KubeCon Day 0: KubeAuto Day Europe 2026

KubeCon 2026 has just started and so have some of the most interesting conversations. We spent the morning at KubeAuto Day Europe, a Day 0 co-located event happening right before KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026 in Amsterdam. And honestly, this didn't feel like a side event.

KubeAuto Day sits at the intersection of AI and Kubernetes automation. These events are more focused and intentionally designed for practitioners who want depth over breadth. KubeCon week hosts several co-located events, each owning a specific slice of the cloud native ecosystem. KubeAuto Day owns the AI infrastructure automation conversation.

The first edition expected 300. Over 450 showed up. That's the signal!

What's Happening in KubeAuto 2026?

• Technical talks on AI + Kubernetes in production
• Hands-on workshops
• Networking with market leaders and operators

The goal is to teach people how to actually use AI and Kubernetes in production. The agenda covers everything from GPU cost optimization and multi-cloud capacity challenges to agentic AI, MCP, autonomous infrastructure, and compliance automation.

The agenda is packed with sessions that cover the real challenges practitioners face today:

• AI + DevOps: Nana Janashia (1.4M+ YouTube subscribers) opens the day with a sharp take on whether DevOps is still relevant in the age of AI
• Multi-cloud & GPU capacity: Cast AI's Field CTO on building multi-cloud Kubernetes when GPUs aren't available
• Kubernetes at scale in regulated industries: Real lessons on running Kubernetes safely and cost-efficiently across regions
• Agentic AI meets Kubernetes: A deep dive into MCP, A2A protocols, and what autonomous infrastructure actually looks like in practice
• GPU cost optimisation: How Dynamic Resource Allocation (DRA) is being used to cut GPU spend on Kubernetes
• AI code review in cloud-native: Qodo's Co-Founder on what AI-powered code review looks like in a cloud-native environment
• Observability: Moving beyond dashboards to a context engine for agentic Kubernetes observability
• Platform engineering: Can Claude Code actually reduce platform engineering toil? A 10-hour IDP experiment unpacked
• Compliance automation: Lessons from building a Continuous Compliance Framework on Kubernetes
• CTO Fireside: Daniel Gebler (CTO @Picnic) and Leon Kuperman (CTO @Cast AI) in conversation
• Kelsey Hightower Fireside: From "The Hard Way" to "The Invisible Way", need we say more

If interested, feel free to check out KubeAuto’s Agenda for more.

Who's in the Room With Us?

K8s engineers, platform teams, SREs, and cloud native practitioners who are past the theory and deep in production. The speakers alone say it: CTOs from scaling startups, senior engineers from regulated banks, field engineers solving multi-cloud capacity crises, and open source maintainers from the CNCF ecosystem. It's the people actually running Kubernetes at scale, figuring out where AI fits in, and how to make it work.

Why Join the KubeAuto Day?

1. It's a Day 0 Event: KubeAuto Day happens before KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe 2026 kicks off. The goal is to warm up attendees with smaller, focused conversations before the main conference begins.

2. It's Part of KubeCon's Co-located Events: KubeCon week runs multiple side events in parallel, each targeting a specific niche, including security, platform engineering, and AI infra. KubeAuto Day also owns the AI + Kubernetes automation lane.

3. Expected vs Actual Turnout The first edition expected 300 attendees, and over 450+ showed up. That gap is a strong signal, and the interest in AI + infra is real and growing fast.

4. The Core Purpose: Teach people how to actually use AI and K8s. The day is structured around:

• Talks: Keynotes and technical sessions from industry leaders on AI and Kubernetes automation
• Workshops: Hands-on sessions on cutting-edge tools and techniques in cloud-native automation
• Networking: Connect with leading experts, maintainers, and practitioners from the CNCF ecosystem

Why is KubeAuto a success? Look at the numbers! 450+ showed up when 300 were expected but beyond the headcount, the format works because it respects the audience. It is just practitioners, in a room, solving real problems together, in a space as fast-moving as AI + Kubernetes, and that's exactly why people keep showing up.

Who are the Sponsors?

KubeAuto Day Europe 2026 is backed by:

• Cast.ai: AI-powered Kubernetes cost optimisation and automation

• Qodo - AI-powered code review and testing for engineering teams

• Stack8s- Kubernetes-native platform for AI/ML workloads across multi-cloud

• AMD- Open AI infrastructure and silicon for next-gen Kubernetes workloads

• Solo.io- API and service mesh for cloud native

See You in Amsterdam!

We'll be covering the sessions, the conversations, and everything worth bringing back. Stay tuned for more!

Learn more at kubeauto.day