What we learned, shared, and loved at this year’s conference.
Authors: Benjamin Degerbaix Diana Carmen Cibu Alex Morus Alexandru Tudor Andreea Dragomirescu Catalin Stan George Patrascu Mihai Iacob Nicu Murgu Ovidiu Badea Rareș Nicolaide Sergiu Petrescu
Voxxed Days Bucharest 2025 brought together an exceptional mix of industry professionals, passionate developers, and thought leaders in a vibrant and engaging atmosphere. Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the event delivered a rich agenda with thought-provoking panels, hands-on sessions, and energizing talks. Whether you were there for the adrenaline of live coding, the exploration of AI’s evolving role, or simply to sharpen your technical axe, the experience was one of learning, reflection, and inspiration.
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Criteo Booth: Energy, Visibility, and Gadgets That Spin
It was our first time sponsoring an event in Romania and we wanted to make our mark. From a highly visible booth to a powerful speaker presence and engaging discussions, the conference provided an incredible opportunity to connect with the broader tech community in Bucharest.
Strategically positioned at the heart of the venue, the Criteo booth stood as a bright and active hub throughout the event. The team brought a strong presence — engaging with curious visitors, sparking conversations about our work, and making a strong impression on potential talent and partners alike. From shining t-shirts to endlessly spinning gadgets, the simple yet clever swag became memorable tokens of our engagement.
More than just a place to grab goodies, the booth served as a genuine connection point — where engineers, students, and professionals alike could learn what Criteo stands for, our commitment to community building, and how we’re helping to shape the future of ad tech.
Criteo on stage: personal debuts and a powerful story
One of the standout moments of Voxxed Days came from our very own Diana Cibu and Benjamin Degerbaix. Their presentation, “How to Handle Over 1 Trillion HTTP Requests on Black Friday Without Losing Sleep,” delivered more than just technical excellence — it told a story.
For Benjamin, this was his first speaking experience outside of France. “It was a very positive one — I’ll keep great memories of it,” he shared. The setting — the cozy atmosphere of the Crown Plaza, the friendly speaker dinner organized by Andra and Alex, and a room full of familiar faces — helped ease the nerves and made it a smooth, enjoyable debut.
Diana, meanwhile, stepped onto a conference stage for the very first time. “I know I was nervous at the beginning, but as the slides moved on, I felt more at ease,” she said. “It was great to see such a big audience, with so many people I recognised.” The experience left her excited for future speaking opportunities.
But beyond their personal experiences, the content of the talk itself made a big impression turning a complex industry like AdTech into a story that was accessible and insightful. Their session took the audience on a well-crafted journey: starting with the basics of the AdTech ecosystem, then diving into Criteo’s unique approach with its in-house cloud infrastructure, the technologies behind it, and the challenges and solutions from CyberWeek, including an explanation of what CyberWeek actually is. They closed by highlighting Criteo’s green initiatives and commitment to energy efficiency — a topic increasingly relevant to both industry and consumers. The talk managed to align perfectly with both the conference agenda — offering a relevant, forward-looking view of the AdTech landscape — and Criteo’s goals, raising the company’s profile in Bucharest.
The positive feedback was immediate. Attendees were Googling Criteo during the session, conversations continued at the booth, and the talk became a reference point for understanding how high-scale systems are built and maintained. All in all, Diana and Benjamin’s talk was much more than a presentation — it was a moment of growth, impact, and connection for both speakers and the wider team.
Main Takeaways from the Talks: From Type Safety to Self-Contained Systems
The breadth of topics at Voxxed Days was impressive — from AI’s philosophical impact to granular code architecture. Below is a comprehensive recap of some of the most impactful sessions and key takeaways, based on the insights shared by our colleagues who attended.
Artificial Intelligence: Reframing the Narrative
AI dominated many discussions, with its promise, pitfalls, and practical implications examined from multiple angles.
Keynote: It AI-n’t What You Think! by Venkat Subramaniam
Venkat opened the conference with a humorous yet thought-provoking take on AI. Challenging the hype, he explored how AI can sometimes stand for “Alternate Information” or “Absolutely Irrelevant,” reminding us that while powerful, AI remains a tool — one that requires careful supervision and critical thinking.
Takeaway: Embrace AI for productivity and ideation, but verify its output and understand its limitations. As Venkat reminded us, adaptability and creativity will remain our strongest assets.
Panel Discussions: The Future of Romanian Tech & The Local Tech Ecosystem
These sessions tackled how AI and automation are reshaping Romania’s tech sector. Speakers emphasized moving from outsourcing hours to building innovative products, and leveraging community, mentorship, and local entrepreneurship to grow a sustainable ecosystem.
Harnessing Synergy: Traditional + Generative AI in Document Processing (Madalin Ionescu & Rares Buzatu)
A practical session demonstrating the real-world application of blending classical computer vision with generative AI using Amazon Textract. This approach enabled accurate data extraction from handwritten forms — a great example of AI as a tool to solve specific, real problems.
Security and Software Design: Sharpening Our Tools
Friend or Foe? TypeScript Security Fallacies by Liran Tal
A standout session that debunked common assumptions about TypeScript’s ability to protect applications from runtime vulnerabilities. Liran illustrated real-world exploits (e.g., prototype pollution, parameter pollution) that can bypass static checks — even in projects using Zod for schema validation
Takeaway: Developers must understand the runtime behaviors of their tools and not rely solely on compile-time safety. Security needs to be approached holistically — from code to dependencies.
Creating Effective and Objective ADRs by Piet van Dongen
This talk resonated with many attendees, especially those working in teams that handle complex architectural decisions. Piet walked through how to clearly articulate the “why” behind decisions, avoid common anti-patterns (e.g., uninvolved decision-makers), and ensure transparency across stakeholders.
Takeaway: ADRs are not just for documentation — they’re tools for building shared understanding, improving collaboration, and preventing costly technical debt.
Architecture: Revisiting and Rethinking Microservices
Goodbye Microservices, Hello Self-Contained Systems by Simon Martinelli
Simon introduced a bold architectural shift: vertical slices that encapsulate their own UI, logic, and data — a model that challenges traditional microservices. While some found his views extreme (e.g., strongly discouraging synchronous calls or advocating DB-level data replication), it spurred valuable debate.
Takeaway: Self-contained systems offer an interesting middle ground between monoliths and microservices, but they require thoughtful trade-offs and practical considerations.
Developer Psychology & Craftsmanship
The Psychology of Code by Victor Rentea
A crowd favorite, Victor closed the conference with energy, humor, and wisdom. Mixing personal anecdotes with technical insights, he challenged attendees to “fall in love with solving problems, not with your code.” He emphasized continuous learning using the metaphor of sharpening your axe — a reminder that investing in our skills pays off in the long run.
Takeaway: The best developers are not those who code the most, but those who constantly improve and reflect on how they work.
Voxxed Days Bucharest 2025 offered more than knowledge — it provided perspective. It was about sharpening our tools, connecting with the community, challenging assumptions, and embracing the changes shaping our industry. Whether AI, architecture, security, or developer mindset — one theme resonated throughout: we must keep learning, adapting, and evolving. Perhaps Catalin put it best:
“Started with no expectations, like a gift. Ended with takeaways about changers.”
Special shout-out to the team behind, Andra Ghibutiu & Alex Proca; the organization, the Program Committee and all the volunteers 👏
Join our team in Bucharest and be part of the crew in the next conference
Your next adventure awaits!
Explore new opportunities at Criteo. Browse our list of open jobs and see if you can find one matching your skillset…
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Additional Resources
All the videos 👇
All the official pictures (by Vlad Rotaru) 👇https://photos.app.goo.gl/ve6qCLozwaUuF4Nx8
