Data + AI Summit 2026 runs from June 15 to 18 in San Francisco, with a virtual experience on June 16 and 17 that lets people tune in from anywhere. Databricks says the virtual experience is free and includes two days of streamed keynotes and select sessions, on-demand access after the event, online training, and Summit Live, a livestream of expert commentary and special guests.
Where Data and AI Conversations Get Real
This summit is not built around vague AI optimism. Databricks frames it around the actual work of data and AI teams, with the virtual experience centered on streamed keynotes, select sessions, and live commentary from experts across the community. The speakers page says the summit brings together leading experts, researchers, and open source contributors from Databricks and the broader data and AI world.
That matters because the event is clearly positioned for people who are already deep in the stack. The agenda and virtual programming lean into governance, agentic systems, data engineering, applications, warehousing, and analytics rather than generic ‘future of AI’ talk.
What to Expect at Data + AI Summit 2026?
Streamed keynotes and select sessions
The virtual experience includes two full days of streamed keynotes and selected sessions on June 16 and 17, plus on-demand access afterward. Databricks also says APAC and Japan keynotes will be rebroadcast in English, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin on June 17 and 18 at local times including 9:30 AM IST.
Online training and Summit Live
Databricks says virtual attendees also get access to online training and Summit Live, which is described as a livestream of expert commentary and special guests hosted by data and AI experts. That makes the experience more than a passive livestream.
Agenda built around working teams
The agenda preview shows session categories such as Governance & Security, Data Engineering & Streaming, Artificial Intelligence & Agents, Application Development, Data Warehousing, and Analytics & BI. That is a pretty clear signal of where the event is putting its weight.
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A broad, hands-on technical program
The week-at-a-glance on the virtual experience page shows keynotes and streamed sessions across Tuesday and Wednesday, with the stated goal of helping attendees make the most of Summit with topics on all things data and AI.
Key Themes Driving the 2026 Program
Governance is now part of the AI conversation
The agenda includes sessions like ‘A-Z of Unity Catalog Business Semantics: Open and Unified Semantics for Agents, Apps and BI’ and ‘Agent Ready Data Governance: Databricks on Databricks,’ which tells you governance is not an afterthought here.
Agentic systems are moving into the mainstream
Several previewed sessions focus on agents, including ‘Agentic Data Engineering with Genie Code,’ ‘An Intro to Building and Scaling Agentic Apps,’ and ‘How to Build and Manage the Full Agent Lifecycle.’ That is a strong signal that the summit is focused on building and operating AI systems, not just talking about them.
The lakehouse still matters
The agenda also includes ‘Lakebase 101’ and ‘Building Production-Grade SQL ETL on the Lakehouse,’ which shows Databricks is still anchoring the summit in data architecture and execution, not just model talk.
AI work is becoming cross-functional
Between the virtual experience, the agenda, and the speaker mix, the event is clearly trying to connect engineering, product, data, platform, and business leadership in the same room. That is the real story here.
Featured Speakers and Industry Voices
Some of the featured speakers include:
- Ali Ghodsi – CEO and Co-Founder, Databricks
- Greg Brockman – President and Co-Founder, OpenAI
- Michael Cleavinger – VP Global Data Science and Analytics, PepsiCo
- Sinna Lisa Vange – Principal IT Solution Architect, Novo Nordisk
- James Maki – Sr. Solution Architect, NVIDIA
The Data + AI Summit Experience
The event is set up to be part conference, part working lab. Databricks says attendees can catch keynotes, select sessions, online training, and Summit Live from the virtual side, while the broader summit in San Francisco runs across June 15 to 18. The agenda page also shows multiple session tracks that span the core layers of modern data and AI work.
That makes the summit feel less like a branding exercise and more like a place to see how data and AI teams are actually building systems that need to survive in production.
Why Data + AI Summit 2026 Matters
AI is moving fast, but most companies are still stuck between experiments and execution. This summit matters because it is aimed at people who have to close that gap for real. Databricks is not selling AI as a concept. It is showing the plumbing, the governance, the agent workflows, the architecture, and the people doing the work.
Attendees walk away with sharper technical context, a clearer view of what enterprise AI actually requires, and access to a wide community of practitioners and leaders. That is the point. Less hype. More build mode.
👉 Discover more at: www.databricks.com/dataaisummit