Davos 2026 — Day 2 Highlights

On Day 2 of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, Switzerland, discussions deepened around AI, economic transformation, geopolitical tensions, and leadership confidence, bringing out both opportunities and challenges facing global business and policy leaders.

AI Beyond Content — Into Action

AI emerged as a central theme — not just in generating content, but in driving enterprise systems and workflow automation. Experts noted that discussions have moved beyond basic generative models to “agentic AI” that can reason and operate in real environments, including commerce, logistics, and payments.

Davos 2026: Key Early Highlights

1. High‑Profile Participation & Geopolitical Shift

Davos 2026, the 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland, has drawn around 3,000 global leaders from business, politics, and civil society. Among them are U.S. President Donald Trump and senior members of his administration, reflecting a pronounced U.S. presence on the agenda.

Trump’s attendance — his first in person at Davos in six years — is widely seen not just as ceremonial but as a signal of geopolitical influence, shaping discussions on trade, economic policy, and global power dynamics.

His speech, expected mid‑week, is anticipated to emphasize economic reform priorities, including proposals on markets and national economic resilience.

2. Shifting Agenda: Geopolitics, Growth & Dialogue

Although the official theme of Davos 2026 is “A Spirit of Dialogue,” the tone of discussions reflects broader global strain:

• Geoeconomic conflict — i.e., the use of tariffs, sanctions, and trade policy as tools of geopolitical influence — has emerged as a Focus areas include
• These shifts indicate Davos is adapting to a world where strategic competition and technological power play increasingly shape priorities.

3. Diplomacy & Ongoing Talks

Private Club or Trump's "Peace Council"?

In January 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new international entity called the "Board of Peace", or Peace Council. This is not a traditional global organization like the United Nations (UN), but rather a closed club of selected nations and leaders, personally invited by the U.S. and Trump himself.

Unlike inclusive institutions based on international law, this initiative is positioned as an elite alliance, where membership depends on strict conditions and the direct oversight of Washington.

It was originally presented as a mechanism for overseeing the transition and reconstruction in Gaza under a UN Security Council mandate until 2027, but is now expanding toward broader geopolitical influence.

Terms of Participation and Structure

Why US startups do not look at the European market

This was exactly the challenge discussed during the Innovation Industry Talk “Beyond Borders: Scaling US Medtech Startups”, held on October 29 in San Francisco and organised by Mind the Bridge and Theras.

The problem Alberto Onetti addresses is this: “The gap emerges between research and company creation: tech transfer effectiveness, incentives for faculty entrepreneurship, access to early-stage capital, and the ability to scale spinouts beyond the lab. The result is a paradox: strong science, weak industrialisation of research.”

Unfortunately, this problem is relevant to universities in many countries. This is evident from the map: a number of countries are not even present.

There are already proven tools for solving this. In my opinion, the problem lies with the leadership of a number of countries, which are not ready for change, but simply maintain the status quo that has existed for decades.

Although the event focused on MedTech, its conclusions resonate across nearly every innovation-driven sector.