OpenSearchCon Europe 2026 Speaker Lineup Highlights the Future of Open Source Search, Observability and AI Innovation

Annual European event features expert insights from industry leaders, community collaboration, technical deep dives and more

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The OpenSearch Software Foundation, the neutral home for the OpenSearch Project, today announced the schedule for OpenSearchCon Europe 2026, which takes place in Prague, Czechia from 16-17 April. The event will bring the global OpenSearch community together to shape the future of search, observability, analytics and agentic AI.

As organizations across Europe accelerate AI adoption, many are re-evaluating the infrastructure behind retrieval, analytics and real-time insights. Concerns about vendor lock-in, rising costs and data sovereignty are driving demand for open, community-governed platforms. Recent research on sovereign AI shows that 83% of European leaders view it as a strategic priority, reinforcing the importance of community-driven innovation and technologies.

"Global leaders are taking a more deliberate approach to AI infrastructure," said Bianca Lewis, executive director of the OpenSearch Software Foundation. "Organizations are looking for platforms that support innovation without sacrificing control, cost transparency or long-term flexibility. As AI agents become more embedded in business workflows, modern search must provide the real-time context, multi-model retrieval and governance those systems depend on. OpenSearchCon Europe gathers the builders and decision makers that are shaping how open source search, observability and vector technologies will power the next generation of AI applications."

Keynotes and sessions will explore the future of search and AI with analyst expertise from S&P Global, OpenSearch's feature advancements and roadmap, real-world OpenSearch migration stories from organizations like the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration, and best practices for observability and analytics.

Highlights Include:

• Scaling Welfare With Open Source: How NAV Migrated To Managed OpenSearch – Dmitry Kan, Aiven & Hans Kristian Flaatten, Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration
• From Embeddings To Index: A Practitioner's Guide To Domain-Adapted Neural Search – Samuel Herman, Oracle
• Ingesting Observability Data: OpenTelemetry Collector or Data Prepper? – Karsten Schnitter, SAP SE
• Integrating Docling With OpenSearch for Advanced RAG and Agentic Applications – Cesar Berrospi Ramis, IBM Research

Attendees can choose from more than 50 keynotes, lightning talks and breakout sessions. View the full schedule here.

Registration and Sponsorship
Registration for OpenSearchCon Europe is open. Discounted registration is available for academics and full-time students – view full details here. To request a press pass, contact [email protected].

For information on becoming an event sponsor, see here.

About the OpenSearch Software Foundation
The OpenSearch Software Foundation is a vendor-neutral community for search, analytics, observability, and vector database software. Hosted by the Linux Foundation and supported by premier members such as AWS, SAP and Uber, the OpenSearch Software Foundation works with community maintainers, developers, and member organizations to drive the continued growth of the OpenSearch project. With more than 1 billion software downloads since its inception and participation from thousands of contributors, the OpenSearch project and its community are transforming how information is managed and discovered. To learn more, please visit foundation.opensearch.org.

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Media Contact
Kristi Piechnik
The Linux Foundation
[email protected] 

SOURCE OpenSearch Software Foundation