The AI Conference is an independent, builder-focused event in San Francisco, running from September 29 to October 1, 2026, for the engineers, founders and researchers actually shipping AI.
What to expect
The programme is technical and practitioner-oriented, spanning frontier models, agents, infrastructure and the practical work of putting AI into production. It sits deliberately at the intersection of research and application, with a Bay Area crowd close to the labs and the tooling.
Who it is for
Technical founders, engineers and researchers who want depth over spectacle. It is less useful for purely business or sales-driven attendees.
Why attend
Being in San Francisco during the event puts you next to the people building the models and the tools, on and off the stage.
Good to know
Held in late September in San Francisco, in person. Check the official site for the speaker list and registration.
Similar events
If The AI Conference fits your plans, also look at World Summit AI 2026 in Amsterdam and Ai4 2026 in Las Vegas.
Our take
For a technical AI founder, this is one of the higher-signal Bay Area events. The value is proximity to the frontier and the hallway conversations; come to learn and recruit, not to sell.