San Francisco, California — October 06, 2026 — Global Innovation Showcase 2026 brough together founders, investors, technology leaders, global partners, and innovators at the War Memorial Veterans Building in San Francisco, during SF Tech Week. Hosted by The Future of Tech (TFOT) and the Silicon Valley PropTech Association, the showcase explored the technologies, investment opportunities, and global partnerships, shaping the next era of innovation.
The showcase focused on a defining challenge across the technology landscape: how to turn breakthrough innovation into real-world solutions that can scale across industries and global markets.
From artificial intelligence and deep tech to dual-use and defense innovation, housing affordability, decentralized technologies, and global investment, the event examined the infrastructure, capital, and collaboration needed to move emerging technologies from promising ideas to practical applications.
The showcase brought together founders, investors, enterprise leaders, technology innovators, and global ecosystem partners, creating a platform for meaningful conversations, cross-border connections, and new opportunities for collaboration.
At its core, the event explored a critical question:
What does it take to scale breakthrough technologies from innovation to global adoption?
Watch Event Highlights Recap Video: https://youtu.be/QRZC1dTvy5U
Watch the full event video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8yfygBXqhYQ
Opening Remarks: Connecting Innovation Across Markets
The event opened with Soniya Ahuja, Founder and CEO of Orbis86, and Alina Aeby, Founder and President of the Silicon Valley PropTech Association. Their remarks introduced the showcase’s focus on collaboration, global technology communities, and the realities of bringing innovation into different markets.
The opening highlighted an important consideration for founders and technology leaders: a solution that works in one ecosystem may need to adapt to the regulations, infrastructure, and needs of another before it can scale successfully.
Key Conversations: From Advanced Computing to Global Markets and the Next Digital Economy
The Global Innovation Showcase 2026 brought together investors, founders, and technology leaders to explore what it takes to turn emerging technologies into real-world solutions and scale them across markets. The five panel discussions covered:
- The Capital-to-Scale Playbook: Backing Innovation Across Global Markets
- Going Global with Dual-Use & Defense Innovation: From Mission to Market
- The Affordability Stack — What Scales Globally, What Doesn’t
- The Web3 Stack for the Real World: Infrastructure, Capital, Policy & Adoption
- Scaling Artificial Intelligence & Deep Tech: From Breakthrough Innovation to Global Adoption
Discussions explored investment strategies, defense innovation, housing affordability, decentralized technology, and the challenges of bringing breakthrough technologies to global audiences.
During “The Capital-to-Scale Playbook,” Kerry Chin, Investor at Booz Allen Ventures, highlighted the importance of commercial traction in helping startups navigate early challenges and longer government sales cycles: “To ensure that a startup is able to survive those initial rougher patches, you have to have commercial traction as well.”
The discussion on dual-use innovation explored how technologies can evolve beyond their original applications. During “Going Global with Dual-Use & Defense Innovation: From Mission to Market,” Jaz Banga, Co-Founder and CEO of Airspace Defense, shared how his company’s drone interception technology moved from a civilian use case toward defense applications. As he explained, “We had initially built our drone interceptor to stop drones from getting into baseball stadiums.” The example illustrated how technologies developed to address specific commercial needs can find new applications in national security and other markets.
The fireside chat, “The Next Stage of Artificial Intelligence & Deep Tech: From Innovation to Adoption,” featuring Jerry Wong of AMD and Ken Nim of OffChain Global, examined the evolving smart technology landscape, advances in computing infrastructure, and the opportunities emerging as technologies move toward broader adoption. Reflecting on the pace of progress, Wong remarked, “The amount of change in Artificial Intelligence is amazing.”
Across the sessions, one message stood out: innovation is only the beginning—turning breakthroughs into lasting impact requires investment, infrastructure, market demand, talent, and collaboration.
Beyond the Showcase Experience: Tesla, Live Demos & Happy Hour
Beyond the stage, the Global Innovation Showcase combined technology exploration with opportunities for participants to connect, experience new products, and continue conversations informally.
The Tesla Experience
The showcase featured an exclusive Tesla Experience, bringing advanced automotive technology and intelligent mobility into the event. The experience included opportunities associated with Tesla test drives and the Tesla Overnight Experience, giving participants a way to engage with technology beyond a presentation or panel discussion.
Live Demonstrations & Product Discovery
Live demonstrations and product presentations, and exhibitor showcases gave attendees a closer look at emerging technologies and the teams bringing them to life. From OpenBeam‘s tool for simulation, engineering, and physical smart tech to LILA by VCYCENE‘s sustainable composting solutions and the global trade initiatives represented by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HFTDC), the showcase highlighted innovations addressing real-world challenges across industries.
These experiences gave attendees the opportunity to explore new products, learn about practical applications, and connect directly with the founders and organizations behind the solutions. By bringing technology beyond the stage and into hands-on discovery, the showcase encouraged conversations around collaboration, investment, and real-world adoption.
Happy Hour & Networking
The event continued with a networking reception featuring curated bites and a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, creating space for attendees to reconnect with speakers, meet founders and investors, and continue conversations sparked throughout the program.
The reception offered the perfect opportunity to build new connections, exchange ideas, and explore possibilities for future collaboration.
About Our Sponsors and Partners
We extend our sincere gratitude to our sponsors and partners for their invaluable support in making this showcase possible. Their contributions, collaboration, and commitment to advancing robotics and Smart Tech help create opportunities for innovation, connection, and real-world impact.
Venue Sponsor
American Legion War Memorial Commission: Founded in 1919 as part of The American Legion, the Commission helps preserve and honor the sacrifices of veterans through monuments, memorials, and community spaces across San Francisco. It coordinates the use of the San Francisco Veterans Building for established American Legion Posts and patriotic organizations in accordance with the War Memorial Charter.
Sponsors
Stand With Crypto: Stand With Crypto is a grassroots, nonpartisan movement uniting over 2.5 million advocates nationwide to protect the future of Digital assets and decentralized infrastructure innovation. We amplify community voices, educate policymakers, and mobilize around fair digital asset legislation. Beyond advocacy, Stand With Crypto creates opportunities to connect through local activations, community events, and partnerships empowering members to host and shape the future of Web3 from the ground up.
TeroAI: TeroAI is building an intelligence layer for the physical world through patented geospatial technology that brings together fragmented data across sources and geographic boundaries. Its technology supports applications across industries including retail, advertising, real estate, media, public affairs, site selection, and market intelligence.
1inch: 1inch is a decentralized finance ecosystem focused on financial freedom, integrating multiple digital networks and providing products that help users and builders trade, hold, and track digital assets through self-custody and decentralized infrastructure.
Beverage Partners
Poura On Wheels: Poura On Wheels creates mobile event experiences through its Piaggio Ape mobile bar, serving handcrafted cocktails, mocktails, wine, and beer with customizable menus.
GNUS.AI: Genius Ventures, Inc. develops decentralized infrastructure solutions, with GNUS tokens supporting distributed GPU utilization through a multi-network DePIN ecosystem.
Partners
Tesla: Tesla is a global leader in sustainable energy and transportation, pioneering electric vehicles, battery storage, and solar solutions through advanced manufacturing and technology.
10X Growth Strategies: A Silicon Valley community connecting investors, founders, and corporate executives through events, networking, and conversations featuring venture capital and startup leaders.
Hong Kong Trade Development Council: HKTDC connects businesses and investors with opportunities across Asia and beyond, promoting Hong Kong as a gateway to global markets and the Greater Bay Area.
Loop8: Loop8 is an intelligent technology and cloud transformation partner helping startups and SMBs build and scale technology initiatives, including through AWS partner funding programs.
Nosh Robotics: Nosh Robotics is developing Physical Intelligence for automated cooking, with its Robo-chef designed to autonomously prepare hundreds of dishes from around the world.
Minds by Animoca Brands: A persistent intelligent-agent platform designed to help builders and users deploy and manage customizable, always-on digital agents without the complexity of managing their own infrastructure.
US and Africa Initiatives (USAFI): An organization focused on strengthening U.S.-Africa relationships by deploying expertise to build institutional capacity and support long-term sustainability.
FIABCI-USA (International Real Estate Federation): The U.S. chapter of the global real estate federation, connecting professionals across the international property industry and supporting collaboration across markets.
CryptoMondays San Francisco: One of more than 70 global CryptoMondays chapters, CryptoMondays San Francisco is a decentralized community passionate about Digital assets, decentralized infrastructure, and their potential to transform the world. Through panel discussions, presentations, and networking events, it brings together people to exchange ideas, learn, and connect around the future of decentralized technologies.
Looking Ahead: From Ideas to Impact
The Global Innovation Showcase 2026 reinforced that the future of technology depends not only on breakthrough ideas, but also on the people, partnerships, and investment needed to bring them to life. From advanced computing infrastructure and dual-use innovation to global markets and the evolving digital economy, the conversations highlighted the importance of turning emerging technologies into practical solutions that can scale.
As founders, investors, and technology leaders continue to push boundaries, the connections and ideas sparked at the showcase will help shape what comes next.
About Us:
Hosts – The Future of Tech is a global platform connecting founders, investors, enterprises, and innovators through impactful events and ecosystem collaborations. Powered by Orbis86, OffChain Global and BrandPR, it brings together communities across Smart Tech, Decentralized digital technologies, and emerging technologies to foster meaningful conversations, partnerships, and innovation shaping the future of technology.
OffChain Global: OffChain Global is a worldwide community with more than 70 chapters for digital asset professionals, technology enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs, creating local gatherings and speaking events designed to connect communities.
Orbis86: Orbis86 drives emerging technology innovation through its Engage – Educate – Elevate approach, creating experiences and global events that bring communities together around decentralized technologies, intelligent systems, and emerging innovation.
BrandPR: BrandPR is a specialized PR and marketing agency partnering with Orbis86 to help emerging technology brands build visibility through media coverage, marketing campaigns, and community-building strategies.
– Silicon Valley PropTech Association
SVPropTech is a global collaboration space connecting private, public, and non-governmental stakeholders in property technology, with a focus on education, networking, business opportunities, and connections between Silicon Valley and global PropTech communities.
