Call for Proposals

As Gaia-X shifts into “Season 2.0”, the ecosystem is moving beyond proofs-of-concept toward economically sustainable, operational data spaces and trusted cloud/AI solutions. 

The Business Theatre, under the theme Season 2.0 – Operational ROI, Trustful AI & Market Adoption, is the flagship stage for practical application, commercial viability, and real-world value creation. We are seeking industry leaders, innovative SMEs, tech providers, and project consortia to showcase live products, scalable business models, and concrete ROI enabled by recent updates to the Gaia-X Framework (Compliance Document v4.0.0, Gaia-X Stack 3.0 (Danube Release), Digital Clearing Houses, and Labelling Schemes). 

To ensure high-impact presentations, all proposals must directly address the Core Guiding Questions outlined for each submission block. 

Priority Tracks & Guiding Questions 

Block 1: Monetisation & Business Models in Operational Data Spaces 

Focus: How companies generate tangible economic value using Gaia-X-compliant architectures. 

Key Subtopics: 

• Market-ready monetisation models for data sharing (e.g., manufacturing, automotive, energy, healthcare). 
• Reducing integration and compliance costs via automated trust verification. 
• Cross-data-space transactions and interoperability across regions or sectors. 

 

Guiding Questions for Proposals: 

1. What economic or business value is your ecosystem trying to create? 
2. Why does that value require collaboration across organisations? 
3. Where are you in the Data Space/ecosystem journey? 
4. What are the main sources of friction (e.g., governance, onboarding, trust, compliance, integration, infrastructure, business model, participation)? 
5. What is the economic consequence of that friction? 
6. What needs to become reusable, automated, or interoperable to scale? 
7. What has Gaia-X changed or enabled in practice? 
8. What measurable or observable business impact are you seeing? 

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Block 2: Trustworthy AI & “Bring Your Own Rules” (BYOR) 

Focus: Deploying commercial AI on sovereign, federated infrastructures aligned with European standards. 

Key Subtopics: 

• Monetising AI training datasets with verifiable credentials and usage policies. 
• Custom governance and regional compliance extensions built on Trust Framework 3.0. 
• Real-world implementations aligning with the EU Cloud and AI Development Act. 

 

Guiding Questions for Proposals: 

1. What AI capabilities or data-driven insights are you trying to unlock through cross-organisational collaboration? 
2. Why can this AI model or workload not be achieved within a single silo? 
3. How are you navigating friction around IP protection, data sovereignty, and regulatory compliance? 
4. What is the financial or operational cost of regulatory uncertainty or trust friction in your AI deployments? 
5. How are you utilising Gaia-X Trust Framework rules or custom policy extensions to automate governance? 
6. What observable performance, compliance, or financial gains has Gaia-X enabled for your AI models? 

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Block 3: SME Adoption & Turnkey Services 

Focus: Lowering barrier-to-entry for small and medium-sized enterprises. 

Key Subtopics: 

• Commercial products integrated with Gaia-X Credential Wizards or Digital Clearing Houses (GXDCH). 
• Low-code/no-code onboarding tools for trustful data exchanges. 
• Managed cloud and edge infrastructure carrying operational Gaia-X Labels. 

 

Guiding Questions for Proposals: 

1. What specific value proposition are you offering SMEs to convince them to join the ecosystem? 
2. Why is friction (e.g., complex onboarding, high integration costs) disproportionately harming SME participation? 
3. How far along is your solution in transitioning SMEs from trial to daily operational use? 
4. What manual processes or compliance hurdles have you made automated, reusable, or plug-and-play? 
5. How do Gaia-X components (like GXDCH or Credential Wizards) lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) for smaller players? 
6. What concrete business metrics (e.g., onboarding time reduced, cost savings, new market access) prove your impact? 

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Block 4: Live Pitch: Sovereign Products & Market Solutions 

Focus: Rapid-fire feature presentations of market-ready products. 

Key Subtopics: 

• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) offerings powered by Gaia-X primitives. 
• Verified compliance tools, clearing house integration, and sovereign identity solutions. 

 

Guiding Questions for Proposals: 

1. What market gap or customer pain point does your product address? 
2. Why does your solution require Gaia-X compliance/trust primitives rather than standard proprietary tech? 
3. Where is your product in its commercial lifecycle (e.g., Beta, Production, Scaling)? 
4. How does your product eliminate technical or operational friction for enterprise buyers? 
5. How are Gaia-X standards leveraged under the hood to ensure interoperability and scale? 
6. What customer traction, ROI, or adoption figures demonstrate your product’s market success? 

 

Session Formats 

Format	Duration	Structure	Best Used For
Business Case Keynote	20 min	15 min presentation + 5 min Q&A	C-level/Product Lead presenting proven ROI & market deployment.
Data Space Showcase	30 min	20 min joint presentation + 10 min Q&A	Cross-industry consortia presenting a live ecosystem in production.
Product Tech Pitch	15 min	10 min live demo + 5 min Q&A	Commercial vendors showcasing a solution powered by Trust Framework 3.0.

 Submission Requirements 

Proposals must strictly focus on commercial, operational, or practical business value. 

When submitting, please ensure your abstract explicitly addresses the guiding questions relevant to your chosen track. 

1. Title & Abstract (Max 400 words — structured using the guiding questions above). 
2. Track Selection (Blocks 1–4). 
3. Maturity Level: Clearly state your stage on the Data Space/Product journey (e.g., Pilot, Production, Scaling). 
4. The Gaia-X Link: Explicitly state which specific updates to the Gaia-X Framework (e.g., Gaia-X Stack 3.0, Gaia-X Labels, Credential Wizard, GXDCH…) your project leverages. 
5. Business Impact Metrics: Include concrete, measurable figures (e.g., cost reductions, customer adoption numbers, revenue generated…). 
6. Speaker Bio & Previous Speaking Experience. 

 

Timeline & Deadlines 

• Submission Deadline: 11 October 2026 (23:59 CET)
• Submission Email: events@gaia-x.eu
• Submission Outcome: 18 October 2026 
• Final Presentation Deck Due: 9 November 2026 
• Summit Dates: 19–20 November 2026 (Vienna, Austria). All speakers need to be present on stage in Vienna.
• Gaia-X COO Team will integrate it into the Business Theatre agenda so it fits naturally within the programme’s overall flow.