Hawaii-based startup accelerator Blue Startups is bringing back its annual tech and innovation conference East Meets West on March 14-15 at the Prince Waikiki hotel.
The conference brings together leaders in the technology space, including entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and executives of global companies to discuss the latest industry trends.
The event kicks off on March 14 with a summit event featuring networking activities such as paddle-boarding and lei-making, as well as roundtable discussions. This portion of the event, which is mainly for industry leaders, is already sold out, but tickets remain for the main conference on March 15, which will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, one-on-one meetings with venture capitalists, and more.
One big topic at this year’s event will be artificial intelligence, Blue Startups Managing Partner Chenoa Farnsworth told Pacific Business News.
“That kind of runs throughout all of the discussions, whether we’re talking about sustainability or travel or other topics like marketing or design,” Farnsworth said. “All of those will be viewed this year through the lens of how AI is impacting those sectors because it is this massive shift in the tech industry that is impacting everything.”
For instance, there is one panel on regulating AI, and another on harnessing AI for ocean sustainability. Meanwhile, keynote speaker Chris Yeh will discuss how to leverage AI to scale companies.
Other topics covered in panels and keynote speeches will include discussions about content creation, innovations in eco-friendly transportation, utilizing Indigenous knowledge to solve modern problems, creating a global company and more.
A new facet this year is a partnership with the Startup World Cup, a global pitch competition. This year, East Meets West will be a qualifier for that competition, with the winner of its pitch contest going on to compete in Startup World Cup, with a chance to win $1 million, Farnsworth said.
“We have 10 companies pitching, four of which are Hawaii-based companies, so that is exciting that they are going to get a shot at that big prize,” she said.
This year marks the ninth East Meets West conference; the event launched in 2014 but took a year off during the Covid-19 shutdowns. Farnsworth said that the conference brings in about 300 to 400 attendees annually — and they’re expecting that same number this year.
“We have people who come back year after year because this is their favorite event,” she said.
Farnsworth thinks that one reason for the fervent following is that East Meets West creates an environment that is conducive to relationship-building. She said that is also one of her favorite aspects of the conference.
“We like to position East Meets West … where we’re building stronger connections — we’re creating opportunities for people to really connect beyond just exchanging a business card. If you get out there and go standup paddling with someone, you really get to know them in a way that you don’t in a normal conference setting,” Farnsworth said. “Creating those conversations and just having people be here in Hawaii also opens them up to being a little more casual, a little more social — all of those things I think are a benefit.
“Those synergies are created and people who meet each other [at the event] end up working together, or co-investing in a deal, or an entrepreneur finds a co-founder, or finds funding. All those kinds of outcomes are really what it’s about for us, and we are just creating the opportunity for those things to happen — and when they do, that’s really exciting.”
For more information on the event and to register, click here.
