Avant South returns to Atlanta Oct. 12 and 13, bringing together leaders from business, technology, higher education, government, startups, and the creative economy to explore how artificial intelligence is being put to work across industries and what it will take for Atlanta to become a national center of excellence for applied AI.
Presented by the City of Atlanta in collaboration with local colleges and universities, Avant South is an annual gathering focused on strengthening Atlanta’s position as a leading technology and entrepreneurial hub. This year’s theme, AI in Action, will move beyond predictions about artificial intelligence to examine where the technology is already delivering results, where challenges remain and what comes next.
The 2026 speaker lineup includes leaders from OpenAI, NVIDIA, Kia Georgia, Hyundai, McKesson, Uber Health, Google Cloud, Georgia-Pacific, The Weather Channel, Rollins/Orkin, Georgia Tech, Emory University, Morehouse College, the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Atlanta Public Schools, the City of Atlanta, and more.
Programming will span the industries and systems where AI is already changing how work gets done.
In From Drugs to Donuts: The AI Behind the Things We Depend On, leaders from McKesson, Uber Health and National DCP will explore how AI is being used across the complex networks moving medicines, patients, food and everyday goods. Under the Hood: An Insider’s Look at AI in Domestic Manufacturing will bring together executives from Kia Georgia, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America and the Georgia Association of Manufacturers to examine where AI and automation are delivering value on the factory floor.
Other sessions will explore AI-powered robots moving from farms to loading docks and delivery; how universities are preparing the AI-ready graduate; where enterprise AI is producing measurable business results; the future of AI in healthcare; cybersecurity and responsible AI; the growing energy demands of AI; customer experience; nonprofit impact; and Georgia’s creative economy.
A featured lunch keynote, The Atlanta Effect: AI and the Music Industry, will bring together Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Grammy-winning songwriter and superproducer Dallas Austin for a conversation about how AI is changing the creation, production and distribution of music — and how Atlanta can continue to influence what comes next in an industry the city has helped shape globally.
The conference will close with a special edition of Tech Talks Business featuring Ronnie Chatterji, chief economist at OpenAI, in conversation with Anuj Mehrotra, dean of Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. The fireside chat will examine the economic forces shaping the AI era and what those changes mean for business and the broader economy.
Avant South will also showcase the infrastructure and talent supporting Atlanta’s AI ambitions. Oct. 12 programming includes the Atlanta Innovation Cup, an interdisciplinary student innovation challenge, as well as the ribbon cutting and tours of the region’s new $20 million NSF-funded AI supercomputer.
Across two days, Avant South will connect the people researching, building, funding, deploying and governing AI with the goal of turning those conversations into a clearer path for Atlanta’s continued growth as a center for real-world AI.
For the full schedule, speaker lineup and registration information, visit avantsouth.com.
