Day 1 of TNW Conference kicked off with an array of inspiring sessions, insightful panel discussions, thought-provoking performances, and of course, a ton of meetings that will fuel the next wave of innovation across the tech ecosystem.
We were joined by 3,500 startups, 1,750 corporates, 600 investors, 2,000 tech ecosystem representatives, and 100 journalists for a full day of insights.
These ranged from the critical role of AI in shaping tomorrow's world and business environment, the evolution of tech work in a post-pandemic world, sustainable innovations, AR and VR, how to learn from mistakes as a startup founder — and how to revive a company at the brink of extinction.
Keynotes and panels
We heard from the CEOs of Booking.com, AMDAX, and Plan A, and the co-founders of Cradle, Q*BIRD, and Deverium. The Field Chief Privacy Officer of Transcend, the Chief Technology Officer of NXP Technologies, and the Head of Google DeepMind accelerator for startups, and many more graced our stages.
We talked about the dangers faced by democracy in the era of AI proliferation and deepfakes and delved into the insights of Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the former Prime Minister of Denmark and member of the Meta Oversight Board. We also discovered new ways journalists and businesses can use AI to fact-check sources from a startup called Factiverse.
We challenged perceptions of the collaboration between human creativity and AI with works from artificial intelligence artist Most. We explored our intimate relationship with technology through talks with the CFO of Only Fans, Lee Taylor, and pondered how tech can be a vehicle for laughter with social media comedy content sensation Derek Mitchell.
Talks, networking, and DEI
Our attendees got really technical with their questions in sessions on quantum networks, brain-computer interface technology, and data centre cooling over at our cosy TNW Talks stage.
For the second year in a row, at the DEI Coalition area, discussions and workshops focused on celebrating and crafting initiatives to accelerate diversity, equity, and inclusion in the tech industry.
We don't know how many managed to make it out of the Dutch Police's escape room, but we know at least one of our team challenged us to a session on the padel court for tomorrow.
As always, networking remains a cornerstone of TNW Conference. Day 1 facilitated numerous networking sessions, allowing attendees to connect with peers, potential collaborators, investors, and industry leaders.
Looking ahead to Day 2: Join us for Day 2 of TNW Conference as we bring together more leading minds from various sectors to share their insights, breakthroughs, and forecasts for the future of technology.