EmTech Future 2026

EmTech Future 2026, MIT Technology Review's flagship emerging-technology conference, runs 29 September to 1 October 2026 at the MIT Media Lab on the MIT campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with a parallel livestream. The 2026 theme is 'Convergence' — the argument that the most consequential breakthroughs are no longer confined to individual domains but emerge at the intersections of artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and energy systems. Mainstage sessions include 'The Industrialization of Intelligence', 'When AI Meets Everything', 'Quantum in Context' and 'A Day in the Life, 2031'. The speaker list runs from Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun to former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, Amazon chief technology officer Werner Vogels, Microsoft Research president Peter Lee, MIT CSAIL director Daniela Rus, Microsoft chief scientist Jamie Teevan and futurist Amy Webb. The agenda is curated by MIT Technology Review's editors and aimed at director level and above, and in-person attendance is deliberately capped at 400 participants to keep discussion and networking dense.

• Standard (discounted) registration ends — Last Call rates applySep 4, 2026
• Last Call registration ends — on-site rates applySep 27, 2026

Date

September 29 – October 1, 2026

Location

MIT Media Lab, MIT campus, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Format

Hybrid

Event Type

Conference

Status

Upcoming

Expected Attendance

400 (in-person cap)

Pricing

Paid

Organizer

MIT Technology Review

Added

Jul 14, 2026

Updated

Aug 15, 2026

• ✓CTOs and Chief Innovation Officers
• ✓CEOs and founders
• ✓VPs of R&D and engineering
• ✓Chief Data and AI Officers
• ✓Corporate strategy and venture leaders
• ✓Institutional and venture investors
• ✓Heads of energy and infrastructure planning

The 400-seat cap is the whole proposition: this is the rare emerging-technology conference where a CTO can actually reach the researchers and speakers rather than watch them from row forty, and where the hallway conversation is with peers at the same altitude. The convergence framing is the practical part — an executive planning AI capacity is already making an energy decision and will soon be making a quantum one, and very few events force those three roadmaps into the same room with the people setting them. Guided MIT campus experiences add lab access no vendor conference can offer, and the $895 livestream tier lets the wider team follow the mainstage without travelling.

• ✓'The Industrialization of Intelligence' mainstage session
• ✓'When AI Meets Everything' mainstage session
• ✓'Quantum in Context' mainstage session
• ✓'A Day in the Life, 2031' mainstage session
• ✓Guided MIT experiences — campus and lab access, and time with MIT researchers
• ✓In-person capacity capped at 400 participants, hosted at the MIT Media Lab
• ✓Livestream of all mainstage programming with interactive Q&A, plus six months of on-demand hub access
• ✓Networking events across all three days, and a subscription to The Download newsletter with every pass

• ★In-person attendance is capped at 400 participants, which the organisers say is to preserve the quality of discussion and networking — an order of magnitude smaller than the AI conferences competing for the same executive calendar week
• ★The convergence framing is the point: AI, quantum and energy on one mainstage rather than an AI-only agenda, which matches how those three roadmaps actually collide inside a large enterprise
• ★Speaker density no vendor conference can buy — Geoffrey Hinton, Yann LeCun, Mira Murati, Werner Vogels, Peter Lee, Daniela Rus and Danna Freedman on a 400-seat programme
• ★Guided MIT experiences give access to the campus, its labs and its researchers, and the event is hosted inside the MIT Media Lab itself
• ★A $895 livestream tier carries the same mainstage programming plus six months of on-demand access, so a team can follow it without three days of Cambridge travel each
• ★The agenda is curated by MIT Technology Review's editors rather than sold to sponsors, and is explicitly pitched at director level and above

Two pass types, in USD. Hybrid (in-person at the MIT Media Lab plus livestream): $3,195 standard through 4 September 2026, $3,395 'Last Call' from 5 to 27 September, $3,495 on-site from 28 September to 1 October. Livestream only: $895 standard through 4 September, $895 Last Call, $995 on-site. The hybrid pass includes mainstage programming 29 September to 1 October, guided MIT experiences, networking events, livestream access, six months of on-demand hub access and The Download newsletter; the livestream pass includes mainstage streaming, on-demand access and the newsletter. In-person seating is limited and processed on a space-available basis after 28 September. MIT alumni save 40%, startups 25% and students 50% with a valid student email.

When is EmTech Future 2026?

EmTech Future 2026 takes place September 29 – October 1, 2026 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Where is EmTech Future 2026 held?

EmTech Future 2026 is held in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event format is hybrid.

What is the EmTech Future 2026 submission deadline?

The next EmTech Future 2026 deadline is standard (discounted) registration ends — last call rates apply on Sep 4, 2026. Remaining dates: Last Call registration ends — on-site rates apply — Sep 27, 2026.

How much does EmTech Future 2026 cost?

EmTech Future 2026 is paid. Two pass types, in USD. Hybrid (in-person at the MIT Media Lab plus livestream): $3,195 standard through 4 September 2026, $3,395 'Last Call' from 5 to 27 September, $3,495 on-site from 28 September to 1 October. Livestream only: $895 standard through 4 September, $895 Last Call, $995 on-site. The hybrid pass includes mainstage programming 29 September to 1 October, guided MIT experiences, networking events, livestream access, six months of on-demand hub access and The Download newsletter; the livestream pass includes mainstage streaming, on-demand access and the newsletter. In-person seating is limited and processed on a space-available basis after 28 September. MIT alumni save 40%, startups 25% and students 50% with a valid student email.

Who should attend EmTech Future 2026?

EmTech Future 2026 is aimed at CTOs and Chief Innovation Officers, CEOs and founders, VPs of R&D and engineering, Chief Data and AI Officers, Corporate strategy and venture leaders, Institutional and venture investors, Heads of energy and infrastructure planning.

What topics does EmTech Future 2026 cover?

EmTech Future 2026 covers Artificial intelligence and the industrialization of intelligence, Agentic AI and automation, Quantum computing and quantum readiness, Energy systems and climate technology, Robotics and embodied AI, Emerging-technology strategy and forecasting, AI in healthcare and life sciences, Computing infrastructure and compute demand.

This page was written from 3 sources, 1 on domains other than event.technologyreview.com.

1. 1.event.technologyreview.com — emtech future 2026vendor
2. 2.event.technologyreview.com — join usvendor
3. 3.prnewswire.com — mit technology review unveils the full agenda for emtech fut