February 8, 2024
10:30 AM-3:30 PM
Microsoft Reactor
Sydney Startup hub
Want to immerse yourself in the latest AI opportunities, innovations and implementation strategies driving growth both in Australia and abroad?
You’re invited to AI Deep Dive, a special free event for startups, founders and digital product builders, hosted by Startup Daily and Microsoft on February 8, 2024, from 10.30 AM-3:30 PM, at the Microsoft Reactor in Sydney.
With some of the world’s leading AI thought leaders in town for the grand-scale Microsoft AI Tour the day before, we’ve curated an exclusive ‘day-after’ program especially for startups and digital disruptors venturing into the deep waters of AI innovation.
Join Startup Daily editor Simon Thomsen along with Andrew Boyd, Microsoft General Manager, Digital Natives & Startups and a line-up of passionate AI innovators for talks that will open your minds.
You’ll learn how Microsoft’s AI, machine learning and data analytics tools and services are breaking new ground for startups and showing the way forward for responsible AI solutions.
You’ll get to meet local startups who’ve successfully tackled problems using AI, and hear about the challenges they’ve faced in implementation and deployment.
It’s a chance to discover how you can leverage emerging technologies, all while networking with the best brains in AI. Coffee, tea and lunch included!
Spots are limited. Reserve your spot for this exclusive free event now.
Agenda
10:30 AM -11:00 AM
Arrival and Check-in
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Introduction and Welcome
Andrew Boyd, GM Digital Natives & Startups, Microsoft
Simon Thomsen, Editor, Startup Daily
11:15 AM – 11:45AM
Keynote: The Future with AI
Scarlett McDermott, Head of Ecosystem Capability, Tech Council of Australia
11:45 AM – 12:30 PM
Panel Discussion: How to Leverage Emerging Trends in AI Tech
Featuring experts from Microsoft and digital native companies, this discussion focuses on how to leverage emerging technologies to drive growth and innovation, plus how can we get ready for what’s coming next?
Lee Hickin, AI Technology & Policy Lead Asia, Microsoft
Stela Solar, Director, National Artificial Intelligence Centre, CSIRO
Kylie Frazer, Co-founder and Partner at Flying Fox Ventures
Moderator: Simon Thomsen
12:30 PM -1.00 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM – 2:10 PM
Product Demo: Fabric and AI Studio
Leave your data in the cloud with the latest innovations on display.
Shane Baldacchino, Azure Specialist, Microsoft ANZ
Daniel Scott-Raynesford, Partner Tech Strategist, Microsoft ANZ
Rohit Lakhanpal, Partner Technology Strategist, Microsoft
2.10 PM -2.55 PM
Customer Stories: How Startups Are Using AI
Leading startups share how AI has helped them tackle problems, implement new tech and ultimately grow their businesses.
Michael Weeding, Global Director, Product, Dubber
Steve Naudé, VP of Data & AI, LawVu
Grant Oayda, Founder, tutch
Dusko Alavanja, Product Manager, tutch
Michael Friedrich, Cloud Solution Architect, Microsoft
Paul Laverty, Director of App Innovation Asia, Microsoft
2:55 PM – 3:15 PM
How to increase developer productivity with GitHub Copilot X
Damian Brady, Senior Manager, Developer Advocacy, GitHub
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
An Asia Perspective
Paul Laverty, Director of App Innovation Asia, Microsoft
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Close
4:00 PM
Networking drinks
Meet the experts
Simon is editor of Startup Daily, the leading source of news, insights, stories and inspiration from Australia and New Zealand’s tech ecosystem. He is the host of the Startup Daily TV show, which airs on business streaming service ausbiz.com.au.
Simon Thomsen
Editor, Startup Daily
Andrew joined Microsoft Australia and New Zealand in October 2022. Andrew works with founders and the startup community to help them leverage innovative technology and partner with Microsoft to drive their global footprint. Andrew was previously the Managing Director of Marketplace at Australian unicorn SafetyCulture, and built and launched AWS’ Digital Native Business.
Andrew Boyd
General Manager, Digital Natives & Startups, Microsoft
Kylie is the founder of Flying Fox Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm which has invested in more than 55 great startups including Heaps Normal, Jig Space, Goterra and Mr Yum. Kylie brings more than 20 years’ experience in technology capital raising and M&A across Australia, Asia and the United States.
Kylie Frazer
Founder, Flying Fox Ventures
Damian is a Senior Manager of Developer Advocacy at GitHub and loves all things DevOps. Formerly a Cloud Advocate at Microsoft, Damian has a 20+ year background in software engineering and consulting in a broad range of industries. Damian regularly speaks at conferences, meetups, and other events online and around the world.
Damian Brady
Senior Manager, Developer Advocacy, GitHub
Shane is an accomplished senior technologist in the online, systems and automation space. Having held various roles with FANNG companies, he is now a Technical Specialist at Microsoft Australia. Every day as a trusted advisor, he challenges businesses and peers to think differently, learn more, and make the complex, simple.
Shane Baldacchino
Chief Architect, Microsoft ANZ
Lee has more than 30 years’ experience in the tech industry, most recently as CTO for Microsoft ANZ. Prior to Microsoft, Lee led the Internet of Things team for Amazon Web Services in Asia Pacific. As AI Tech & Policy Lead, Lee engages Government, regulators, policy makers and think tanks on Artificial Intelligence, Large Language models & Machine Learning technology. Lee sits on the Australian NSW Government Artificial Intelligence Review Committee.
Lee Hickin
AI Technology & Policy Lead Asia, Microsoft Asia
Stela Solar is the Director of Australia’s National AI Centre hosted by CSIRO, with the mission to accelerate positive AI adoption and innovation that benefits business and community. She has previously held roles at Microsoft including Global Director of AI Solution Sales.
Stela Solar
Director, National AI Centre, CSIRO
Dan is a Senior Partner Technical Strategist and ANZ Partner AI Champ at Microsoft, specialising in app innovation and AI. Dan was previously a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter MVP, focusing on DevOps, Azure and engineering excellence. He spent 13 years as a software engineer and architect. Dan is a blogger, speaker and the organiser of Aotearoa Azure Meetup.
Daniel Scott-Raynsford
Partner Tech Strategist, Microsoft ANZ
Scarlett McDermott is the Head of Ecosystem Capability at the Tech Council of Australia. She is an experienced technologist and leader, with expertise in software, cyber, and product development. Previously a CTO at an Australian scaleup, Scarlett is now focused on building connection and capability across Australia’s growing tech ecosystem.
Scarlett McDermott
Head of Ecosystem Capability, Tech Council of Australia
Grant Oayda is the Founder, Creator and driving force behind tutch. Grant has over 35 years experience as a hands-on Retailer. He saw and opportunity to develop a technology solution that would close the digital divide in physical retail environments, a key challenge for him and many other Retailers. As a company we look to Retailers next Digital Channel, their physical stores. Fast forward to today, tutch USA and the tutch platform has now launched in the North American market alongside Microsoft, at the National Retail Federation (NRF) event.
Grant Oayda
Founder, tutch
Dusko is a highly experienced Product Manager with an extensive technical background, who has spent the majority of his career working across the media and retail space. Over his career he has built and managed products in GCP, AWS and Azure environments. Dusko’s role with tutch is focussed on the product strategy, roadmap and the development of the product to address further Retailer challenges through close interaction with Customers and Microsoft.
Dusko Alavanja
Product Manager, tutch
Michael is responsible for driving the focus on product and innovation at Dubber, a market-leading cloud-based call recording software platform. Dubber leverages advanced data analytics and AI-powered insights to drive growth and innovation.
Michael Weeding
Global Director, Product, Dubber
Rohit specialises in aiding SaaS businesses with their product and technology strategy, helping them bring AI-enabled solutions from concept to market.
Rohit Lakhanpal
Partner Technology Strategist, Microsoft
Paul leads a team of experts to help customers and partners across the region to build innovative solutions using Microsoft’s cloud platform. He was also a Senior Partner & Azure Expressroute Sales Executive, responsible for driving the adoption of Microsoft’s high-performance network connectivity service.
Paul Laverty
Director of App Innovation Asia Microsoft, Singapore
Steve is a technology strategist and executive with over two decades of experience in all things data and AI, having worked across a diverse range of industries such as finance, logistics and distribution, photographic, IoT and telemetry, hospitality, and legal tech amongst others. He currently serves as the Global VP of Data & AI at LawVu and leads a multinational team of tech innovators, driving data-powered solutions and AI-enabled decision-making for customers and colleagues alike.
Steve Naudé
VP of Data & AI, LawVu
Michael works with SaaS and software companies to build innovative solutions on Azure.
Michael Friedrich
Cloud Solution Architect, Microsoft
JOIN US FOR AI DEEP DIVE
10:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Followed by drinks and networking
Thursday 8 February, 2024
Microsoft Reactor, Sydney Startup Hub, Lvl 10, 11 York Street, Sydney