November 9th, 2026
On November 5th, our CEO Gemma Galdon-Clavell, PhD, took part in the Digital Europe: Sovereignty, Security and Rights event, organised by Fundación Hermes in Madrid.
Gemma joined the panel "Sovereignty without walls: can Europe gain technological autonomy without sacrificing rights or allies?" alongside Violeta Ruiz Almendral, Professor of Financial and Tax Law at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, and José Ignacio Torreblanca, Director of the Madrid office of the European Council on International Relations.
The discussion was moderated by Beatriz Escriña, PhD, Deputy Executive Director of Fundación Hermes. The session was an open debate on the future of technology and AI in Europe, and Gemma brought several ideas to the table, including:
Europe's leverage is in what we build on top of models
AI models are quickly becoming a commodity. Rather than competing only on the models themselves, Europe's real advantage lies in its capacity to build valuable, trustworthy applications on top of them.
Public procurement can help European companies grow
When public administrations invest in European start-ups and small companies, they give them one of the strongest levers they have to scale. Public buyers can shape the market, not just use it.
Measure, don't assume
Before we trust AI to teach our children maths, do we actually know how they learn? That question is at the heart of our work on AI in education. Evidence has to come before adoption, especially where the stakes are this high.
Our thanks to Fundación Hermes for organising the event and to our fellow panelists for a lively and thoughtful conversation!