FOREUS to Moderate European Tech Sovereignty Workshop in Vienna
FOREUS CEO Stefan Embacher will moderate a Vienna workshop connecting defense, space, AI and investment with European technological sovereignty.
FOREUS Co-Founder and CEO Stefan Embacher will moderate a Technology Talks Austria 2026 workshop in Vienna on September 10 focused on converting European research, capital and emerging technologies into sovereign capabilities. The session will bring together representatives from defense, space, artificial intelligence, investment and deep-tech companies as Europe seeks to reduce dependencies in strategically important technologies.
The session, Science to Sovereignty: Europe in the Global Tech Race, forms part of Technology Talks Austria 2026 at MuseumsQuartier Vienna. The two-day conference on September 10 and 11 focuses on technological leadership and resilience in Europe, with dual-use technologies, infrastructure and industrial capabilities among its central themes.
Defense and space enter Europe's sovereignty debate
The workshop addresses structural dependencies across technologies that underpin Europe's economy and security. Organizers identify reliance on US cloud providers, Asian semiconductor supply and Chinese rare earths as examples of dependencies that complicate Europe's push for greater technological sovereignty.
At the same time, the program identifies growing momentum in space, defense and dual-use technologies, increasingly supported by artificial intelligence. Deep-tech companies emerging from European research institutions are part of an effort to convert scientific expertise into technologies that can be developed and controlled within Europe.
The question extends beyond research. The workshop will examine the role of teams and investment capital, as well as governments acting as first customers for emerging European technologies.
That combination has particular relevance for Europe's defense technology sector. Developing a new technology does not by itself establish technological sovereignty if European companies cannot finance its growth, industrialize it or secure early customers.
FOREUS moderates a cross-sector technology discussion
Embacher will moderate the session as Co-Founder and CEO of FOREUS. His role places the Vienna-based company within a broader discussion connecting security and technology with Europe's industrial and investment environment.
The announced participants span several parts of that ecosystem. Andreas Perotti, Group Director Future Defence Business at Frequentis and Co-Founder of Stealth Defence, will provide a direct defense-industry perspective.
The space sector will be represented by Moritz Novak, founder of Vienna University of Technology spin-off Gate Space, and Christoph Tscherne, Co-Founder of AIT spin-off Confident Space Technologies. Angie Quarry, Founder and CEO and CTO of SHAMA AI, adds an artificial intelligence perspective.
Philipp Spenger, Head of Unit at European Innovation Council Fund Investment Services for Venture and Growth Capital, will contribute the investment perspective. Martin Rauchbauer, founder of the Tech Diplomacy Network and former Austrian technology ambassador in Silicon Valley, and Susanne Katzler-Fuchs of BRIMATECH Services are also scheduled to participate.
Vienna brings research, capital and defense industry together
Technology Talks Austria 2026 is organized by AIT Austrian Institute of Technology with partners from Austria's research, technology and innovation community. The 2026 program includes 12 workshops alongside six plenary sessions, with topics ranging from quantum technology and strategic procurement to digital sovereignty and dual-use applications.
Austria Wirtschaftsservice, Vienna University of Technology, accent through ESA Phi-Lab Austria and AIT are organizing the Science to Sovereignty session. Their focus on startups and scale-ups reflects a broader European challenge: moving technology from research environments into companies capable of scaling it commercially and, where relevant, supplying security and defense customers.
For Europe's emerging defense-tech sector, the workshop also highlights the increasing overlap between technologies traditionally separated into civilian, commercial and military markets. Space systems, artificial intelligence and other dual-use technologies increasingly depend on the same research base, investment networks and industrial capacity.
The question in Vienna will therefore be less about whether Europe can produce advanced research and more about whether it can connect research, founders, capital, industry and public procurement closely enough to retain control over critical capabilities.
Technology Talks Austria 2026: Key questions
What will FOREUS CEO Stefan Embacher do at Technology Talks Austria 2026?
Stefan Embacher, Co-Founder and CEO of FOREUS, will moderate the Science to Sovereignty: Europe in the Global Tech Race workshop in Vienna on September 10. The session connects European technological sovereignty with defense, dual-use technology, space, AI and investment.
Which defense industry representative will join the workshop?
Andreas Perotti, Group Director Future Defence Business at Frequentis and Co-Founder of Stealth Defence, is among the announced participants. The wider group includes representatives from space companies, AI, European investment and technology policy.
Why does the workshop matter for European defense tech?
The workshop addresses one of the structural challenges facing European defense and dual-use companies: converting research into scalable sovereign technologies. Its agenda specifically connects deep-tech spin-offs with capital and governments acting as first customers.
