Plug and Play Tirana Expo 2026: Silicon Valley comes to the Balkans

From Microsoft and Google to European investment funds: the international names arriving at Plug and Play Tirana Expo 2026.

On October 7 and 8, the Pyramid of Tirana hosts Plug and Play Tirana Expo 2026, one of the most important technology events in the region. The event marks the conclusion of eight months of the acceleration programme for the 21 startups of the second cohort. However, beyond the startup presentations, what sets this edition apart is the list of participants: for two days, Tirana will host executives from global corporations, successful investment funds and leaders of the Plug and Play international network.

Global corporations on stage

For startups, meeting representatives of large corporations is a rare chance to see how their solutions can be applied on a large scale and to build strategic partnerships. Present at the Expo will be Raymond J. Chow, Senior Manager for business innovation at Daimler; Moritz Glandien from DXC Technology brings his experience in digital services innovation, while Dr. Bill Barber, Director of Innovation at the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, will share his perspective on the future of the sector.

Artificial intelligence and cloud technology will have top-level representatives: Fatos Ismaili, Chief AI Architect at Microsoft, and Dario Andreoli, Head of Cloud Platforms at Google. These are just some of the dozens of confirmed names, the full list of which can be found at www.tiranaexpo.com.

The investors coming to Tirana

The presence of venture capital funds (VCs) gives startups a real opportunity for their ideas to turn into significant investments and to open the way to global markets. Among the investors who will evaluate Albanian startups is Julien Coustaury, Founding Partner of Fil Rouge Capital. Alongside him will be Alexandra Lazar from Elevator Ventures, specialised in portfolio finance and investor relations, and Max Gurvits, Managing Partner of Vitosha Ventures. The group of investors is completed by Rodrigo Ferreira, Investment Director at Vinthera, and Zeina Mandour, Venture Investment Manager at Dar.

The leaders of the Plug and Play global network

An event of this calibre could not be without the leaders of the Plug and Play international network itself. Coming to Tirana is Jackie Hernandez, Founding Member and Senior Vice President for Global Partnerships at Plug and Play, accompanied by partners Carolin Wais and Philipp Gneiting, who have long experience in identifying startups, strategy and supporting entrepreneurs around the world.

The Expo opens on October 7 with the welcoming speech of Martin Mata, CEO of AADF.

How to take part

Plug and Play Tirana Expo 2026 is more than a technology fair: it is a direct link between Albania and international capital markets. Over the two days, participants will have the opportunity to create contacts with prominent industry professionals and to see up close how the future of innovation in the country is taking shape. Register now at www.tiranaexpo.com and become part of an event that is influencing the development of the Albanian ecosystem.

Plug and Play Tirana is a branch of the global Plug and Play Tech Center platform, based in Silicon Valley, which operates in over 60 cities worldwide. Through support from the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF), in cooperation with IN Groupe, the Municipality of Tirana, the Pyramid, and the Innovation Hub, the programme has brought to Albania for the first time a structured approach to startup acceleration.