From personal and physical AI, through digital policy and the future of retail, to the creator economy and culture: on the Innovation Stage, Dream Stage and Creator Stage, leading figures from the worlds of technology, business, politics and the creative industries will discuss the topics that will shape the coming years.
Which technologies will be the next to transform our everyday lives? How is artificial intelligence blurring the boundaries between humans and machines, brands and customers, creativity and automation? And how must businesses, the retail sector and society respond to these changes? IFA, the world’s largest event for consumer electronics, home appliances and future tech, brings these key questions to the fore.
The IFA content programme is divided into five tracks: World of AI & Future of Tech, Retail & Future of Commerce, Marketing & Creativity, Culture & Lifestyle, and Smart & Sustainable Living. These tracks bring together the key technological, economic and social developments in the industry.
Three stages, five tracks, one question: What’s next?
The Innovation Stage focuses on major keynote speeches and announcements, the Dream Stage brings together pioneers, founders and visions for the future, whilst the Creator Stage offers practical masterclasses, live formats and creator sessions.
From AMD’s vision of a new era of Personal AI and NEURA Robotics’ Physical AI, through Peloton’s future of connected wellness, to the question of how AI agents are transforming retail and how the circular economy can become a key driver of economic success: the stage programme at IFA 2026 showcases technology not in isolation, but in its interplay with business, creativity and society.
World of AI & Future of Tech: When AI becomes part of everyday life
Artificial intelligence has long since ceased to be a single product category. It is transforming computers, smart homes, wellness, robotics, interfaces and entire business models. The ‘World of AI & Future of Tech’ track therefore deliberately covers a broad spectrum: from human intelligence × AI, through robotics, wearables and smart home ecosystems, to spatial and quantum computing. At the same time, it addresses data protection, regulation and the responsibility that comes with increasingly autonomous technologies. Highlights of the AI & Future Tech programme include:
IFA Opening Keynote: The Era of Personal AI: the Future of Imagination
Speaker: Jack Huynh, SVP & GM, Computing & Graphics Group, AMD
Date: 4 September 2026, 11.00 am, Innovation Stage
Fireside Chat: Digital Policy Put to the Test – What Germany Needs for Innovation and Competitiveness
Speaker: Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation & Dr. Reinhard Christian Zinkann, Managing Partner at Miele, Moderation: Pinar Atalay
Date: 4 September 2026, 12:00 pm, Innovation Stage
Panel: How Peloton is Building the Connected Wellness Community of the Future
Speaker: Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Chief Content and Member Development Officer Peloton Interactive & Nick Caldwell, Chief Product Officer Peloton Interactive
Termin: 4 September 2026, 1:00 pm, Creator Stage
Keynote: From Europe, for the World: Building the Ecosystem for Physical AI
Speaker: David Reger, CEO and founder, NEURA Robotics
Termin: 5 September 2026, 2:30 pm, Innovation Stage
Retail & Future of Commerce: Who will control the customer journey of the future?
AI is transforming not only products, but also the way people discover and buy them: search engines, platforms, AI agents, social commerce and smart retail are increasingly reshaping traditional sales channels. The ‘Retail & Future of Commerce’ track therefore explores customer behaviour and data, as well as omnichannel retail, social commerce, in-store shopping experiences, delivery, logistics and fulfilment. The IFA Retail Leaders Summit on 3 September provides an additional strategic framework. More than 100 C-level managers and high-ranking decision-makers from the retail sector and the home & consumer tech industry will come together here to discuss the next phase of retail. The stage highlights for the ‘Retail & Future of Commerce’ content track are:
Presentation: Retail 2030: A 360-degree perspective on the future of retail
Speaker: Carine Chardon, Managing Director der GFU Home & Consumer Electronics GmbH, Martin Schulte
Partner Retail and Consumer Goods at Oliver Wyman
Date: 3 September 2026, 8:50 am, IFA Retail Leaders Summit, Palais, Messe Berlin
IFA Retail Leaders Summit | IFA Innovation For All
Keynote: The Post-Human Checkout: When AI Agents Become the New Buyers, Sellers and Negotiators
Speaker: Paul Accornero, founder, The AI Praxis
Date: 3 September 2026, 10:35 am, IFA Retail Leaders Summit, Palais, Messe Berlin
IFA Retail Leaders Summit | IFA Innovation For All
Fireside Chat: Who Controls the Customer Journey? Retail, Platforms or AI?
Speaker: Tobias Grote, Founder & CEO terraalpine AG, Sebastian Klumpp, Solution Business Director Similarweb and CEO at XPLN
Date: 7 September 2026, 16:30 pm, Dream Stage
Marketing & Creativity: The creator economy is becoming part of the business infrastructure
The boundaries between marketing, entertainment, commerce and content are blurring. Creators are no longer merely an additional communication channel. They shape brand perception, purchasing decisions and cultural relevance. At the same time, artificial intelligence is transforming the creative process itself. The Marketing & Creativity track therefore brings together digital marketing, the creator economy, content creation, generative design, virtual production and new forms of brand storytelling. Here are the highlights on the Creator Stage:
Panel: The Creator Economy: A Survival Guide
Speaker: Kaya Yurieff, Co-Founder Scalable, Louisa Ioannidou, CEO The Soul Media, Tobias Hoss, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor Talentir
Date: 6 September 2026, 11:20 am, Creator Stage
Panel: Beyond the Feed: Emerging Social Media Formats
Speaker: Patrik Wilkens, Founder & Director Mournival Consulting, Jo Burford, Head of Creator Marketing EMEA Edelman; Zach Ferraro, CEO & Co-Founder Favorited
Date: 6 September 2026, 13:40 pm, Creator Stage
Panel: AI Tools Powering the Next Generation of Content Creation
Speaker: Adi Sideman, CEO Popcorn, Dani Verdari, Founder & Creative CEO Slay House, Jason Nellis, Director of Innovation BoltOs
Date: 6 September 2026, 2:20 pm, Creator Stage
Sony @ IFA: Modern video podcasts – from concept to production
Speaker: Oliver Burkat, DI B2B Sector Manager Media & Entertainment Sony Europe, Fabian Tausch, Entrepreneur and Podcast-Host Unicorn Bakery
Date: 4 September 2026, 4 pm, Creator Stage
Culture & Lifestyle: When technology changes society and popular culture
Technology only becomes socially relevant when it changes people’s lives. Culture & Lifestyle therefore examines tech through the lens of entertainment, gaming and culture, whilst also addressing diversity and inclusion, as well as changes in the world of work. This highlights just how closely technology is now linked to social debates, identity, sport, art and cultural participation. The programme highlights for the Culture & Lifestyle content track are:
Panel: Art Shapes the Future
Speaker: Andreas Mindt, Head of Volkswagen Group Design Volkswagen AG, Sophia Emmerich, Lead Editor Fotografiska Emerging, Maximilian Neretin, Photographer & Art Director and winner open call, Ina Marie Knabe, Brand & Partnerships Director IFA Management
Date: 4 September 2026, 3 pm, Creator Stage
Panel: More than just a trend: women’s basketball – between progress and visibility
Speaker: Svenja Brunckhorst, Manager of girls’ and women’s basketball at ALBA Berlin, Pia Greiten, President of Athleten Deutschland and Chair of the DOSB’s Women Athletes’ Commission, Moderation: Lisa Ramuschkat
Date: 6 September 2026, 10:30 am, Creator Stage
Keynote: From AI agents to cinematic universes – creating characters and worlds with AI
Speaker: Cris Olmedo, Creative Director, Divina Machina
Date: 4 September 2026, 12 pm, Creator Stage
Smart & Sustainable Living: Sustainability is becoming a business model
Sustainability in the consumer tech sector is increasingly determined at the product design stage. How repairable is a device? Can materials be recovered? How can supply chains and business models be made more circular? The Smart & Sustainable Living Show Area therefore does not view regenerative technologies in abstract terms, but rather through the prism of circularity, the right to repair, eco-design, raw materials and value chains. Highlights in the Smart & Sustainable Living section include:
Panel: Turning e-waste into value: How new opportunities arise after a sale
Speaker: Rebecca Steinhage, Executive Director Miele, Carine Chardon, Managing Director GFU Home & Consumer Electronics, Brendan Lenane, COO EURONICS Deutschland, Dr. Lennart Osthoff, founder Repartly, Tim Janßen, Co-Founder and Executive Director Cradle to Cradle NGO, Moderation: Marc Semmler
Date: 5 September 2026, 11 am, Dream Stage
Keynote & Panel: Reimagine Electronics. Circular by Design
Speaker: Tim Janßen and Nora Sophie Griefahn, Co-Founder and Executive Directors Cradle to Cradle NGO; followed by further insights from the field
Date: 7 September 2026, 10 am, Creator Stage
You can find the full IFA programme here: Programme 2026 | IFA Innovation For All
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