ODSC AI West 2026 Conference | Open Data Science Conference
About this Event
Master the Future of Applied AI
Stop following the hype and start building the future. ODSC AI West 2026 (San Francisco, CA, happening on Oct 27-29) is the leading technical conference for data scientists, engineers, and strategic leaders who need to implement cutting-edge AI today. We bypass high-level talk to provide three days of deep-dive, hands-on technical training from the world’s leading AI pioneers.
Why Professionals Choose ODSC AI West:
- Elite Technical Content: 45%+ of our attendees are Intermediate to Advanced practitioners seeking mastery in RAG, LLM orchestration, and Agentic AI.
- Industry-Leading Speakers: Learn directly from pioneers like OpenAI, Databricks, and MIT.
- Hands-on Workshops: Move beyond theory.
- Unrivaled Networking: Connect with a curated audience of Data Scientists, Senior Researchers, and AI Founders.
New speaker profiles will be added weekly, closer to the event. You’re welcome to check out our Schedule Overview . You’re also welcome to check out some speaker blogs .
Find Your Perfect Pass
Silver – 2 Days (Wed-Thu)
- Best For: Individuals looking for high-level networking and a broad overview of the latest AI trends.
- Includes: Keynotes, Talks, Tutorials, AI Expo, and Networking Reception.
Gold – 3 Days (Tue-Thu)
- Best For: Technical Practitioners and Teams who want hands-on experience without the full week commitment.
- Includes: All Silver Pass benefits plus an extra day of Hands-on Workshop Sessions.
Platinum – 3 Days (Tue-Thu)
- Best For: Intermediate to Advanced Data Scientists seeking intensive deep-dives from industry leaders.
- Includes: All Gold Pass benefits plus exclusive Deep Dive Training Sessions held by industry experts.
AI Engineering Accelerator – 4 Days (Mon(virtual), Tue-Thu)
- Best For: Software Engineers and AI Engineers reskilling or looking for a full year of continuous learning.
- Includes: All Platinum Pass benefits, pre-conference virtual fundamentals, and a full year of premium access to the AI+ Training Platform.
VIP – 4 Days (Mon(virtual), Tue-Thu)
- Best For: Founders, CEOs, and Senior Leaders prioritizing high-level networking and the AI x Leadership Summit.
- Includes: All Platinum Pass benefits, access to the AI x Leadership Summit, VIP Networking Lunches with speakers, and VIP Lounge access.
VIP+ AI Accelerator – 4 Days (Mon(virtual), Tue-Thu)
- Best For: Executives and Strategic Implementers looking for the ultimate all-access experience, including high-level strategy and executive networking.
- Includes: Full access to everything ODSC AI has to offer, including all in-person and VIP benefits, exclusive executive sessions, the AI Business Strategy Track, and daily networking lunches with leading AI innovators.
You’ll also be able to build meaningful connections with speakers and peers in a relaxed setting during our networking events like the ODSC AI Networking Reception, Dinner with Data Scientists, Meet the Speaker session, Book Signing sessions, and more.
So, are you excited about ODSC AI West in San Francisco? Register now and experience the leading technical AI conference for yourself!
What can you expect from an ODSC AI conference? Check out this highlights video from ODSC East 2026. ODSC, where the data community connects.
- Ticket prices and availability are subject to increase or decrease, at the discretion of ODSC AI, before and/or after you have made your purchase, and do not entitle the purchaser to a partial refund or credit.
- Given the nature of live events, changes to specific sessions and/or presenters may be unavoidable and do not entitle the purchaser to a partial (or full) refund or credit. ODSC AI reserves the right to expel and/or void the Ticket of any attendee or participant who violates the .
KEY SESSIONS
OpenAI Agentic Vision
Host: Shikhar Kwatra | OpenAI
Info: Enterprises are rapidly moving from generative AI experimentation to a new phase of transformation: agentic AI systems that can reason, take action, and complete multi-step workflows across business tools, data, and teams. Yet many organizations still struggle to convert AI pilots into measurable business value because of fragmented data, siloed systems, limited production know-how, and insufficient governance.
This session will help attendees understand how enterprises can bridge the gap between frontier model capabilities and scalable deployment. We will examine the evolution from conversational AI to reasoning systems and agentic workflows, then explore practical patterns for building agents that operate across enterprise surfaces such as productivity tools, developer environments, browsers, desktops, APIs, and customer-facing products.
Context Engineering: How machines remember and forget?
Host: Emre Okcular | Open AI
Info: Context Engineering is the art of shaping what an AI model knows at any moment by managing how information enters, persists, or fades from its working memory. In this session, we explore how machine learning systems “remember” through state objects, notes, and retrieval—and how they “forget” using compression, selection, and context limits. We’ll walk through real-world agent patterns that balance personalization with privacy, performance, and relevance. Participants will learn practical techniques to design memory that feels intentional, evolving, and human-aware.
Reasoning Models for Physical AI
Host: Dr. Marco Pavone | Stanford University | NVIDIA
Info: Reasoning models for Physical AI aim to enable embodied agents—such as robots and autonomous vehicles—to perceive, understand, and act in the real world through contextual and causal reasoning. In this talk, I’ll provide an overview of foundational concepts in reasoning-centric AI for physical systems, highlighting the emergence of chain-of-thought reasoning in autonomous driving models such as NVIDIA’s Alpamayo family, which bridges human-like reasoning with trajectory planning to improve handling of complex scenarios. I will discuss model design principles, training strategies that promote causal reasoning, tools and datasets for development and evaluation, and open challenges at the intersection of physical reasoning, safety, and real-world deployment.
Build Your Own Self-Improving Agent with OpenClaw and MLflow
Host: Jonathan Bown | WGU
Info: OpenClaw has quickly become one of the most popular open-source frameworks for building local autonomous agents. These agents can communicate through 20+ messaging integrations and handle tasks ranging from ordering food to checking in for flights. However, with great autonomy comes great responsibility to monitor and evaluate agent traces and identify opportunities to improve actions. Without built-in observability, local OpenClaw agents remain largely black boxes — fast to prototype but difficult to let loose in the wild. Reliability, debugging, cost controls, and security guardrails all become much less consistent.
MLflow features for AgentOps have recently expanded to include support for local OpenClaw agents. Through the official MLflow plugin for OpenClaw, you can quickly add governance and observability to your agent with minimal setup.
The Rise of the FDE ( Forward Deployed Engineering)
Host: Pauline Brunet | Cursor
Info: FDE is one of the fastest growing functions in tech. As AI companies race to turn powerful models into real enterprise outcomes, the FDE has become the critical bridge between cutting-edge technology and messy, high-stakes customer environments.
This session traces the evolution of the role: where it came from, why it is suddenly everywhere, and what separates great FDEs from traditional solutions engineers. We will explore how FDEs embed with customers, ship production code in weeks instead of quarters, and feed frontline insights back into product strategy. Attendees will leave with a clear picture of how to hire, structure, and scale an FDE team, plus practical guidance for engineers considering the switch. If you build for customers, this role will shape your future.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 4123.89
