from our speakers and partners to every person who showed up with curiosity, and a belief in what Greece can become. At the heart of it all stood the Athens Innovation Summit, in its second edition co-hosted with Google Greece.

Athens Innovation Summit 2025

It all began in 2022, when Endeavor Greece launched the Summit with a bold yet simple vision: to bring global innovators to the birthplace of democracy and ignite a conversation on how entrepreneurship and technology can shape a fairer, more resilient, and more prosperous world.

This year, with the second edition of the Athens Innovation Summit, we built on that promise and positioned Athens as a rising hub for the global dialogue on ethical innovation and AI.

At the heart of the evening was a dialogue between Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic, and Demis Hassabis, Co-Founder & CEO of Google DeepMind and 2024 Nobel Laureate, moderated by Linda Rottenberg, Co-Founder & CEO of Endeavor. Together, they explored ancient Athens’ legacy of open dialogue, radical thinking, and the delicate balance between progress and responsibility.

From regulating deepfakes and protecting mental health, to reimagining education and preparing for the future of work, their conversation became a lens into the decisions that will define our shared future.

And then there was the audience: a packed Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a breathtaking sight. Founders, researchers, investors, policymakers, students, citizens - a #OneCommunity brought together by the belief that we must shape the future with both courage and conscience.

Thank you to our speakers, Strategic Sponsors National Bank of Greece, Raycap, and Eurobank and to our #OneCommunity partners. Also, to everyone who joined us at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus or tuned in from our livestream. You helped turn a conversation into a moment we’ll carry forward.

Initiatives Around the Summit

The week of the Athens Innovation Summit unfolded across venues, formats, and disciplines - proving that innovation doesn’t just happen on stage, but in the spaces where people come together to think, question, and imagine.

Healthcare & Biotech | In partnership with Kos Biotechnology Partners

We explored the future of global healthcare through the lens of AI and R&D, with a fireside chat featuring Marc Casper (Chairman & CEO, Thermo Fisher Scientific), Vassilis Kontozamanis (Former Alternate Minister of Health), and Simos Simeonidis (Kos Biotechnology Partners). The evening brought together life science leaders to discuss how Greece can help shape the next chapter of biotech innovation.

AI Film Screenings | In collaboration with Runway & Cinobo

Under the Athenian sky at Ciné Paris, we screened the 5 top award-winning films of the Runway AI Film Festival, followed by a candid discussion with leading European AI founders - Ioannis Antonoglou (Reflection AI), Theofanis Karaletsos (Achira), and Konstantina Psoma (Kaedim) - on how AI is reshaping the way we create, build, and live.

Cybersecurity & Dual Use Tech | In partnership with HCDI (ELKAK)

Two high-level fireside chats tackled the new frontiers of defense tech and cyber resilience. Founders, investors, and public sector leaders explored how to scale responsibly in a sector where innovation meets geopolitics. Nazo Moosa (Managing Partner, Paladin Capital Group), Haris Pylarinos (Founder & CEO, Hack The Box) and Georgia Prassinos (HCDI) explored how investors and founders can partner to scale globally while addressing today’s security challenges. Kelly Chen (deep tech investor & advisor) joined Niko Efstathiou (journalist & author) to unpack the opportunities and risks shaping defense, technology, and society.

AI Circle Roundtable | Co-hosted with Google

In a private roundtable, Demis Hassabis joined a group of ecosystem leaders for an intimate discussion on the societal shifts ahead. As artificial general intelligence gains momentum, the focus turned to ethics, education, creativity, and the human values that must guide this new era. There was a shared sense that places like Greece - where science, philosophy, and civic debate were born - have a unique role in shaping the frameworks that will define our future.

"Choose Greece" Off-Site Retreat

To close out the week, 50 global leaders from private equity, corporate leadership, and the startup world gathered off-site for a high-level retreat focused on Greece’s transformation and the broader future of innovation in Europe. Over the course of the weekend, the conversations went beyond investment opportunities - diving into the deeper forces shaping economies, societies, and technological progress, and unlocking shared ideas, fresh perspectives, and valuable new alliances.