10 October 2026 · Sydney, Australia
Nearly 400 leaders from research, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, energy, education, industry, startups and investment came together at the University of Technology Sydney on 8 October for AI EcoSystem Summit 2026, a major cross-sector gathering focused on the infrastructure, capability and collaboration required to translate AI innovation into real-world impact.
Held at The Great Hall, UTS, the Summit was co-hosted by the UTS Data Science Institute, AusConnect Innovation Alliance (ACIA) and GIIC, with an evening programme continuing at the Aerial UTS Function Centre.
Rather than treating artificial intelligence as a standalone technology discussion, the Summit brought together the broader ecosystem required to support its development and adoption — from research and agentic AI to compute infrastructure, data centres, energy, workforce capability, enterprise value and venture investment.
The Summit opened with Professor Andrew Parfitt, Vice-Chancellor and President of UTS, who welcomed participants to the University and delivered an Acknowledgement of Country.
Distinguished Professor Fang Chen, Executive Director of the UTS Data Science Institute, then explored the journey from AI research to real-world application, highlighting the importance of translating innovation into practical outcomes for industry and society.
The programme continued with two sessions from NVIDIA. Dr Johan Barthélemy, Senior AI Scientist at NVIDIA, discussed the company's extreme co-design approach to agentic AI, examining the increasingly close relationship between AI software, computing architecture and systems engineering.
Dr Susan Zhang, Head of Startup & VC Partnerships, ANZ at NVIDIA, presented Building the AI Flywheel: Startups, Capital and Compute with NVIDIA Inception, exploring how startups, investors and technology infrastructure can work together to accelerate AI innovation and scale.
The Summit also examined the broader social and workforce implications of artificial intelligence.
Professor Terry Flew, ARC Laureate Fellow and Co-Director of the Centre for AI, Trust and Governance at the University of Sydney, addressed the impact of AI on creativity, culture and value creation.
Professor Kylie Readman, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) at UTS, focused on AI education and workforce development, including how universities and skills systems can respond to a rapidly changing technology environment.
As AI models and applications continue to expand, the physical infrastructure supporting them is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation.
Angus Barron, Head of Engineering & Customer Development at NEXTDC, discussed AI infrastructure, data centre capacity and investment, before a dedicated panel examined energy, storage and grid integration and the growing relationship between compute demand and energy systems.
The discussion brought together expertise from renewable energy research, engineering, AI infrastructure and the energy sector, highlighting that the future of AI will depend not only on computing capacity, but also on access to reliable, scalable and increasingly sustainable power.
Two further panels examined how AI moves from technical capability into commercial value.
The AI Value Realisation panel explored organisational capability, judgement, decision quality and the challenges businesses face in converting AI adoption into measurable outcomes.
The final panel, Investing in AI: What Investors Want, brought together investors, founders and advisers to discuss how AI businesses are being assessed as the market matures — including technology differentiation, team capability, commercial models, compute costs, market demand and pathways to scale.
Alongside the main-stage programme, the Summit featured an exhibition area with organisations spanning AI platforms, data infrastructure, intelligent hardware, electric vehicles, robotics, drones, creative technology and emerging innovation.
Participating organisations included UTS, BytePlus, NEXTDC, ZEEKR Australia, MSI Computer, Tech Data, IRTC, Agora, GIIC, Lumina, Matrix Pharmaceutical, the Australian Drone SITA Association and ZenArt, among others.
The exhibition also featured youth technology and art showcases, adding a broader perspective on how younger generations are thinking about AI, future cities, technology and society.
In his closing remarks, Dexter Zhang, Chair of ACIA, reflected on the purpose behind the Summit.
For ACIA, the Summit reflects a broader mission to connect research, technology, infrastructure, industry, capital and talent — and to create environments where those connections can develop into practical collaboration.
ACIA extends its sincere thanks to all speakers, panellists, moderators, exhibitors, volunteers, partners and participants who contributed to the event.
Special thanks go to Gold Sponsors NEXTDC and BytePlus; sponsors ZEEKR, Matrix Pharmaceutical, MSI Computer and Tech Data; and supporting partners Agora, IRTC, ZenArt and Print ONE.
The Summit concluded with a group photo before discussions continued into the evening programme at UTS, where speakers, partners, industry leaders and guests had further opportunities to connect and explore future collaboration.
AI EcoSystem Summit 2026 demonstrated that the next phase of AI innovation will not be driven by technology alone. It will depend on stronger connections between research, infrastructure, energy, industry, investment and people.
ACIA will continue to build those connections across Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific innovation ecosystem — helping ideas move from conversation to collaboration, and from collaboration to real-world impact.