Conference News: SaaStock SHIFTs Gears; Nest gets X-treme; FETC CFP
Nesting in New York: The Nest Campus, which is self-described as the world’s largest gathering of leaders defining and accelerating the global resilience economy, is teaming up with HumanX conference on a new partnership, NestX, at Climate Week New York. According to the announcement, “the partnership connects two of the most influential gatherings in their respective sectors. The Nest Campus convenes senior decision-makers, corporate buyers, and capital providers across the full resilience economy during New York Climate Week. HumanX brings the AI community’s leading voices and innovators together to explore real-world applications of artificial intelligence at scale. NestX is where those two communities meet.”
Shifting to AI: Saastock, one of Europe’s largest SaaS conferences, will change its name and “shift” its focus moving forward. The event will now be called ShiftAI and the European addition will be held from 13 – 14 October in Barcelona. SaaStock was focused on teaching founders how to scale. After the US conference in April, founder Alexander Theuma announced he will be replacing the brand with Shift AI. He noted that this is a recognition that the category the conference was named after – software as a service – is no longer the defining frame for the industry it serves. While SaaStock focused on scaling companies through per-seat subscriptions, it will now focus on topics such as “how to price AI agents, how to restructure go-to-market teams that no longer need as many humans, and how to build businesses where the value metric is an outcome delivered rather than a seat occupied.”
Submission Opportunity: Future Educational Technology Conference (FETC) has been the gathering place for education’s most innovative leaders and decision-makers for decades. And even though it takes place in Orlando (26 – 29 January 2027), the audience comes from 50 states and over 70 countries. According to submission guidelines, “FETC is seeking submissions on emerging and immersive technologies such as vibe coding, web 3.0, metaverse, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, 3D Printing, blockchain, simulation software, esports and new collaboration, communication and creation tools that are providing ways to reimagine how people learn in inclusive environments leveraging personalized brain-based pedagogy.” If you have a topic to share that aligns with one of the conference tracks, submit before the 7 June deadline.
Lunchtime Learning: TechCrunch Disrupt is the startup epicenter for tech and VC leaders which takes over Moscone West in San Francisco every October. The content is relevant to new and seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and tech influencers. The Disrupt stage features the biggest voices and last year included Alphabet’s moonshot chief Astro Teller, Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone, and Vinod Khosla as well as founders from Solana, Phia, and Cluely. Even San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie made an appearance. Check out all of the mainstage sessions here.
Coming Up Next Week: At Reuters Momentum AI New York (27-28 April), more than 300 CIOs, COOs, CTOs, and their leadership teams will gather to explore the forum’s theme, “Reinventing the Enterprise: Deploy AI at Scale to Drive Real Business Impact.” POSSIBLE, which gets underway 27 April in Miami, is designed for the greater marketing ecosystem including brands, technology, digital, media, and culture. Meanwhile in Orlando, WorkHuman Live runs 27-30 April and describes itself as a “four-day experience that helps HR champions and business and people leaders take a holistic approach to solving work challenge.” TechCrunch Strictly VC is a one-day program held 30 April that promises insider content from Silicon Valley and the global venture scene. And from 29 April – 1 May, TiECon will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center under the theme “AI & You,” which investigates how intelligence, creativity, and innovation are blending to reinvent how we live, work, and lead.