AI Forum Americas 2026
AI Forum Americas 2026
Event Details
18-19 September 2026
INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation
AI’s Next Frontier: Agents, Robots, and the Physical AI Economy
Having mastered language, AI now stands poised to master the physical world, from diagnosing disease to defending nations, from redesigning supply chains to reimagining cities. The stakes are now much higher: Mistakes are no longer just wrong answers, they have real-world consequences. The INSEAD AI Forum Americas brings together the builders, leaders and thinkers preparing for that shift, and asks what role humans should play when intelligence moves from the screen into the world.
This event is part of the INSEAD AI Forum 2026 series, starting with the AI Forum Europe in June. Registration is now open. Programme and speakers are subject to change.
Day 1 Programme
Friday, 18 September - Alumni-Led Day
| 9:00 - 9:45 | Registration | |
| 9:45 - 10:00 | Opening Remarks and Launch of the INSEAD Future Council Vic Woo, Senior Director, INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation | |
| 10:00 - 11:00 | Forefront of AI-Drug Discovery Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, Xaira Therapeutics Amaka Cypriana Uzoh, Associate Director of Investments, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Andrea van Elsas, Partner, Third Rock Ventures | |
| 11:00 - 11:45 | Automation and Augmentation: Designing the Future of Work Explore how Apple uses its 4-A Framework to structure and advance AI adoption. Josh Cohen, Apple University | |
| 11:45 - 13:00 | Networking Lunch | |
| 13:00 - 14:00 | Thinking with Machines: How LLMs Are Reshaping How People Reason, Work, and Decide What it means for humans, for business and for the world when the machine becomes a thinking partner. Mohan Reddy, Chief Scientist, Cornerstone AI Labs Kimberly Shenk, CEO, Novi Bala Sahejpal, Chief Data Officer, Docusign Moderated by Ruchi Soparkar, CEO, Kachi.ai | |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | The Innovation Pendulum Michael Liou, Venture Partner, Main Character Capital | |
| 15:00 - 15:15 | Coffee Break | |
| 15:15 - 16:15 | INSEAD Future Council presents Bifurcation and Collaboration: Knowledge Security, Geopolitical Talent Shifts, and the Rise of Physical AI How are the Silicon Valleys of the world developing different approaches to innovation, and where can they still collaborate? This session explores shifting geopolitical dynamics, tighter knowledge security, regional approaches to Physical AI and how automation is reshaping talent and work. Anik Bose, Managing Partner, BGV; Founder, Ethical AI Governance Group Moderated by Jing Liao, Chairperson, Solera Foundation; Co-lead, INSEAD Future Council More speakers to be announced | |
| 16:15 - 17:15 | AI in Healthcare and Drug Discovery Agentic healthcare, drug development, medtech, surgical robotics and the practical limits of AI in scientific discovery. Devi Ramanan, Head of AI Acceleration - Clinical Operations, Regulatory, Safety and Quality, Gilead Sciences Moderated by Sabeen Shaikh, Managing Partner, Crescent Strategy Consulting; Honorary Commander, US Air Force More speakers to be announced | |
| 17:15 - 18:15 | Panel - Board AI Governance: Power Steering, Not a Brake Kerry Whorton Cooper, Board Chair, PG&E Corporation; Board Chair, Mozilla; Director, Upstart | |
| 18:15 - 20:00 | Welcome Reception |
Day 1 Speakers
Director, Pagaya, Kraken and Bitwise; Chairman and Managing Partner, Fifth Era & Blockchain Coinvestors; Board, NACD Northern California
Associate Director, Investments, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Partner at Third Rock Ventures
Managing Partner, BGV; Founder, Ethical AI Governance Group
Chief Data Officer, DocuSign
Independent Director, Infosys; Director, Vimo/GetInsured; Executive Advisor, BCG.
Head of AI Acceleration - Clinical Operations, Regulatory, Safety and Quality, Gilead Sciences
Chief Administration Officer, Solera Inc.
Distinguished Senior Fellow, University of California, Berkeley; Faculty, Apple
Chair of the Board, PG&E Corporation
CEO, Novi
Co-founder, Chairman & CEO, Xaira
Venture Partner, Main Character Capital
Chief Scientist, Cornerstone On Demand; Associate Director, Human Perception Lab, Stanford University
Founder of the Board AI Institute; Co-Founder of the INSEAD AI (alum-led) community; Florida Metro Leader, INSEAD Alumni Association USA
CEO, Kachi.AI
Managing Partner, Crescent Strategy Consulting; Honorary Commander, United States Air Force
Senior Director, INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation
Day 2 Programme
Saturday, 19 September
| 08:30 - 09:15 | Registration | |
| 09:15 - 09:30 | Opening Remarks and Introduction to the INSEAD Future Council Vic Woo, Senior Director, INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation Lily Fang, Dean of Research and Innovation and UBS Chair in Investment Banking, INSEAD | |
| 09:30 - 10:30 | INSEAD Future Council presents Yossi Matias, Vice President of Google and Head of Google Research | |
| 10:30 - 11:30 | Organization Design & Implementation Frameworks for building AI-related learning organisations from the ground up. Martin Gonzalez, Organizational Design and Development Lead, Google DeepMind Maz Brumand, Vice President of Product, ŌURA Moderated by Mike Lee, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour, INSEAD | |
| 11:30 - 13:30 | Networking Lunch | |
| 13:30 - 14:30 | The Model Isn't the System: The Design of AI Workflow Xinyu Liang, Assistant Professor of Technology & Operations Management, INSEAD | |
| 14:30 - 15:30 | Panel - Physical AI: Beyond Humanoid Robots Physical AI extends beyond humanoid robots to autonomous vehicles, industrial systems, surgical robots, drones and defence, bringing AI into machines that perceive and act in the physical world. Vidya Sarma, Product Management Lead, Meta Superintelligence Labs Pinar Yildirim, Associate Professor of Marketing & Economics, The Wharton School | |
| 15:30 - 16:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 16:00 - 16:30 | Project Cyborg Presentation A fresh perspective from the next generation of AI innovators. Lily Fang, Dean of Research and Innovation, and UBS Chair in Investment Banking, INSEAD Soumitra Dutta, Co-Founder, NEXIVERIFY | |
| 16:30 - 17:30 | Keynote - Decoding the Future of Work A signature keynote from one of the most original thinkers at the intersection of neuroscience, AI and human potential. Vivienne Ming will share insights on how AI will reshape industries and redefine human potential. Vivienne Ming, Chief Scientist, Possibility Sciences Lily Fang, Dean of Research and Innovation, and UBS Chair in Investment Banking, INSEAD | |
| 17:30 - 18:00 | Live Demo - AI in Motion: Autonomous Delivery with Robot.com See physical AI in action with a live demonstration from Robot.com. Get up-close to an autonomous delivery robot and explore how AI, robotics and real-world autonomy are moving beyond the screen and into everyday environments. | |
| 18:30 - 21:30 | AI Forum Closing Party: Celebrating Humans and Machines Note: this is separately ticketed. |
Day 2 Speakers
Principal, Blennemann Family Investments
Professor of Finance
Vice President of Product, ŌURA
Organisational Design and Development Lead, Google DeepMind
Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour
Associate Professor of Marketing and Economics, The Wharton School
Co-founder, NEXIVERIFY; Board member, Portulans Institute
Senior Director, INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation
Product Management Lead, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Chief Scientist, Possibility Sciences
Assistant Professor of Technology and Operations Management
Vice President, Google; Head of Google Research
Practical Information
The INSEAD AI Forum Americas will be held at the INSEAD San Francisco Hub for Business Innovation at 224 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107.
Ride sharing
INSEAD aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, including Scope 3 (read more). We encourage you to support the school in this effort and use public transportation to get to the event. If you must travel by car, please consider carpooling.
Parking
Please note that there are no on-site parking facilities at the SF Hub. You can use SpotHero to check parking availability and rates in the nearby area.
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Accommodation
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Hotel Via
138 King Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: +1 415 200 4977
Hotel website
4 mins walk to HubBreakfast option:
Offer breakfast voucher or Grab & GoHousekeeping service:
Daily service availableOnsite valet parking from USD75-90 per day plus tax
Hyatt Place
San Francisco/Downtown
701 3rd Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: +1 415 767 2000
Hotel website
2 mins walk to HubBreakfast option:
Breakfast included with rates - Full American breakfastHousekeeping service:
Daily service availableLimited onsite self parking. From USD80 per day plus tax
Note: Corp code - 156814
LUMA Hotel San Francisco
100 Channel St.
San Francisco, CA 94158
Hotel website
8 mins walk to HubBreakfast option:
Breakfast not included with ratesHousekeeping service:
Daily service availableOnsite valet parking from USD90 per day plus tax
InterContinental San Francisco
888 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Tel: +1 415 616 6500
Hotel website
20 mins walk to HubBreakfast option:
Bistro 888 offers a breakfast buffet or à la carte options for an additional cost, along with Grab & Go items like coffee, tea, and pastries.Housekeeping service:
Daily service availableOnsite valet parking from USD72 per day plus tax
Note: Select ‘INSEAD’
(Rate Preference)
Media, filming and photography
INSEAD may engage professional photographers for this event. All sessions will be filmed. We reserve the right to use any film and/or photography from the event in our print and digital marketing collateral.
