Anyone working in media knows it: the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam. In 2026, Europe’s leading trade fair for media technology once again attracted major international film, TV and streaming companies, startups and media professionals to the Dutch capital. This year, MediaTech Hub Potsdam was there with its own stand, joined by startup teams from the Babelsberg and Berlin ecosystem.

Eight startups, one stage

Together with eight startups from the MTH Accelerator network — Mimic Minds, Contentflow, Graphrs, DeepTranslate, SONALAB, BotTalk, Ontoworks and EINBLIQ.IO — MTH was present in Hall 14. Startup Program Manager Daria Trinz also took the opportunity to appear on the Ignite Stage, where she pitched MediaTech Hub Potsdam to a wider audience.

MediaTech trends: fresh impulses from Amsterdam

Meanwhile, Simon Sturzenegger, Head of Creative Technologies at MTH, took part in an intensive programme of panels, receptions and product demos. His highlight: the AWS Reception on a former oil rig in Amsterdam harbour — a spectacular setting. Beyond that, he had many valuable conversations with people at the forefront of AI innovation in the media industry. His key takeaways:

AI is getting serious, siloed solutions are disappearing

The buzzword phase is over. In its place, reliable technologies are emerging in real-world applications. One example Simon points to is the AI-powered video editor Eddie AI — a tool that shows how AI can actually be integrated into production workflows instead of remaining just a promise.

Another trend Simon observed: interoperability is increasingly outperforming siloed solutions. Open interfaces and the interaction of different systems are becoming the new normal. Solutions like CONFORM.TOOLS, which supports all major colour grading and editing platforms, make it clear that the industry no longer wants closed ecosystems.

The concept of vendor lock-in may also soon become a thing of the past. Decision-makers are becoming less willing to commit to individual providers for the long term. Agility is in demand — visible, for example, in post-production and around the topic of S3, for which Suite Studios has just launched a fitting solution.

Conversation remains the most important thing

What impressed Simon most, despite all the technological developments, was the realization of how irreplaceable in-person meetings remain. Shop talk, spontaneous exchanges, conversations at the booth — these are things that cannot be digitized, even in the future.

And the general mood at IBC? Both Daria and Simon speak of a noticeable sense of optimism in the industry. Perhaps that is the most important insight from IBC 2026: we should look ahead more often.