Day 1:  May 24, 2017

Technology Deep Dive

Location: SVA Theatre, NYC

8:00 - 8:50am
Registration and Coffee

9:00am
Keynote:  Vision Is The "Killer App" for Artificial Intelligence and Computing
Artificial intelligence will not succeed without understanding visual data.  Where are the exciting investment opportunities that analyze visual data via computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence?
- Evan Nisselson, LDV Capital, General Partner

9:10am
Keynote: Godmother of VR Delivers Immersive Journalism to Tell Stories That Hopefully Make a Difference and Inspire People To Care
- Nonny de la Peña, Emblematic Group, CEO & Founder 

9:20am
Keynote: Building Facebook’s Visual Cortex
Facebook users upload billions of media content every day. In the Applied Machine Learning organization, their goal is to understand this media to improve people’s experiences on Facebook and connect them to the right content. To do this they need to push on all three fronts: (i) Build scalable image and video understanding platforms and services, (ii) push state of the art on image and video understanding algorithms and (iii) build new experiences that would not be possible without understanding the media. Manohar will share how they club these efforts into one umbrella namely building Facebook’s visual cortex.
- Manohar Paluri, Facebook, Manager, Computer Vision Group

9:30am
Keynote: Delivering Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence to the Edge
In 5 years, Clement went from NYU Research Scientist to co-founder & CTO of MadBits [Twitter Acquired, 2014], to tech lead for Twitter Cortex and now VP of AI Infrastructure at NVIDIA. NVIDIA is pushing the envelope of computer vision and artificial intelligence to the edge of graphics, autonomous vehicles, medical imaging, games, virtual reality, augmented reality and more. Clement will share some of his entrepreneurial adventures, advice for other researchers who wish to be entrepreneurs, exciting challenges he is working on at NVIDIA and his views for the future of analyzing visual data.
- Clement Farabet, NVIDIA, VP Artificial Intelligence  Infrastructure

9:40am
Keynote: How and Why Did University of Washington Professor Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman Build Dreambit and Sell To Facebook
Every day tons of research is submitted as papers for review but only a few people evolve their work into commercial businesses. How and why did Ira evolve her research into a company called Dreambit which she then sold to Facebook. Dreambit allowed you to upload a selfie and try on new looks without spending a fortune at the salon, or hours in photoshop. You could see how you would look a with different a hairstyle or color, or in a different time period, age, country or anything else that can be queried in an image search engine. Was Ira’s goal to build a commercial business, organize the intellectual property into a commercial entity, raise capital or bring it to people by building an online prototype of their research? Ira will share the challenges and adventures through the process of how Dreambit evolved, sold to Facebook and her advice on figuring out what is best for you.
- Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman, Facebook, Research Scientist University Washington, Assist. Professor

9:50am
Keynote: Professor X Aims to Disrupt Autonomous Driving By Leveraging Cheap Cameras, Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence
AutoX is striving to democratize autonomy and make autonomous driving universally accessible to everyone. Leaving his role as founding director of Princeton's Computer Vision and Robotics Lab, Professor X working to lower the price of entry into the autonomous driving field with an innovative camera-first solution -- using cameras as primary sensors. By doing so, he posits, the safety and convenience benefits of autonomy will be delivered to more people, faster. He will share how he decided to found a company with the mission of democratizing autonomy, gather an expert team, raise funding and commercialize his passion.
- Jianxiong Xiao "Professor X", AutoX, CEO & Founder

9:55am
Panel: Will LiDAR, Radar or Commoditized Cameras Power the Future of Autonomous Vehicles?
Moderator: Jessi Hempel, Backchannel, Head of Editorial
Panelists: 
- Allan Steinhardt, AEye, Chief Engineer  
- Gregory Charvat, Humatics Corporation, CTO

10:30am
Break: Networking & Coffee

11:10am
Keynote: Computer Vision and Machine Learning Will Transform the Way We Move
Uber ATG is developing autonomous vehicle technologies and now gives rides in its self-driving cars in two cities. Jeff has been a research professor at Carnegie Mellon University for 18 years and is currently on leave as the Engineering Lead for Machine Learning at Uber ATG. He will describe how machine learning and active optimization on lidar, radar and camera data will drive their advances over the coming years.
- Jeff Schneider, Uber ATG, Engineering Lead, Machine Learning

11:20am
Panel: Autonomous Vehicles Cannot See Without Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence
Moderator: Evan Nisselson, LDV Capital
Panelists:
- James Philbin, Zoox, Senior Director, Computer Vision
- Oscar Beijbom, nuTonomy, Machine Learning Lead
- Mohamed Saad Ibn Seddik, Sea Machines, R&D Autonomy Scientist

11:55am
Panel: Trends and Investment Opportunities in Visual Technologies
Moderator: Jessi Hempel, Backchannel, Head of Editorial
Panelists: 
- Rudina Seseri, Glasswing Ventures, Founder & Managing Partner
- Rohit Makharia, GM Ventures, Sr. Investment Manager

12:30pm
Break: Lunch

1:30pm
Fireside Chat: Josh Kopelman of First Round Capital and Evan Nisselson of LDV Capital
Josh and Evan will discuss future investment trends and early stage opportunities in businesses leveraging visual technologies.
- Josh Kopelman, First Round Capital, Managing Partner
- Evan Nisselson, LDV Capital, General Partner

2:05pm
ENTREPRENEUR COMPUTER VISION COMPETITION [ECVC] Finalist Presentations
Finalists will give four-minute presentations and answer two minutes of questions from the judges.
Judges:
- Aaron Hertzmann, Adobe, Principal Scientist
- Tali Dekel, Google, Research Scientist
- Vance Bjorn, CertifID, CEO & Co-Founder
- Rudina Seseri, Glasswing Ventures, Founder & Managing Partner
- Andrew Zhai, Pinterest, Software Engineer
- James Philbin, Zoox, Senior Director, Computer Vision
- Josh Kopelman, First Round Capital, Managing Partner
- Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman Facebook, Research Scientist, U. Washington, Assist. Professor
- Clement Farabet, Nvidia, VP AI Infrastructure
- Adrien Treuille, Carnegie Mellon University, Assistant Professor
- Serge Belongie, Cornell Tech, Professor
- Manohar Paluri, Facebook, Manager, Computer Vision Group
- Jan Erik Solem, Mapillary, CEO & Co-founder
- Yale Song, Yahoo, Senior Research Scientist
- Rohit Makharia, GM Ventures, Sr. Investment Manager

2:45pm
Keynote: General Artificial Intelligence Needs A New Approach
Will deep learning give us full-blown AI or will we need another breakthrough? Working in neuroscience and computer science at top global institutions for over forty years while also co-founding several companies and successfully selling two of them, Dr. von der Malsburg has a unique perspective on the issue. According to Dr. von der Malsburg there is a distinct missing element before anything like human performance can be reached on tasks such as vision in natural environments or learning from single situations: The field is wide open and presents tremendous opportunities for a next wave of researchers ready for a fresh and disruptive approach.
- Christoph von der Malsburg, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Senior Fellow

2:55pm
Break: Networking and the bar is open

3:40pm
Keynote: How Can Computer Vision Reduce or Magnify Subtle Imperfection in Digital Images? Structures and objects, captured in image data, are often idealized by the human eye. For example, buildings may seem to be perfectly straight, or repeating structures such as corn’s kernels may seem almost identical. However, in reality, such flawless behavior hardly exists. Tali will show how to render new images in which spatial imperfection are either reduced or magnified. Reducing the imperfections can be used as a graphic tool for beautifying images. Alternatively, increasing the spatial irregularities allows to reveal useful and surprising information that is hard to visually perceive by the naked eye.
- Tali Dekel, Google, Research Scientist

3:45pm
Keynote: Will Apple, Google, Facebook or a New Startup Manage Your Identity and Power Authentication Via Biometrics?  
Biometrics pioneer Vance Bjorn co-founded Digital Persona in 1996 and sold to CrossMatch in 2014. He studied at MIT and California Institute of Technology [BS, MS, Eng & App Sci (BS), CNS (MS)]. Many aspects of biometrics have been commoditized over the years but why haven’t these technologies infiltrated all of our lives to replace keys, passports and drivers licenses yet? Biometrics can analyze your eyes, face, hand, behavior, voice and one day your thoughts. Aspects of these technologies are focused on identity and authentication. Vance will share his wisdom about the past, present and future technical challenges and opportunities in biometrics.
- Vance Bjorn, CertifID, CEO & Co-founder

3:55pm
Keynote: How Is Pinterest Leveraging Computer Vision on 100 Billion Ideas to Improve Visual Discovery for 175+ Million People?
Pinterest leverages computer vision, deep learning, and machine learning to empower visual discovery (search and recommendation) across it’s community. Pinterest is a central point for visual exploration where hundreds of millions of users organize images into boards based on topic. In 2016, Pinterest built Flashlight to enable users to select an object within an image for a visual search query. Recently, they launched a new feature called Lens, a mobile camera based visual discovery product, to connect real world images to the Pinterest ecosystem of 100+ billion ideas. Andrew will shed light on how these unique systems are creating brand new experiences in visual exploration for Pinterest users.
- Andrew Zhai, Pinterest, Software Engineer, Tech Lead Visual Search/Lens

4:05pm
Panel: Who Will Win the Race to Power the Automotive Supercomputer on Wheels? 
Will the autonomous vehicle tech stack be open or closed. Will it follow the historic trends of the internet as an open system or some other hybrid?
- Moderator: Charles Janac, Arteris, CEO
Panelists: 
- Manju Hedge, Uhnder, CEO & Co-Founder
- Edwin Olson, May Mobility, CEO
- Ty Garibay, Intel, VP Engineering, Embedded Processing

4:40pm
Keynote: Autonomous Vehicles with Human Perception Will Make Our Cities Smarter and Better to Live In
We are on the verge of a new era in which robotics and artificial intelligence will play a very important and very personal role in our lives. Autonomous vehicles, robot helpers and opinionated computer programs are poised to make transportation, health care and even fashion choices effortless and efficient. But before we can safely introduce robots into our everyday lives, we need to teach them about our world. Raquel has developed algorithms that allow vehicles to perceive and understand the environment in three dimensions and in real time. She is a recipient of NVIDIA Pioneers of AI Award, three Google Faculty Research Awards and several more.
- Raquel Urtasun, Uber ATG. Head of Uber ATG Toronto

4:50pm
Keynote: Building an MRI Scanner 60 Times Cheaper, Small Enough to Fit in an Ambulance Will Hopefully Improve Healthcare & Humanity
Matthew Rosen is a Harvard Professor, he and his colleagues at the MGH/A.A Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging in Boston are working on applications of advanced biomedical imaging technologies. He wants to liberate the MRI and democratize health care for the world. One of several projects is hacking a new kind of scanner that’s fast, small, and cheap. Using algorithms, they can use a weak magnetic field to get good images of our brains and other organs. Someday, people may not have to go to hospital for an MRI. The scanners may show up in sports arenas, battlefields, and even the backs of ambulances. Dr. Rosen will share his vision how biomedical imaging has evolved past, present and his views on where disruptive opportunities will be in 5, 10 and 20 years.
- Matt Rosen, MGH/Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Director, Low-field MRI Lab

5:00pm
Keynote: How Can You Inspire Every Developer in the World to Use Your Algorithms
As the story point eclipses the dollar as the scarcest resource for the enterprise in the post-information economy, how can hard technology companies find success by going straight to the world's 23 million developers? Rob Spectre shares wins and fails from a career as a servant leader building developer go-to-market strategies from the ground up for companies like Twilio ($TWLO) and Boxee. Learn about critical components and common pitfalls when turning difficult technology problems like computer vision, machine learning and communications into successful developer platform businesses.
- Rob Spectre, Brooklyn Hacker, Former Twilio VP, Developer Network

5:10pm
Closing: Congratulate Entrepreneur Computer Vision Competition Winner & Thanks

5:15pm
Drinks & Networking

Day 2: May 25, 2017

Business and Products

Location: SVA Theatre, NYC

8:00 - 8:50am
Registration and Coffee

9:00am
Keynote: How Will Visual Technologies Disrupt & Empower Businesses & Society
Visual Technologies capture, analyze, filter, distribute and display any visual data for businesses or consumers. In 2003, Evan wrote an article that cameraphones would replace point-shoot cameras. In 2016, Evan predicted that the Internet of Eyes will enable inanimate objects to see and recently Amazon Echo Look validated this thesis. What are the next predictions?
- Evan Nisselson, LDV Capital, General Partner

9:10am
Keynote: Opportunities to Improve Our Lives Leveraging Visual Recognition at Scale
Dr. John R. Smith is an IBM Fellow, Manager of Multimedia and Vision at IBM T. J. Watson Research Center and has worked at IBM for over 20yrs. Dramatic advances in accuracy, scale and speed of visual recognition and ability to learn are enabling new solutions where visual data is both the question and answer to important industry challenges. As a result, insights from growing amounts of image and video data are transforming industries such as retail, fashion, media, sports, insurance, health, and medicine. John will share his views on challenges and opportunities of developing and applying visual recognition in practice and present some recent results on problems related to image analysis for skin cancer detection, movie analysis for trailer generation, and automatic sports highlight detection from video.
- John R. Smith, IBM Research. Senior Manager, Intelligent Information Systems

9:20am
Keynote: Pioneering VR and AR for Media Companies
Mia Tramz is the Managing Editor of LIFE VR, Time Inc’s company wide virtual reality initiative. Since joining TIME as an Associate Photo Editor in 2013, Mia has embraced immersive digital storytelling in many forms, culminating with her involvement shaping the editorial voice of Time Inc.’s new VR brand, developing and producing VR content across the media company’s 30+ titles. LIFE VR launched as a multi-platform virtual reality brand in September 2016. She will share the challenges and opportunities in producing VR and AR content across multiple brands, why quality trumps quantity, and how they approach distribution and audience growth. She will also enlighten on where she sees VR, AR and MR evolving in the next 3-5 years.
- Mia Tramz, Time Inc. Managing Editor, LIFE VR

9:25am
Keynote: Recreating Reality as a Simulation Can Deliver ROI and Improve Lives
Imagine an interactive digital replica of the real world - a simulation as detailed and complex as physical reality - where decisions can be tested, counterfactual questions interrogated, and multiple hypothesis explored. Imagine vast, persistent digital worlds with rich immersive experiences that feel as emotionally significant as any other part of your life: millions of people interacting to create incredible new entertainment experiences. Oliver will share how Improbable and massive scale simulations are transforming industries and how artificial realities could change our lives over the next decades.
- Oliver Lewis, Improbable, VP Corporate Development

9:30am
Panel: How Will The Most Disruptive Innovation of a Generation Impact Society - Autonomous Vehicles
Moderator: Joshua Brustein, Bloomberg Businessweek
Correspondent
Panelists:
- Taggart Matthiesen, Lyft, Director Product
- Charles Janac, Arteris, CEO

10:05am
Keynote: An Image Featured on Unsplash is Seen More Than an image on Any Other Photography Platform
When Mikael and his co-founders started their creative marketplace Crew they never imagined they’d one day spin it off and sell it in favor of focusing on their exponentially growing content marketing project Unsplash. They crossed millions of members and are delivering 1.57B photos viewed per month. Today, over 4 photos are downloaded per second on Unsplash and 68% of their traffic is direct.  Image networks are good at creating attention. Stock media companies are good at optimizing supply and relationships with high end demand. Unsplash combines the best of both.  Mikael will share how the turbulent beginnings of a startup gave birth to Unsplash and share insights into what the unique future holds for a $19 Tumblr blog which has turned into the fastest-growing photography platform since Instagram.
- Mikael Cho, Unsplash, CEO & Co-Founder

10:10am
Break: Networking & Coffee

11:00am
Keynote: 100 Million Pictures of Human Cells and Computer Vision Will Accelerate the Search for Disease Treatments.  
Blake studied electrical engineering, founded a successful e-commerce business, then went back for a PhD doing machine learning in biology before starting Recursion Pharmaceuticals. Recursion applies computer vision and machine learning to evaluate cellular health broadly across hundreds of diseases. Their vision-powered universal biology platform accelerates drug discovery and will critically accelerate the search for disease treatments in the coming decade. Blake will share the challenges of leveraging computer vision in the healthcare industry, unique success stories and how he believes computer vision will impact the healthcare industry 10 and 20 years into the future.. 
- Blake Borgeson, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, CTO & Co-Founder

11:10am
Keynote: Affordable Robotic Arms With Vision Will Transform Industries
Carbon.ai is building a Kick Ass Trainable Intelligent Arm (KATIA) that costs ten times less to deploy than any other arm on the market. In doing so, they have joined what Inc. magazine dubs “the vanguard of new American manufacturing” and the top 50 Robotics Business Review companies in robotics. Rosanna will share her wisdom on which sectors and use cases are the largest opportunities for affordable robotic arms today and in the future. [Winner LDV Vision Summit Startup Competition 2016.]
- Rosanna Myers, Carbon Robotics, CEO & Co-Founder

11:15am
Keynote: Improving Cancer Diagnosis Using Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence
Since the 19th century, pathologists have served as the "physician's physician" and have been tasked with analyzing microscopic images of tissue to make definitive diagnoses that serve as the basis for treatment decisions. PathAI, formed in 2016, is an early stage company that uses deep learning to build image recognition solutions for applications in pathology. Their solutions reduce errors, increase efficiency, and aim to match the right patient to the right treatment. PathAI works with partners to apply their technology to solve challenging problems in drug development, clinical medicine, and global health. Andy will share how they are advancing medicine with intelligent pathology and how will this impact medicine and society 10 and 20 years into the future.
- Andrew Beck, PathAI, CEO & Co-Founder

11:25am
Keynote: Augmented Reality Delivers Real Business Success Stories With Boeing & GE
The 4th industrial revolution is well underway and the competitive landscape for manufacturers is dramatically changing. For Upskill’s customers - Boeing, GE and others - access to critical information closer to the point of decision making, unlocks game changing opportunity. While access to information has become ubiquitous and omnipresent, handsfree access on the job with wearable augmented reality software is delivering clear ROI. Brian will share his insights on how augmented reality is successfully impacting business verticals today and what are the real opportunities in 5, 10 and 20 years.
- Brian Ballard, Upskill, CEO & Co-Founder

11:35am
Keynote:  Orcam Is Delivering Artificial Vision to People Visually Impaired
Dr. Yonatan Wexler has been a researcher at U. of Maryland, Oxford U., the Weizmann Institute, Microsoft and now is EVP of R&D at OrCam. He was the recipient of the Marr Prize in 2003 for his work on image creation without the use of geometry. He will share how OrCam is delivering artificial vision to the visually impaired enabling them to “see” text, identify objects, even provide facial and product recognition. He will also share his vision on how artificial vision will impact society 10 and 20 years in the future.
- Yonatan Wexler, OrCam, EVP of R&D

11:40am
Panel: Trends and Investment Opportunities in Visual Technologies
Moderator: Erin Griffith, Fortune, Senior Writer
Panelists:
- Vic Singh, General Partner, ENIAC Ventures
- Claudia Iannazzo, AlphaPrime Ventures Managing Partner & Co-Founder
- Scott English, Hearst Ventures, Managing Director
- Emily Becher Managing Director, Head of Samsung Next Start

12:15pm
Break: Lunch 

1:15pm
Fireside Chat: Albert Wenger Of Union Square Ventures And Evan Nisselson Of LDV Capital
Albert and Evan will discuss future investment trends and early stage opportunities in businesses leveraging visual technologies.
- Albert Wenger, Union Square Ventures, Partner
- Evan Nisselson, LDV Capital, General Partner

1:50pm
STARTUP COMPETITION  Finalist Presentations
Competitors will give four minute presentations and answer three minutes of questions from the judges. 
Judges:
- Judy Robinett, JRobinett Enterprises, Founder, Author "How to Be a Power Connector"
- Tracy Chadwell, 1843 Capital, Founding Partner
- Vic Singh, General Partner, ENIAC Ventures
- Zack Schildhorn, Lux Capital, Partner
- Jenny Fielding, Techstars, Managing Director  
- Emily Becher, Samsung, Managing Director
- Clayton Bryan, 500 Shades, 500 Startups Fund, Venture Partner. Dorm Room Fund, Partner
- Jessica Peltz-Zatulove, KBS Ventures, Partner
- Eric Jensen, Aura Frames, CTO
- Claudia Iannazzo, AlphaPrime, Managing Partner
- Scott English, Hearst Ventures, Managing Director

2:40pm
Break: Networking and the bar is open

3:30pm
Panel: What’s On TV Now?
From YouTube Red to Facebook TV, to hundreds of new OTT channels, with streaming apps and digital celebrity hosts, traditional TV broadcasters are scrambling to be digital. Digital platforms, meanwhile, including Snapchat, are investing big dollars in traditional television models and programming. Is everything old, new again?
Moderator: Rebecca Paoletti, Cake Works, CEO
Panelists:
- Brian Rifkin, JW Player, Co-Founder, SVP Strategic Partnerships
- Michael Downing, Tout, Founder & CEO
- Orlando Lima, Viacom/VH1, VP Digital

4:05pm
Keynote: Creating Branded Content That is Authentic
Bicephaly Pictures has created 100+ videos to date for clients such as Intel, Vice and MoMA and have conceived original web series for Allure, Teen Vogue and Glamour. Ani will talk about the intersection of storytelling and branded content. How companies can use their platforms to shine a light on authentic, human stories. Representation matters - both who is in front of the camera and who is behind it. As consumers grow increasingly more savvy, being able to generate content through moving image is a way to create deep, lasting social impact.
- Ani Simon-Kennedy, Bicephaly Pictures, Co-Founder & Director

4:10pm
Keynote: Dreams Thinks the Future of TV is Mobile, Swipeable, and Vertical
What would TV look like if it was invented in 2017? Dreams co-founders Tom Bender and Greg Hochmuth are former Google and Instagram product managers who recently launched the first mobile-only TV network. Dreams delivers vertical video channels for live news, music, comedy, relaxation, and more. “We ignored legacy devices and designed a TV experience that’s native to the phone,” says Tom. They work with over 100 partners to adapt their content to a mobile-friendly vertical video format, and produce original vertical videos. Tom will share his views on the future of mobile video and the evolution of channel surfing.
- Tom Bender, Dreams Media, Co-Founder

4:15pm
Panel: Snap, Stream, Share: The age of social video
We are all creators. We are all sharing video stories with abandon across social platforms determined by friends, artistic prowess, favorite device (and sometimes age). Innovation rules the social sphere with new hangouts surfacing constantly. What do the next two years look like on Instagram, House Party and Musical.ly? What’s in store for Goliaths like YouTube and Facebook? Is there a strategy for social video success? Make money, make friends, make content, measure… how?
Moderator: Rebecca Paoletti, Cake Works, CEO
Panelists: 
- Nicholas Pavach, VidMob, VP of Sales
- Joe Alicata, Vox Media, Chief Product Officer
- Brian Lisi, Qello, CEO

4:50pm
Closing: Congratulate Startup Competition Winner & Thanks

5:00pm
Drinks & Networking