The 2026 GAIA Conference
Machine Learning / Data Science / Data Engineering
April 20, 2026 @ Svenska Mässan
Workshops, April 21 @ Svenska Mässan
Recordings Will Be Released SoonMachine Learning / Data Science / Data Engineering
April 20, 2026 @ Svenska Mässan
Workshops, April 21 @ Svenska Mässan
Recordings Will Be Released Soon
The GAIA Conference is where practitioners come to share what actually works. Across three tracks, 1,250 attendees dug into applied machine learning, data science, and data engineering—from deep technical sessions to the adjacent disciplines you need to build real AI products: business, legal, design, and ethics.
We brought together individuals, companies, academia, and the public sector for a day of learning, networking, and honest knowledge-sharing. The program covered what is happening in Gothenburg and the Nordics alongside global trends, presented by domain experts who work hands-on with the technology every day.
Watch talks from our previous conferences on our YouTube channel. The 2026 conference sold out, as every previous edition has. Follow us on LinkedIn to hear about the 2027 edition first.
Practitioners and researchers share what they have learned building, shipping, and scaling AI. You will leave with concrete techniques, strategies, and tools—and a long list of things to explore further.
GAIA started as a 60-seat meetup that kept selling out. The conference grew from there, and the community spirit stayed. You will meet people who share your problems and your curiosity; from startups to enterprises, from first projects to production-scale systems.
We host the conference and workshops at Svenska Mässan, near the Korsvägen tram stop. The venue gives us room for 1,250 attendees, a conference exhibition, and space for the conversations that happen between the talks.
Breakfast, lunch, fika, and unlimited coffee are included in your ticket. Stay after the closing remarks to end the day with bubbles at the AfterConference.
Doors opened at 08:00 with breakfast. We strongly recommended arriving at 08:00. You will needed to collect your badge, grab something to eat, and make your way up to the conference floor before the first talk begun at 09:00 sharp. With 1,250 attendees coming through the entrance, there was no margin for a late arrival.
The day ran across three parallel tracks with generous breaks for networking, refreshments, and the exhibition. The final session wraped up at 17:20, followed by the AfterConference: where everyone could stay for bubbles and good company.
The program was organised in three tracks. The Inspirational track was our broadest track: talks on applications, ethics, strategy, and trends that were relevant regardless of your technical background. The Practitioners track went deeper into the tools and techniques, with sessions that expected hands-on experience in machine learning, data science, or data engineering. The Deep Dive track sessions were twice as long as a regular talk, giving speakers the space to walk through architectures, workflows, and results in real detail. Most were technical, but the defining feature is depth, not difficulty.
Each talk were labelled by topic and prerequisite level so you could plan your day:
In the afternoon, our partner Garden of Talents hosted an International AI Talent Show in Room R5+R6. Which were perfect to check out if you were recruiting.
The 2026 speakers came from organisations across industry, academia, and the public sector. Click any card to read their bio and talk abstract. Co-presented talks appear under both speakers.
The 2026 GAIA Conference has concluded. The conference sold out with 1,250 attendees. The pricing below is preserved for historical reference. Tickets are no longer available, and these prices do not apply to future editions.
We offered significant discounts for students. All other attendees used the General Admission tickets. Workshop tickets were sold separately and could be combined with the conference to fit individual interests.
All prices are excluding 25% VAT, and were charged through Meetx.
On April 21, 2026, the day after the conference, we ran a curated set of in-depth workshops at Svenska Mässan. We selected this year’s workshops to ensure relevance, quality, and practical value. Each session ran for two hours or more and was designed for focused, small-group interaction.
The workshops were intended for practitioners, leaders, and specialists who want to move from conference insights to concrete application. Unlike conference talks, these sessions allowed time to:
Participation was limited to ensure meaningful discussion. Workshops varied in prerequisites. Some focus on leadership, governance, and strategy. Others required hands-on technical experience in software development, data science, or machine learning.
Each workshop required a separate ticket and could be combined with the conference according to your interests. Light fika and coffee were served during the sessions.
The GAIA Conference was made possible by the support of our partners. They are an important part of the event and the broader AI community in Gothenburg and the Nordics.
If you visited the exhibition throughout the day you could meet the teams behind our gold, silver, and startup partners. Whether you were looking for your next role, evaluating tools, or just curious about what others are building, the booths were worth your time. The best conversations often happen there.
Our gold partners were front and centre at the conference with prominent exhibition space and visibility across the event.
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Our silver partners exhibited throughout the day. You could swing by their booths between talks.
Our bronze partners support the conference and the broader AI community. Startup and guest partners exhibited in the hall: if you stoped by their booths you could see what is coming next.
Fuelling the conference one cup at a time. You could look for their coffee bar between sessions.
Here are answers to the most common questions about the GAIA Conference. If you need anything else, contact us using the information at the bottom of the page.
Yes. Gothia Towers is part of the same building, and there are plenty of other options within walking distance. You can book a hotel room together with your ticket.
Yes. The entire event is wheelchair accessible via ramps and elevators, and guide dogs are welcome. Additional details are available on Svenska Mässan's accessibility page (https://svenskamassan.se/shared-contents/accessibility/). Contact us if you have any questions.
Svenska Mässan is located at Mässans Gata 8, next to Korsvägen, Scandinavium, and Liseberg. You can get there by tram or bus (Korsvägen) or train (Liseberg Station). If you drive, park at the Focus parking garage, which has an indoor walkway to the venue. The closest airport is Landvetter (GOT). The conference uses the Congress Foyer, Congress Hall, and rooms H1+H2 and G3 on the northwest side of the building. Enter through Entrance 8, located next to Scandinavium.
Yes. We offer a significant student discount for the main conference on April 20. The discount applies to all students, including PhD students, with a valid Mecenat Student ID.
Just your ticket. Some workshops require a laptop, so check the details of the workshops you plan to attend. Comfortable shoes are a good idea. A wardrobe is available during the conference, but bring only what you need as we are not responsible for items left there.
Yes. We can issue invitation letters to support Schengen visa applications for international attendees. Invitation letters are issued per registered attendee and cannot be requested by third parties on behalf of unregistered individuals. Please allow up to 10 business days for processing. To request an invitation letter, contact info@gaia.fish. The following requirements apply: (1) Confirmed and paid registration for the conference and/or workshops. (2) Full name (like it appears on the passport), date of birth, and passport number of the attendee. (3) Home address of the attendee. (4) Verifiable institutional or company affiliation (including website and business registration number), including job title. (5) A brief description of how the conference is relevant to the attendee's work.
The conference took place on Monday, April 20, 2026, at Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg. Workshops followed on Tuesday, April 21, at the same venue. Tickets for the conference and workshops were sold separately, so you could attend what suited you best. GAIA is an in-person event: meeting others in the AI, machine learning, data science, and data engineering community is central to the experience.
Breakfast, lunch, afternoon fika, and coffee and tea throughout the day are all included in your ticket. After the final session, we host the AfterConference with sparkling wine and non-alcoholic options. Please refrain from bringing outside food. Register any dietary needs when purchasing your ticket. We do our best to accommodate all requirements, though the kitchen cannot handle non-medical dietary choices such as ketogenic or Atkins diets. Food orders are placed two weeks before the conference, so we cannot guarantee accommodation for tickets purchased after that point.
Yes. Recordings from the 2026 conference will appear on our YouTube channel within a few weeks. This lets you watch talks across all three tracks and revisit key insights afterwards. As with previous years, individual speakers and companies may have publication restrictions, so not every talk will be public. We did not record the workshops.
In the afternoon, our partner, Garden of Talents, will host an International AI Talent Show in Room R5+R6. Garden of Talents is a non-profit that works to stop "brain waste" — the loss of skills that happens when qualified international professionals struggle to enter the Swedish job market despite their expertise. Their participants have spent weeks preparing in an incubator programme, sharpening their professional profiles and pitches specifically for the AI and tech sector. The show flips the traditional career fair. Instead of companies presenting to candidates, the talent takes the stage and pitches directly to you. If you are hiring or know someone who is, this is worth attending. The show runs from 14:30 to 15:30. Spots are limited to 50, so sign up at the Garden of Talents booth in the exhibition hall to secure yours. Room R5+R6 is located in a separate wing of Svenska Mässan, and the path there will open at 14:15 and close at 15:45.
No. GAIA is a Swedish non-profit organisation, but starting with the 2026 conference, we sell tickets through Meetx. A VAT of 25% applies to all purchases.
The AfterConference begins right after the closing remarks at 17:20. It is an informal mingle in the exhibition area and Congress Foyer where you can unwind, reflect on the day, and continue conversations. One glass of sparkling wine or a non-alcoholic alternative is included with your ticket, and we serve light snacks alongside. No separate ticket is needed. Serving runs until 18:45, and the venue closes at 19:15. If you are still in good company by then, the community tends to find its way to a nearby pub afterwards.
English. All talks and workshops are conducted in English, possibly with a healthy portion of the local "Gothenburg English" dialect.
Are you wondering about the schedule or any of our sessions? Send an email to program@gaia.fish.
If you have questions regarding tickets, please email gaia@meetx.se, and we will be happy to help you.
Want to support the conference by becoming a partner? Reach out to us at partnership@gaia.fish for more information.
Are you wondering about the workshops? Send an email to workshops@gaia.fish.
