Reflection on the 2025 HPI Tech-Leadership-Conference

The HPI Tech-Leadership-Conference (TLC) 2025 provided a rare opportunity to engage with decision-makers from Europe’s technology ecosystem and beyond. As part of this year’s student moderator team, I had the privilege to facilitate the spotlight session featuring Johann Dornbach, VP AI Frontier at Aleph Alpha. In preparation for this role, I conducted in-depth research into Aleph Alpha’s positioning, their published work, and current debates in the foundation model landscape. Together with my team, we crafted a set of thoughtful questions for the panel, aiming to go beyond surface-level praise and enter a meaningful dialogue.

Moderating the session was a personally and professionally stretching experience. I welcomed Mr. Dornbach on stage, briefly introduced his background, and engaged in a panel discussion following his keynote. The experience of standing in front of over 150 industry professionals, many of them executives, pushed me beyond my comfort zone and left a lasting impression.

Key Insights and Reflections

Thematically, the TLC focused on leadership in times of global and technological disruption. While I had anticipated insights into Europe’s competitive strengths, my experience in the session with Aleph Alpha left me with mixed feelings. Despite the company’s branding as a European AI pioneer, I was surprised—and frankly disappointed—by the lack of transparency and clarity regarding their foundational model capabilities. I left the session with the impression that Aleph Alpha builds predominantly on models developed elsewhere, without contributing substantially to the core technological frontier. This was especially disheartening, as I had hoped to discover a truly sovereign European approach to foundational AI.

On the other hand, I found inspiration in other contributions, especially Google’s insights on Gemini 2.5 Pro. Their open demonstration of agentic capabilities and deep integration across products gave me a concrete picture of what strong technological leadership can look like when research and application go hand in hand.

Beyond the content, I am deeply grateful for the collaboration within my team. Laura and Ashish offered steady support throughout the preparation and live session. Their patience and encouragement helped me face the stage despite my own insecurities. I was later told that my nervousness was not visible, which gave me confidence and motivation to improve further.

Outlook and Personal Development

This conference marked a turning point for me. I realized that in order to contribute meaningfully to the field of AI, I need to move closer to its foundational layer—where models are built, not merely applied. The discussions at the TLC sparked a strong desire in me to deepen my understanding of foundational AI by immersing myself in environments where these systems are actively developed. In particular, I became convinced that I need to gain experience in the United States, where many of the most advanced research efforts are taking place. I am currently exploring opportunities that would allow me to learn firsthand how such technologies are built and scaled, ideally in close collaboration with leading research teams. This reflection has helped me realign my goals, and I now feel a clearer sense of direction for my future steps.