Conference News: San Francisco Gets Human(X); Interview with IFA Berlin
San Francisco Gets Human: HumanX recently held its inaugural event in Las Vegas, has announced that its 2026 edition will move to Moscone Center in San Francisco with “expanded programming to reflect the industry’s rapid evolution.” The 2026 conference, which will run from 7-9 April intends to broaden its audience from the 3,500 AI decision makers that attended this year’s event. According to the official announcement, “With San Francisco at the heart of the AI revolution, the relocation positions HumanX at the epicenter of cutting-edge innovation, fostering deeper collaboration and engagement with the global AI community.” The conference organizers also noted that the Moscone Center South “provides expanded space for keynotes, workshops, and networking opportunities, allowing for greater participation and engagement.”
Doubling Down on Content: Bloomberg Green (14-15 July) returns to Seattle to unite industry leaders, policymakers, climate innovators and this partner city to create solutions for climate action. Bloomberg Green cover topics ranging from innovation and the climate economy to greener living and the green policy agenda. While last year event was held as a festival with experiential components, 2025 will double down its focus on content. Bloomberg conferences cover timely and relevant sessions and there is a lot of material that can be discussed around these themes.
Submission Opportunity: IFA Berlin is one of the largest home and consumer electronics events in the world with more than 215,000 visitors from 130+ countries each year. The event, which will take place from 5 – 9 September has opened its call for sessions. They are looking for sessions that “deliver fresh insights, bold ideas, and actionable knowledge, creating meaningful dialogue between companies and audiences, and driving the next wave of transformation.” The deadline for making a speaker submission is 2 June but be sure to read over their session guidelines before entering anything into the online form.
Conference Manager Q&A: And speaking of IFA Berlin, Sofia Maniglia is the Senior Content Strategist at the event. We caught up with Sofia to find out what excites her about the next event and what her team is doing differently this year.
Speaker Strategies: What about your next event excites you the most? What excites me most about IFA 2025 is the opportunity to push the boundaries of storytelling through content and co-creation. We’re not just producing a conference, but designing an ecosystem where innovation meets culture, ideas turn into experiences, and matchmaking between industries is being fully revamped. This year I’m excited by the chance to spotlight new voices and emerging talents shaping the future of tech, smart living, and sustainability.
Speaker Strategies: What topics do you plan to cover at IFA this year?
Our content strategy for 2025 is built around four core themes: Future of Intelligence: exploring AI, machine learning, robotics, and how intelligence is transforming both industries and creativity; Future of Smart Society: a deep dive into smart homes, urban tech, digital health, gaming, and how design, equity, and well-being intersect in connected environments; Future of Connectivity: exploring 6G, Web3, quantum internet, and the next frontier of digital infrastructure; and Future of Sustainability: focusing on circular innovation, green tech, and consumer responsibility in the age of climate urgency. Our goal is to make these topics tangible and relevant not just for experts, but for a broader audience curious about the real-world impact of innovation.
Speaker Strategies: Are you doing anything new in 2025?
Absolutely. 2024 was a year of celebration and transformation, but 2025 is a year of establishment and evolution. We’re introducing more editorial and immersive formats on our Dream and Creators stage with a stronger focus on dialogue and storytelling. We will have our first Retailers Leaders Summit the 4/09. And Keynotes on the Innovation Stage are becoming more exclusive. We’re hosting Press Conferences for brands on all our stages during the media days. We’ll keep experimenting with live podcast recordings, themed experiences to make the program more dynamic, accessible, and memorable. Also, our 100Moments campaign is now called IFAMoments, and will continue highlighting partnerships and culture between IFA, Berlin, and the whole sector of innovation.
Speaker Strategies: What is your favorite part about the event? The first day. When months of preparation and the ideas we’ve been nurturing meet real people. That’s the moment of truth but it’s always worth it.
Coming Up Next Week: SaaStr Annual Conference kicks off its 11th annual edition on 13 May at the San Mateo County Events Center, expecting to draw 10,000 SaaS executives, founders, and VCs for best practices and connections. At CoinDesk’s Consensus Conference (14-16 May) in Toronto, expect to hear the latest developments in blockchain, Web3, and AI. Conference Board People First: Strategic Transformation is held 15-16 May in Brooklyn to explore how human-centered transformation and data-driven decision-making are delivering real business value. IEEE will hold its 10th annual Women in Engineering/WIE International Leadership Conference in San Jose from 15-16 May, centered around the theme “Accelerating Leadership in an AI-Powered World.” And tomorrow on 10 May, Financial Times will convene its FT US Weekend Festival in Washington, DC, described as “where the Financial Times Weekend paper comes to life” offering “fun and educational experiences.”