Conference News: New M&A event, MWC Plays Doubles in Doha; Changes at TED

Discussing M&A in CA: After a successful first edition of their new M&A Summit, the Conference Board has decided to host a West Coast Version of the gathering this fall in San Francisco. Conference Board M&A Summit San Francisco will be held at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins on 14 October, again covering how leaders are navigating uncertainty by using data and new tools to inform decisions, execute transactions, and adapt their approach to M&A. The Conference Board will curate the audience – keeping it intimate by design, and focusing more on the impact of technology on M&A (while the May event in NYC placed more emphasis on banking/finance).

MWC & ITU Join Forces: In 2026, ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-26) will co-locate with MWC Doha which will run 8 – 11 November at Qatar’s Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. According to John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer and President GSMA Foundation: “Co-locating MWC and PP-26 is an excellent opportunity to amplify the GSMA and ITU partnership – creating the most diverse and influential gathering of digital leaders either event has convened to date.” This year, the event theme is: The IQ Era, which refers to the sphere of intelligence created by this intersection of technology, telecoms and policy.

TED AI Says Bye: Earlier this year the TED Conference announced that after 12 years in Vancouver, Canada, they would be moving back to San Diego. And last weekend, the team behind TED AI San Francisco announced that they would no longer be hosting the CA event as a standalone event.  The post noted, “As AI becomes part of everything and woven into how we work, create, and make sense of the world, TEDAI San Francisco’s chapter as a standalone event comes to a close. But the conversations don’t stop here. Together with the community, [they] will continue to host gatherings,  expanding the lens beyond AI while keeping the latest innovations at the center.”

Submission Opportunity: Speaking of MWC Doha, the conference has opened its call for speakers with a 13 July deadline. The conference has stated that their three programme themes were selected “to capture topics of the greatest relevance to decision makers in the Middle East and North Africa, while embracing wider global appeal.” And that “Weaving one or more of these themes into your proposal means you can orientate your message to the most urgent business and regional needs, rewarding an audience eager to know more.” The three themes they are referring to are AI in Action (the role of AI in real world results); Connected Infrastructure (how next gen networks deliver performance, security and resilience); and Intelligent Economies (how nations and operators build competitive advantage). Submit topic and speaker ideas here.

Lunchtime Learning: eMerge Americas is self-described as “a catalyst, an accelerator, and a global tech conference + expo driving innovative advancements in AI, National Security, Health, and Finance.” The 20k+ gathering recently wrapped its 2026 conference in April but the sessions are still available on their Youtube channel.  Hear Matt Cimaglia, Founder & Managing Partner, Quantum Coast Capital and Kirk Haldeman, Head of Morgan Private Ventures, J.P. Morgan talk about the Commercialization Era of Quantum; Ali Dasdan, CTO, Dropbox and Nicole Baer, CMO, Carta Tanner about How AI Agents Are Transforming Infrastructure, Ops, and Brand and many more.

Coming Up Next Week:  Aspen Ideas Festival (25 June-1 July) will mark this defining moment in American history as “a lens to explore the forces shaping our world today,” with journalist and author Fareed Zakaria returning as guest curator to guide conversations that examine how those principles endure and evolve in a rapidly changing world. Reuters Momentum AI London gets underway 29 June and will explore how CIOs, CDOs, and CTOs can deliver measurable business value with AI while navigating rising costs, fragmented data, and increasingly complex business demands. GITEX AI Europe runs 30 June-1 July in Berlin, marking the second year for GITEX’s European tech, startup and investment event. The following week, WeAreDevelopers World Congress takes places in Berlin from 8-10 July, calling itself “the world’s largest event for developers, AI builders, and tech leaders.” That same week, RAISE Summit is held from 7-9 July in Paris, where “AI leaders and C-suite executives from global corporations gather to learn, debate, and accelerate their AI transformation.”