About

Mario Behling is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of OPNTEC, a company that develops sustainable open-source software AI and open hardware IoT products. He is also the co-founder of FOSSASIA, an organization that develops open-source software and hardware solutions with a global developer community from its base in Asia and organizes open technology events around the year. Mario is passionate about sustainable open hardware and AI assistants and works with a global community to bring them to market. He has also designed and built a seven-storey eco-hotel in Vietnam and set up mesh networks in schools in Afghanistan. Mario has over 16 years of relevant experience and has worked with various organizations in the past. He was the Vice President of FFII, a global network of associations dedicated to information about free and competitive software markets, and genuine open standards working closely with the European Parliament and partners from industry and civil society. CNET awarded the FFII the Outstanding contribution to software development prize for this work. Mario has a Bachelor's and Master's degree from Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) and has also studied at Università degli Studi di Macerata and Universite de Lorraine. He has a tech stack that includes AI and software engineering. Apart from tech, Mario also has an interest in Indian and Brazilian music. Collaborating with developers and partners around the world is a key to Mario's success in the age of technology. He believes that sharing open technologies, knowledge, and resources is essential in building a sustainable FOSS ecosystem. Mario is currently working on sustainable open hardware and AI assistants supported by the Horizon 2020 program of the EU.