Conference News: Big-SaaS News; Road to Rome; Consensus CFP
A Big-SaaS Acquisition: Last month, SaaStock acquired SaaSOpen Austin. According to the announcement: “This merger is poised to provide SaaS founders with an unparalleled platform for networking, learning, and scaling their businesses. By combining the data-driven insights of SaaSOpen with SaaStock’s global reach and expertise, the conference aims to deliver unmatched value to SaaS leaders.” SaaStock USA is focused on teaching founders how to scale and will return to Texas’ capital city from 13 – 14 May 2025.
EmTech Continues to Rome: For more than 20 years, MIT Technology Review’s EmTech has gathered the innovators behind tomorrow’s headlines “for fearless discussions on the emerging trends and technologies that are re-writing the rules of business.” They also host gatherings around the world to highlight international innovations that are changing the broader economy. For the first time in 2025, they will head to Rome for EmTech Italy. On 11 – 12 March at the Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, the conference team will gather decision makers and innovators to discuss how AI is changing the health, energy, and environmental sectors. Haven’t checked out the site yet? Carpe diem!
Submission Opportunity: Consensus, taking place in Toronto on 14 – 15 May, which is self-described as “The most influential event in Web3, Blockchain & AI,” is accepting speaker suggestions through 20 January via their CFP form. Before you make a suggestion, we recommend reading their guidelines. A couple of tips to remember: If you can make a news announcement at the event, that makes a difference. (They are editorially driven!) Consensus considers whether the session idea includes new information or data that hasn’t been previously shared. (Attendees love hearing something brand new and Consensus knows it.) And finally, the seniority of the speaker and speaker diversity matters.
Lunchtime Learning: The Cerebral Valley AI Summit happened on 20 November bringing together hundreds of startup and scaleup founders, enterprise AI CXOs and leading investors. The one-day event, co-hosted by Eric Newcomer and Volley (developer of voice AI games for smart speaker platforms), featured conversations with the brightest minds in AI. If you were not able to attend, you can still check out the sessions online. Hear talks and discussions on generative AI enterprise spending, AI and robotics, voice applications of AI and conversations with Marissa Mayer, Dario Amodei and more!
Coming Up Next Week: The National Retail Federation (NRF) hosts its annual flagship event, which kicks off with an opening party on Friday 11 January and concludes the following Tuesday. NRF’s Big Show attracts nearly 40k attendees from across the retail ecosystem, with roughly a third coming to NYC from outside the U.S. Digital Life Design – better known as DLD – began in 2005 with a mission to explore how the internet would change our world. Two decades later, DLD 2025 (16-18 January; Munich) will convene under the theme “Future Positive,” exploring a whole new set of technological realities spanning AI, quantum, biotech, space exploration, and autonomous mobility. Silicon Slopes Summit, which runs 13-17 January is Utah’s longest-running grassroots tech conference, connecting entrepreneurs and leaders to a robust community of peers. SEMI’s Industry Strategy Symposium/ISS will provide semiconductor leadership with insights on economic trends, market drivers, geopolitics, and technology when it’s held 12-15 January in Half Moon Bay. And from 14-17 January, the Future of Education Technology Conference/FETC unites educators and technology leaders to revolutionize learning in Orlando.