The annual Techweek Kansas City event is set to return Oct. 8-12 with national industry leaders speaking on a variety of subjects including venture capital, virtual reality and augmented reality, IoT/smart cities and crypto currency/blockchain.
In addition to the Techweek Expo and a wide-range of tracks, signature events for the week include the Pure Pitch Rally, BetaBlox Demo Day, Techstars Demo Day and the LaunchKC competition, which will again see $500,000 in grants awarded.
This year’s keynote is one of the top speakers in the country, Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, Inc. O’Reilly Media delivers online learning, publishes books, runs conferences, urges companies to create more value than they capture and tries to change the world by spreading and amplifying the knowledge of innovators.
O’Reilly will speak about his latest book that focuses on the implications of AI, the on-demand economy, and other technologies that are transforming the nature of work and the future shape of the business world, “WTF: What’s the Future and Why It’s Up to Us.”
Other distinguished speakers slated to speak at Techweek in KC include:
- Phil DeSimone – co-founder of Carbon3D, a Silicon Valley-based digital 3D Manufacturing company recently valued at $1.7 Billion
- Karen Kerr – executive managing director at GE Ventures and PhD in Physical Chemistry
- Kimberly Bryant – Black Girls Code founder
- Kira Blackwell – program executive at NASA Headquarters
On Wednesday, attendees can take part in “Minority Inclusion in Technology,” a special day of sessions on building a minority technology entrepreneur initiative in Kansas City. National speakers for the sessions, which are aimed at both students and entrepreneurs, include Fred Lowry, senior vice president for laboratory products at Thermo-Fisher Scientific , Kimberly Bryant, founder and executive director for Black Girls Code and Dr. Fred McKinney, Carlton Highsmith Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Quinnipiac University. Another highlight of the day will be an interactive panel discussion featuring Mayor James and Jeanette Prenger, owner and president of Ecco Select, with Rodney Sampson, chairman and CEO of Opportunity Hub in Atlanta, moderating.
On Friday, the LaunchKC Grant Competition takes place where $500,000 in grants will be awarded on the spot. This year’s field of 586 applications, a 32-percent gain over last year, was just narrowed down to 20 finalists.
For a complete list of speakers and sessions or to buy tickets, visit Techweek Kansas City’s website. The EDC is proud to be part of this event and would like to thank fellow sponsors Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Greater Kansas City Chamber.