Despite the development of other high-tech economic centers throughout the United States, Silicon Valley remains a leading hub for technology. The area's leading tech startups leverage the power of industry programming, conference, and trade shows to unlock valuable networking opportunities, learn from thought leaders, and discover the latest industry trends.
With a seemingly endless stream of tech events to choose from (some with heftier price tags than others), how do you know which event will be the best use of your resources? Start by considering these questions:
- Cost: Attending a conference can be expensive. Between registration fees, travel, accommodations, and meals, associated costs can add up. Can you afford the event? Do the potential benefits of the conference outweigh the costs?
- Substance: What do you want to learn? Do the keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and presentations align with the goals and objectives of your startup?
- Results: Will you walk away from the event with actionable takeaways?
To save you some time, we've researched some of the must-attend San Francisco conferences coming up in 2018.
The 6 Best Tech Events in San Francisco in 2018
1. DeveloperWeek 2018
Join 8,000 developers during the world's largest developer expo and conference series. DeveloperWeek covers the latest developer technologies including advanced tips and tricks on HTML5, Python, Javascript, Robotics Dev, Data Science, and Machine Learning. Featuring more than 200 workshops, bootcamps, panel talks, and keynotes, DeveloperWeek caters to industry-leading developers, engineers, and designers.
The theme for this year's event is The Industrial Revolution of Code:
"It's not just tech companies who are re-positioning themselves as software-centric. Fortune 500 consumer brands, banks, traditional equipment manufacturers, and care makers are all pivoting away from being just a "company" to being a "software company." In other words, coding and software innovation is not just for Silicon Valley -- every corporation in America is joining the "Industrial Revolution of Code."
- Date/Time/Location: February 3-8, 2018 at The Oakland Convention Center, Oakland, CA
- Registration: www.developerweek.com/register
2. SaaStr Annual 2018
Did you know that cloud computing is one of the fastest-growing industries today? Featuring more than 250 speakers and more than 10,000 attendees, SaaStr Annual is the world's largest gathering of SaaS founders, executives, and investors. During the event, unlock three days of networking and learning.
"The Annual is the largest non-vendor confab in the world, uniting the global B2B SaaS community both online and off. We want to help everyone scale faster and with less stress. In 2018, over 10,000 founders, senior executives, and VCs will come together over three action-packed days of high-quality networking, learning from those who've done it, and of course, great food, generously-poured drinks, and plenty of fun."
- Date/Time/Location: February 6-8, 2018 at Hilton Union Square, San Francisco, CA
- Registration: https://www.saastrannual.com/
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3. Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference attracts more than 26,000 attendees and features more than 500 lectures, panels, tutorials, and roundtable discussions. Join programmers, artists, product designers, game designers, audio professionals, business decision-makers, and others during the world's largest professional game industry event. The Game Developers Conference is a catalyst in the development of next generation gaming.
"GDC returns to San Francisco March 19-23, 2018 (Monday - Friday) for five days of lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions on a comprehensive selection of game development and virtual reality topics taught by industry experts. GDC continues to define market innovations, provide insight into the future of gaming, and give attendees new tools, techniques and inspiration to make great games."
- Date/Time/Location: March 19-23, 2018 at The Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA
- Registration: http://www.gdconf.com/
4. MIT EmTech Digital
Artificial intelligence is shaping the digital world. EmTech Digital supplies industry leaders with the insight and intelligence to navigate this turbid digital landscape. EmTech Digital is designed for senior executives responsible for information, security, strategy, and innovation across industries.
"What technologies are making significant progress? How does their commercialization affect your business? What do you need to know right now to stay the ahead of the curve? EmTech Digital is where the discerning lens of the world's preeminent technology university meets Silicon Valley."
- Date/Time/Location: March 26-27, 2018 at The St. Regis Hotel, San Francisco, CA
- Registration: https://events.technologyreview.com/emtech/digital/18/
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5. Internet of Things Summit
The Internet of Things has been called the next Industrial Revolution. In fact, recent estimates suggest that the industry will be worth $267 billion by 2020. The Internet of Things Summit brings together the industry's leaders during two full days of innovation and discovery. Key topic areas include cloud-based applications for leveraging data, wearable technology, creating an open device ecosystem, and more.
"We are pushing basics of the Internet of Things, and helping you conquer your burning issues surrounding the tools, techniques, and strategies relating to IoT. We know that creating a connected eco-system has already proved to offer increasingly complex challenges which is why we invite you to discuss your thoughts and feelings openly, and connect with like-minded people."
- Date/Time/Location: April 19-20, 2018, venue TBD, San Francisco, CA
- Registration: https://theinnovationenterprise.com/summits/internet-of-things-summit-san-francisco-2018
6. Girls in Tech AMPLIFY: Women's Pitch Competition
The AMPLIFY Women's Pitch Competition supports growing women-owned startups. During this competition, female entrepreneurs pitch early-stage technology startups to experienced tech professionals and investors. Winners receive a cash prize and resources designed to help their early-stage startup grow. The event also features keynote speeches by industry-leading female startup founders and executives.
"AMPLIFY is a 'must-attend' startup competition for entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, and designers that explores up and coming trends in innovation, technology, and most importantly, showcases the best and brightest female tech entrepreneurs from the region."
- Date/Time/Location: TBD
- Registration: http://amplify.girlsintech.org/
Looking for More Tech Startup Events?
Attending an industry conference can amplify the growth of your tech startup and unlock powerful learning and networking opportunities. As a central hub for the latest innovations in tech, San Francisco's numerous tech events are some of the best in the industry.
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From artificial intelligence to equity-efficient financing, RocketSpace hosts routine workshops and seminars focused on a variety of industry subject matter. Interested in learning more about our tech ecosystem? Try a FREE Day Pass!
