Europe’s AI race is entering a decisive new phase. After years spent chasing larger models, faster pilots, and breakthrough capabilities, the challenge facing enterprises is no longer intelligence itself — it is trust.
As organisations move artificial intelligence from pilot projects to mission-critical operations, boardroom conversations have fundamentally shifted from capability to credibility.
That shift takes centre stage at GITEX AI EUROPE 2026, taking place from 30 June to 1 July at Messe Berlin, where a new generation of tech innovators demonstrates how a new trust architecture is being built, and what future governance, visibility and security look like.
Organised by inD, global organisers of GITEX events, and supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, and Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, GITEX AI EUROPE brings together 950 enterprises and startups, more than 600 investors managing over US$1 trillion in assets, and over 150 global speakers.
Europe’s most prominent government stakeholders discuss the delicate balance between sovereignty, compliance and scaling of AI solutions. Among them, H.E. Willemijn Aerdts, Netherlands’ Minister for the Digital Economy and Digital Sovereignty, and Christiane Kirketerp de Viron, Acting Director for Digital Society, Trust and Cybersecurity at the European Commission, deliver insights on the trust layer dominating all AI applications.
The infrastructure behind trustworthy AI
While generative AI continues to command headlines, one of the most significant trends emerging from Europe’s technology ecosystem is the rise of companies focused on the infrastructure layer beneath AI itself: cybersecurity, compliance automation, digital trust, sovereign data management and cyber resilience. These are the technologies that determine whether AI systems can be audited, data can be verified, organisations can remain compliant and intelligent systems can operate safely at scale.
Among the companies exhibiting at GITEX AI EUROPE is 3rdComply, whose AI-powered platform automates third-party cyber risk assessments, helping organisations navigate growing compliance requirements under frameworks such as NIS2, DORA and ISO 27001.
“AI should not be used to make broken processes faster”, said Ferry Haris, CEO and Founder of 3rdComply. “It should make us brave enough to question whether the process needs to exist at all”.
As regulatory obligations increase across Europe, Haris sees AI becoming a force multiplier for overstretched cybersecurity and compliance teams, helping organisations manage complexity without expanding headcount at the same pace.
Building a certified data foundation
Another emerging challenge for enterprise AI is trust in the underlying data itself. Italian digital trust company Notarify is addressing this through technologies designed to verify products, documents and compliance records before they enter AI systems.
“The companies that will benefit most from AI will not simply be those that adopt AI tools faster”, said Federico Monti, CEO and Founder of Notarify. “They will be the companies that first build a trusted, certified and well-structured data environment”.
At GITEX AI EUROPE, Notarify is presenting NotariPassport — a blockchain-anchored Digital Product Passport solution — and NotariDrive, a tamper-evident document certification platform.
As Europe advances Digital Product Passport initiatives and expands its digital sovereignty agenda, demand is growing for systems capable of providing verifiable records, certified documentation and traceable product information across increasingly complex supply chains. For Monti, the EU’s €180 million sovereign cloud initiative points in the same direction: “Sovereign cloud provides the infrastructure layer, but companies also need a trust layer — certified documents, verified product data, blockchain-based proof, compliance by design”.
Designed for defence: sovereign infrastructure and cyber resilience
Moving into the trust factors of large language models within enterprises, Eternal Web will showcase Eternal AI Studio, a platform designed to help organisations work with multiple models while maintaining control of sensitive corporate data within private cloud.
“Businesses can’t unlock the full potential of their data using AI because it’s too complex, too fragmented and too risky to do it alone”, said Nirav S, Founder and Director of Eternal Web. “Secure and sovereign digital infrastructure will become the foundation upon which the next generation of AI, automation and digital services is built”.
Cyber resilience is emerging as another critical pillar of enterprise AI readiness. Exhibitor Cyberprime’s StateWarden platform combines memory-safe engineering, post-quantum cryptography and zero-knowledge architecture to address growing concerns around future cyber threats and infrastructure resilience.
“The real value of AI lies in protecting critical infrastructure and identifying threats before they become incidents”, said Matt Rodak, Founder and Systems Architect at Cyberprime. “Europe does not need more bloated enterprise software layers; we need independent, low-level code that is secure by design”.
Europe’s AI market enters its trust era
As organisations prepare for an era shaped by AI-driven threats and quantum-era security challenges, technologies that strengthen resilience, sovereignty and long-term trust are rapidly moving up the agenda.
With policymakers, investors and technology leaders convening in Berlin, GITEX AI EUROPE 2026 is expected to highlight this defining market shift. The next phase of AI will not be won by the companies building the smartest models. It will be won by those who build the trust layer that enables AI to operate at scale.
For more information, please visit www.gitexeurope.com
Image Credit: GITEX AI Europe, 3rdComply, Notarify, Eternal Web & Cyberprime
Source: Tahawul Tech