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Founder Summit — October 12–14, 2026
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About Agenda Speakers Sponsors Venue Attendees
Founder
Summit
About the summit
Chais Monnet, Cognac

A closed-door gathering for Elaia's portfolio CEOs: 48H in Cognac, split across a Growth Summit and the main Founder Summit.

Who it's for

100 founders and C-levels, mostly CEOs, from across Elaia's early-stage portfolio — plus a small number of non-portfolio guests.

The two tracks

Growth Summit is an invitation-only track for growth-stage founders, running Monday; the main Founder Summit runs Monday evening through Wednesday.

Notable guests
  • 2x founders with billion $$$ exits
  • Founders from 6 of Elaia's biggest exits
  • Speakers leading @ Google, Anthropic & NVIDIA
  • 1:1 professional coaching sessions

Three days,
two tracks.

Every session is tagged Growth Summit or Founder Summit.

Monday, October 12 — 2026
Founder Summit
This shuttle is for those arriving on the 2:16pm train from Paris Montparnasse.
5:30–6:30pm
Check-in & welcome drink
Lobby
Founder Summit
Xavier Lazarus — Co-Founder & CEO, Elaia & Lazard Elaia Capital. Full bio in the Speakers section below.
7:15–8:00pm
A message from Vibe's founder, Arthur Querou
La Ballroom
Founder Summit
8:00–9:30pm
Cocktail dînatoire & book swap
Rooftop
Founder Summit
9:30pm–12:00am
Drinks with a special musical guest
Bar 1838
Founder Summit
October 12, 2026

Invitation-only Growth Summit

The intimate gathering brings together CEOs facing a similar challenge: what comes next after facing hyper-growth?

This shuttle is for those arriving on the 8:01am train from Paris Montparnasse.
11:30am–12:30pm
AMA with Ian Massingham, Anthropic
Business Center
Growth Summit
12:30–2:30pm
Michelin-star meal
Les Foudres
Growth Summit
  • 2:30–3:15pmTransforming your internal processesHR, recruiting, finance, reporting: how to modernise without AI becoming just another exploding infrastructure cost.
  • 3:15–4:00pmThe AI accidents we'd rather anticipate than sufferOverly broad agent permissions, model dependency… How can you deploy AI agents and models in highly demanding financial environments without creating new systemic risks?
  • 4:30–5:00pmBeyond productivity, AI as a new way of workingHow do you bring your teams on board, not just with AI as a productivity tool, but with the idea that a new profession is taking shape before their very eyes?
  • 5:00–5:30pmBreaking free from large model dependencyPooling, forks, alternatives: how to keep your AI bill under control over time.
  • 5:30–6:00pmRedefining the role of developers and tech teams
Tuesday, October 13 — 2026
8:00–9:00am
Yoga / Run Club
Yoga: Bar 1838 · Run: meet in the lobby
Founder Summit
8:00–9:45am
Breakfast
La Distillerie
Founder Summit
  • 1.1 — Managing yourself and your VCsOlivier Vaury
  • 1.2 — GTM in the age of AI: selling when everything has changedFlorian Bressand
  • 1.3 — Fundraising in the age of AIAlexis Frentz, Anne-Sophie Carrese, Elaia
  • 1.4 — Exiting to PE: is it still relevant?Xavier Zeitoun, Zenchef
  • 2.1 — Competitive moats in the age of AI: build or bust?Sudeep Goswami, Traefik Labs
  • 2.2 — Going global without burning the house downPierre-Antoine Dusoulier, iBanFirst
  • 2.3 — Sold, now what?Clément Jeanjean, Cryptosense
  • 2.4 — Under the hood: computer use, capabilities & limitsGeraldine Lafontaine, H Company
11:30am–12:00pm
Coffee break
La Ballroom
Founder Summit
Asma Mhalla — Political Theorist, Author of Cyberpunk. Full bio in the Speakers section below.
12:45–2:30pm
Seated lunch & team photo
La Distillerie
Founder Summit
2:45–4:00pm
Networking sessions
Hôtel Particulier
Founder Summit
4:00–4:30pm
Coffee break
Hôtel Particulier
Founder Summit
4:45–7:00pm
Exclusive visit to local cognac houses
Meet in the lobby
Founder Summit
7:45–10:30pm
Drinks & dinner
Château de Cognac
Founder Summit
10:30pm–12:00am
Afterparty
Bar 1838
Founder Summit
Wednesday, October 14 — 2026
8:00–9:00am
Yoga / Run
Yoga: Bar 1838 · Run: meet in the lobby
Founder Summit
8:00–10:00am
Breakfast & check-out
La Distillerie
Founder Summit
This is for the 11:28am train to Paris Montparnasse.

Who's on stage.

Tap a card for a preview of the format.

Florian Bressand
Florian Bressand
Former Mistral AI & Mirakl
LinkedIn ↗
Florian is an advisor, board member, and investor helping ambitious software and AI companies scale, drawing on leadership experience at Mistral AI and Mirakl.
Anne-Sophie Carrese
Anne-Sophie Carrese
Managing Partner, Elaia
LinkedIn ↗
Anne-Sophie is Managing Partner at Elaia.
Gautier Cloix
Gautier Cloix
H Company
LinkedIn ↗
Gautier is building H Company, drawing on a decade of experience helping organizations put data and AI to work at Palantir.
Philippe Corrot
Philippe Corrot
Co-Founder & CEO, Mirakl
LinkedIn ↗
Philippe is the co-founder and CEO of Mirakl.
Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier
Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier
Founder & CEO, iBanFirst
LinkedIn ↗
Pierre-Antoine is building iBanFirst, the digital cross-border payments platform giving international businesses simpler FX, payments, and treasury tools.
Alexis Frentz
Alexis Frentz
Partner, Elaia
LinkedIn ↗
Alexis is a Partner at Elaia.
Sudeep Goswami
Sudeep Goswami
CEO, Traefik Labs
LinkedIn ↗
Sudeep is building Traefik Labs into the cloud-native API management layer for DevOps and platform teams, combining deep infrastructure expertise with a strong go-to-market focus.
Clément Jeanjean
Clément Jeanjean
Senior Advisor, SandboxAQ
LinkedIn ↗
Clément is a serial technology entrepreneur and advisor who turns complex innovations into scalable businesses, including cybersecurity startup Cryptosense (acq. by SandboxAQ).
Geraldine Lafontaine
Geraldine Lafontaine
COO, H Company
LinkedIn ↗
Geraldine is COO at H Company.
Xavier Lazarus
Xavier Lazarus
Co-Founder & CEO, Elaia & Lazard Elaia Capital
LinkedIn ↗
Xavier is the co-founder of Elaia & Lazard Elaia Capital, backing ambitious technology companies from pre-seed to pre-IPO.
Ian Massingham
Ian Massingham
Head of Applied AI, EMEA Startups, Anthropic
LinkedIn ↗
Ian is building the applied AI ecosystem for startups at Anthropic, helping developers turn Claude and emerging technologies into real-world products.
Asma Mhalla
Asma Mhalla
Political Theorist, Author of Cyberpunk
LinkedIn ↗
Asma is mapping the geopolitics of Big Tech and AI, turning questions of power, sovereignty, and digital control into bestselling essays and public debate.
Olivier Vaury
Olivier Vaury
Former CFO, Amazon FR & ManoMano, deep tech investor in 70+ startups
LinkedIn ↗
Olivier is a finance and operations leader and deep tech investor who has helped scale some of Europe's fastest-growing companies, drawing on his experience as CFO at Amazon France and ManoMano.
Xavier Zeitoun
Xavier Zeitoun
Co-Founder, Zenchef
LinkedIn ↗
Xavier is building his next company after scaling Zenchef into a European restaurant-tech leader, while investing in and advising the next generation of European startups.
With thanks to

Getting to Cognac.

Trains and shuttles are coordinated — you just need to be at the right platform. Travel questions? Contact Isabelle Amigues.

Growth Summit — getting there

  • Train from Paris, Monday morning (8:01–10:23am)
  • Shuttle to hotel from Angoulême station

Founder Summit — getting there

  • Train to Angoulême, Monday afternoon (2:16–4:31pm)
  • Bus from the station onward to Cognac (~45 min)
  • Return: shuttle + train to Paris, Wednesday morning

What to pack

  • Casual for keynotes & breakouts
  • Something dressier — dinner is at the exclusive Château de Cognac
  • Yoga / run kit for the Tuesday & Wednesday morning sessions
  • A layer for evenings outdoors
  • Your favorite book for our annual book swap