Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nobel laureate and co-founder & CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis and co-founder & CEO of Endeavor, Linda Rottenberg, meet at the Herodes Atticus Conservatory for a special discussion on Artificial Intelligence, ethics and the values that should guide the AI era.

On 12 September 2025, under the shadow of the Acropolis, in the ancient theatre that for almost two millennia has been hosting humanity’s most important questions, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nobel laureate and co-founder & Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, and Endeavor co-founder & CEO Linda Rottenberg, will meet for a meaningful discussion on technology and ethics.

The following speakers will participate in the main discussion of the Athens Innovation Summit, organized by Endeavor Greece in collaboration with Google Greece:

• Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic. His government has highlighted digitalisation and innovation as key pillars of Greece’s economic recovery and has reshaped the country’s international image.
• Demis Hassabis, Co-founder & CEO of Google DeepMind and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2024. He was honoured for his pioneering contribution to the development of Artificial Intelligence systems (such as AlphaFold), which decoded protein structures on a large scale – a discovery with huge implications for medicine and life sciences.
• Linda Rottenberg, Co-founder & CEO of Endeavor, with many years of action in promoting high impact entrepreneurship in emerging markets around the world.

Together, they will explore how the principles of human dignity, respect for democratic institutions and shared prosperity can guide the development of breakthrough technologies – in particular Artificial Intelligence. They will also discuss how countries can harness innovation to accelerate inclusive growth while protecting the openness of their societies.

The importance of the Athens Innovation Summit for Greece

Over the last decade, Greece has transformed from an example of an economic crisis into a success story and an Innovation Nation. Targeted reforms, a radical digital transformation of public services and a more investment- and technology-friendly environment have repositioned the country as an attractive way to work, create, invest and live.

The talented Greek diaspora is returning (or participating remotely), global tech giants are strengthening their presence in Greece and a new generation of founders of fast-growing companies (scale-ups) is making its appearance. Athens Innovation Summit 2 uses this momentum to formulate a bold proposal:  Greece can be a reference point for the international debate on the values that will shape the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – a role that is uniquely aligned with its philosophical heritage.

Building a Tradition: From the First Athens Innovation Summit to Today

The Athens Innovation Summit has its roots on 14 July 2022, when Endeavor Greece organized an innovation milestone at the Herodes Atticus Conservatory. That historic evening included a discussion between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Ted Sarandos (Co-CEO & Chief Content Officer, Netflix) and Linda Rottenberg, which took place in the presence of thousands of attendees from Greece and around the world.

The program combined modern innovation with classic appeal: Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody dramatically recited Pericles’ Epitaph, linking ancient democratic ideals to the modern business world.

The promise of that evening – to create a world-class innovation forum with Greek roots but international reach – continues with the 2nd Athens Innovation Summit, which this time places Artificial Intelligence (AI)and disruptive technologies at the heart of the discussion, welcoming Google  as a partner.

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