AI systems are becoming more capable, but putting them to work reliably remains a challenge. Teams must manage model performance, evaluate agent behavior, build the right infrastructure, and ensure that applications can operate beyond controlled demonstrations.
ODSC AI West 2026, taking place from October 27–29 at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, California, will bring AI practitioners, researchers, engineers, and technology leaders together to tackle these challenges. The three-day conference features nine tracks and more than 180 sessions, spanning AI engineering, machine learning, autonomous systems, and hands-on technical training.
Where Agentic AI Meets AI Engineering
One of the conference’s central themes is the development of agentic AI systems. As organizations explore applications that can plan tasks, use tools, and execute workflows, questions around reliability, evaluation, and human oversight become increasingly important. The program covers agentic AI and autonomous systems alongside AI engineering, evaluations, and AIOps.
The agenda also looks beyond software-based AI. Its focus areas include physical AI and robotics, data and AI infrastructure, and machine learning. Hands-on tutorials and workshops give attendees the opportunity to work directly with tools and techniques rather than rely entirely on presentations.
For engineering teams, this combination connects AI research with the practical work of building, evaluating, and deploying applications.
Also Read: Conversational AI & Customer Experience Summit Europe 2026: Rethinking Customer Engagement in the Age of AI
Researchers and Builders on the Lineup
The confirmed speakers bring perspectives from frontier AI research, developer tooling, and robotics. Nouha Dziri, Senior Research Scientist at Cohere Labs, will explore scaling inference-time compute with teams of agents for software engineering. Deepak Pathak, Co-Founder and CEO of Skild AI, will discuss adaptive general intelligence for the physical world.
Check out the full speaker lineup here.
For AI engineers, data scientists, and technology leaders, ODSC AI West 2026 offers a practical look at the techniques, infrastructure, and engineering decisions shaping the next phase of AI adoption.
To know more about the conference, explore the official ODSC AI West website for the program and registration details.
