Speaker · Human × AI 2026
Victor Caduc
Co-founder & CEO, Proxima

Victor Caduc spoke at Human × AI 2026 on 19 May 2026 in Vienna. Speakers for Human × AI 2027 have not been announced yet.
Sovereignty is not a white paper. It is a deployment decision. And deployment decisions require infrastructure that does not yet exist in Europe at the scale and form factor the moment demands.
About
Victor Caduc is the co-founder and CEO of Proxima, a European deeptech company building the next generation of sovereign AI infrastructure. Proxima is redefining how AI is deployed in Europe by combining open-source models, sovereign cloud infrastructure, and energy-aware orchestration to deliver AI that is simultaneously high-performance, confidential, and radically more efficient.
The company builds what Caduc calls micro AI factories: compact, immersion-cooled compute units designed to be embedded directly in the communities they serve — returning waste heat as a public resource. French, fluent in French and English, Victor is based in Paris.
Background
With a background in engineering and international operations, Victor previously led the South African subsidiary of a French industrial group, managing complex projects, scaling operations, and driving business in demanding environments. This operational grounding now shapes his approach to AI: pragmatic, execution-focused, and built for real-world impact.
Vision
At Proxima, Victor leads strategy, growth, and partnerships with a clear ambition: to make Europe a global leader in trusted, sovereign, and sustainable AI infrastructure. Not by building a European hyperscaler, but by deploying a different kind of infrastructure entirely — distributed rather than centralised, energy-positive rather than energy-consuming, and sovereign by architecture rather than by policy declaration.
Areas of Expertise
- Sovereign AI Infrastructure
- Immersion Cooling & Energy Efficiency
- Open-Source AI Deployment
- European Deeptech Strategy
- International Operations & Scaling
- Strategic Partnerships
Session at Human × AI 2026 · Panel
Can Europe Build Its Own Technology Foundation?
- Date
- Time
- 12:50 – 13:25
- Place
- Main Stage, Vienna

