More than 3,000 attendees expected to explore AI’s impacts as Plug and Play introduces new focus areas in Aerospace & Defense and Lifetech
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Plug and Play, one of the world’s most active early-stage investors, announced today an exciting lineup of speakers and innovators for its Silicon Valley November Summit 2025 happening November 18-20 in Sunnyvale. The Summit will feature more than 250 startup debuts (with more than 200 AI firms), which will conduct demos and engage with more than 3,000 attendees, including Fortune 500 decision-makers across dozens of industries.
“We accelerate innovation and create impacts because we gather the right people from startups, corporations, investors, and governments,” said Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play. “Ideas grow into intriguing businesses through our global-spanning events and our global ecosystem. Our goal in this and all summits remains the same, to back founders and push technology forward in all fields.”
Plug and Play will share locations for its upcoming innovation hubs, new partnerships, and other key initiatives at the summit, reflecting its status as a global innovation hub. The summit highlights how innovation — especially in AI — is transforming every industry and features insights from leaders about managing and capitalizing on change. Participants connect with investors, startup founders, and government leaders while exploring the real-world applications of emerging technologies.
Speaker Highlights
Amidi and Dennis Cinelli, Chief Financial Officer of Scale AI, will conduct a fireside chat to open the summit as two of the more than 100 speakers at the event. AI-powered agents’ impact on the shopping experience will follow, with Fiona Tan, Chief Technology Officer at Wayfair, discussing the ways automation and contextual commerce are changing shoppers’ behaviors. Tom Zschach, Chief Information Officer, SWIFT, will also deliver a keynote on how innovation in digital finance can remain open, responsible, and built on trust, bridging the gap between emerging technologies and global financial institutions.
Additional speakers include:
- Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Partner, Draper Associates
- Casper Vroemen, Chief R&D Officer at IFF
- Franziska Bossart, Head of AIIF Innovation Fund, Amazon
- David Warrick, EVP of Overhaul, Former CSCO of Microsoft
- Peter Matthiesen, Senior Director, Head of Group Innovation and Truck Technology, DSV
- Jeff Barry, Head of Innovation, Dot Foods
- Walt Duflock, Vice President of Innovation, Western Growers
- David Ko, CEO, Calm
- Dr. Adam de la Zerda, Founder & CEO, Visby Medical
- Michael Olmstead, Chief Revenue Officer, Plug and Play
- Amit Patel, Partner, Plug and Play
Attendees can learn about the latest trends and innovations in a range of breakout sessions including: State of DefenseTech, Why Arizona Is Your Launchpad for Growth, AI-Ready Data Centers, The State of Stablecoins & XDC Network Startup Program Graduation, Agentic AI with Quantum Computing, along with a venture capital roundtable about Robotics & Physical AI.
To learn more about the Summit, visit the Plug and Play event website.
About Plug and Play
Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we’re present in 60+ locations across 25+ industries. We offer corporate innovation programs, helping our partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also run startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC where we’ve invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit Plug and Play.
Plug and Play Press Contact
Jacky Tsang
Senior Communications & PR Associate
[email protected]
SOURCE Plug and Play
