2026 AI Summit at Avant South
Where Leaders Shape the Future of Applied AI
The 2026 AI Summit at Avant South will convene a select group of the nation’s leading AI executives, innovators, and investors for a day of strategic discussions focused on Applied AI developments and Atlanta’s growing leadership role in the future of Applied AI. Hosted in Tech Square, one of Atlanta’s leading innovation districts, the Summit will serve as a catalyst for collaboration among Fortune 100/500 companies, emerging AI startups, world-class universities, government leaders, and investment firms.
Why Attend
This is not a traditional conference – it’s a series of interactive roundtable discussions among AI leaders. The AI Summit is designed to bring the right people into the room for candid conversations, meaningful connections, and actionable insights.
Attendees will engage with:
- Fortune 100/ 500 executives leading enterprise AI transformation initiatives
- Founders and CEOs of innovative AI companies
- Federal, State, and local leaders shaping the policy environment for AI innovation
- Venture capital, private equity, and strategic investors focused on AI opportunities
- Leading researchers and academic experts advancing AI technologies and applications
- Peers from across the AI ecosystem interested in partnerships, investment, talent, and new opportunities
Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in executive roundtables that will inform an Applied AI Trends Analysis, capturing insights from leaders across industry, investment, academia, and government about where AI is headed next.
Who Will Be in the Room
Confirmed speakers include leaders from Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce, Drive Capital, The Duke Endowment, Fulcrum, Georgia Tech, Gunderson Dettmer, The Home Depot, OpenAI, Paladin Group, Truist, City of Atlanta, Inverness Graham, Raymond James, and The Coca-Cola Company.
The AI Summit is supported by organizations across Atlanta and the national technology ecosystem, including Amazon, BCG, BlackRock, Cisco, Cox Enterprises, Experian, Georgia Pacific, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia Tech Foundation, Google Cloud, Google.org, Google Public Policy, Honeywell, Hyundai, JP Morgan, Kia, KPMG, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI, PwC, Qcells, Salesforce, Schneider Electric, Siemens Energy, Southern Company, Uber, UPS, and Wellstar.
If you are interested in learning more about the event, please email avantsouth@gatech.edu.
Thank You to Our AI Summit Diamond Sponsor!
AI Summit Agenda & Schedule
Monday, October 12, 2026
3:30 – 4pm | AI Supercomputer Ribbon Cutting
The Nexus AI Supercomputer ribbon cutting is where the abstract promise of AI infrastructure becomes physically real for Atlanta — a $20 million, NSF-funded supercomputer opens up to researchers across the country.
Remarks:
Srinivas Aluru — Associate Dean in the College of Computing at Georgia Tech
President Ángel Cabrera — Georgia Tech
Irina Dolinskaya — Directorate Head for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Directorate at National Science Foundation
Chancellor Charles Isbell — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
President Valerie Montgomery Rice — Morehouse School of Medicine
Location: Coda Breezeway | 756 W. Peachtree St.
4 – 5pm | Tours of Supercomputer
5pm | Coda Rooftop VIP Reception
5 – 5:30pm | Fireside Chat: Powering What’s Possible
Nexus is now running at Georgia Tech — 400 petaflops of AI-focused computing power, built to accelerate research nationally. This conversation uses that machine as the real, physical starting point for a much bigger question: what does this level of compute actually unlock next, for research, for industry, and for Atlanta, and what has to be true to keep unlocking more of it?
Speakers include:
- Howard Wright — VP of Startup Ecosystems, NVIDIA
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
*All sessions occur in the Georgia Tech Hotel Salons 1, 2, 3
9:15 – 10am | Panel Session | Georgia’s AI Advantage: How Industry Leaders Are Deploying Applied AI
Atlanta’s largest companies are already putting AI to work inside operations that run the region’s economy. This conversation goes straight to the leaders responsible for that work, asking what’s actually live, what it took to get there, and what still isn’t solved. It’s a first look at what applied AI looks like when it has to operate at enterprise scale, not just in pilot form.
Speakers include:
- Angie Brown, EVP & CIO, The Home Depot
- Patricia Florissi, Technical Director Office of the CTO Google Cloud
- Lo Li, Chief Technology, Data, Operations Officer, Truist
- Sophia Velastegui, AI executive and technology leader
10am – 12pm | Applied AI Roundtables: Turning Insight Into Action
Small-group roundtables bring together leaders from industry, academia, and investment to exchange perspectives on research and innovation, investment, real-world application, and teaching and learning. Participants will identify what’s working across Atlanta today and where greater collaboration can accelerate Applied AI across the region.
12 – 1pm | Lunch Panel | The First Yes: How Atlanta Ideas Get Funded
Atlanta has the research, ideas, entrepreneurs, and industry problems capable of producing significant AI companies. This conversation explores what investors need to see before the proof exists, and what founders need from Atlanta’s capital ecosystem to get from idea to implementation.
Speakers include :
- Avoilan Bingham, General Manager, Drive Capital
- Kenneth Pentimonti, Managing Director, Paladin Capital
- Gorkem Sevinc, Co-Founder and CEO, Qualytics
- John Yates, Partner, Gunderson Dettmer
1 – 2:30pm | Applied AI Roundtables: Turning Insight Into Action (continued)
Small-group roundtables bring together leaders from industry, academia, and investment to exchange perspectives on research and innovation, investment, real-world application, and teaching and learning. Participants will identify what’s working across Atlanta today and where greater collaboration can accelerate Applied AI across the region.
2:30 – 3pm | Panel Session | Proof at Scale: From Capital to Capability
Getting funded is only the beginning. This conversation examines the capital, talent, customers, infrastructure, and business environment required to turn promising AI investments into proof points Atlanta can point to nationally — picking up right where “The First Yes” ends.
Speakers include:
- Donnie Beamer, Senior Technology Advisor, City of Atlanta
- Leslie Ann Brooks, Head of AI Enablement, Raymond James
- Kevin Kiley, CEO, Airia
- Philip Lewis, Partner, Fulcrum Equity Partner
- Usha Talasila, Principal, Head of AI, Inverness Graham
3:30 – 4:15pm | Panel Session: Applied AI in ATL: Building America’s Center of Excellence
Atlanta has all of the ingredients to become the nation’s leading hub for applied AI — from world-class research and enterprise adoption to startups, investment, talent, and public-private collaboration. This conversation asks what it will take to bring those assets together, distinguish Atlanta nationally, and seize this opportunity.
Speakers include:
- Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist, OpenAI
- Tim Lieuwen, Executive Vice President for Research, Georgia Tech
- Dr. Jerry Parrish, Economist, Metro Atlanta Chamber
- Ana Lenoir Minter, Principal, RSM Consulting
4:15 – 4:45pm | Roundtable Trends Analysis Report Readouts
Speakers include:
- Sonia Alvarez-Robinson, Associate Vice President, Georgia Tech Strategic Consulting
- Juana Cunningham, Sr. Director, Georgia Tech Strategic Consulting