The AI Conference 2026: Shaping the Future of AI

The AI Conference 2026 takes place September 29 – October 1, 2026 in San Francisco and brings together 5,500+ builders, founders, researchers, and executives working at the leading edge of applied AI. Built as a practitioner-driven, vendor-neutral event, the conference focuses on how AI systems are actually designed, deployed, scaled, evaluated, and governed in production—across startups, enterprises, and research organizations.

The event opens with Day ZERØ on September 29, an intimate, limited-capacity day featuring deep technical and leadership workshops, guaranteed Hack Day access, and curated networking among a smaller group of senior practitioners and decision-makers. The main conference follows on September 30 and October 1, expanding to a multi-track program with 120+ speakers delivering high-signal talks, case studies, and panels.

Programming spans five core tracks:

•  AI Builders – hands-on engineering, tooling, systems design, and model integration
   
•  Applied AI – real-world deployments, workflow automation, evaluation, and case studies
   
•  The AI Stack – infrastructure, data, platforms, observability, and scaling AI in production
   
•  AI Strategy – leadership, product decisions, org design, and ROI
   
•  AI Frontiers – forward-looking research, new models, governance, ethics, and what’s next
   

Across all three days, attendees can expect concrete architectures, practical lessons from teams shipping AI today, and meaningful peer-level networking—alongside curated food, receptions, and community moments that make The AI Conference one of the most respected practitioner gatherings in the AI ecosystem.