‘Ai Festival’ kicks off in Milan, 2 days of advanced training with over 150 experts

“Ai Festival, even in its third edition, is configured as a strategic moment to understand the transformation introduced by the Agentic Era – explains Cosmano Lombardo, founder and CEO of Search on media group and creator of Ai Festival and Wmf-We make future -. In this phase, artificial intelligence becomes a system capable of collaborating and making decisions within human and organizational processes. Governing this change requires advanced skills, systemic vision and a constant comparison between industry, society and market: the event was created to connect these actors and create concrete value. The presence of figures such as Daniele Pucci, CEO of Generative Bionics and of important research and industrial entities demonstrates the desire to encourage a concrete dialogue between science and operational applications. The objective is to accompany companies and professionals in the conscious planning of this new technological, economic and social scenario”.

The Festival is scheduled for 21 and 22 January in the Roentgen building of Bocconi University, the main partner of the event, under the patronage of the Municipality of Milan and will see Dell Technologies and Intel as main sponsors. Partners of the edition are also Cineca, Esa-European space agency, Enia-National body for artificial intelligence and YesMilano, the official brand of Milano&Partners which promotes major events to consolidate the international positioning of the city by catalysing global investments and talents. Radio partner Rds, Mobility partner scuter.

The fulcrum of the two days of the Festival will be the Plenary, where experts from the international scene will lead the reflection on the Agentic Era, exploring the evolution of artificial intelligence towards increasingly autonomous systems, capable of interacting with the physical world, making decisions and generating real value. Among the protagonists also Daniele Pucci, CEO of Generative Bionics, a spin-off of the Italian Institute of Technology.

Pucci is among the key figures in the field of robotics and embodied AI, leading the team that developed Gene.01, the humanoid that opened Ces 2026, a robot capable of moving in the physical world and perceiving itself thanks to artificial intelligence: a project that aims to redefine the way in which machines physically interact with the environment and with people. The presence of Daniele Pucci strengthens the dialogue between advanced research, industry and real applications, bringing to the Ai Festival stage a concrete vision of how agentic AI and robotics are redefining the relationship between artificial intelligence and the real world.

Among the confirmed protagonists of the Festival are also prominent figures from the Italian and international AI ecosystem including Chiara Cocchiara, senior innovation officer at Esa, Marco Fanizzi, vice president sales & managing director of Dell Technologies Italia, Alessandra Poggiani, general manager at Cineca, Arianna Traviglia, Ccht director of the Italian Institute of Technology, Daniele Manca, deputy editor-in-chief of Corriere Della Sera in dialogue with Gianmario Verona, full professor of Innovation management at the university Bocconi, Davide Dattoli, founder & executive chairman of Talent Garden, Pier Luigi Pisa, journalist of La Repubblica and Italian Tech, Sasha Luccioni, Ai and climate researcher, Nestor Maslej, research manager human-centered Ai Stanford University, Rika Nikazawa, executive head, global strategic innovation Ntt Data, Guido Scorza, member of the board of the Guarantor for the protection of personal data. Also scheduled is the round table on the theme ‘AI and Italy’s dimensional challenge’ featuring Marco Gay, executive president of Zest Investments, Giovanni Zazzerini, secretary general of Insme, Gianluca Galgano, Italy head of startup and venture capital of EY, Vincenzo Di Nicola, head of the Artificial intelligence fund of Cdp venture capital and Massimo Calzoni promotion manager, support services and coordinator of the Invitalia Startup System of Invitalia. The conduction of the Plenary is entrusted to Fjona Cakalli, tech reporter, content creator & presenter Techprincess.it and Jakidale, Youtuber & content creator.

Alongside the Plenary, the Ai Festival 2026 training program is developed in a range of rooms dedicated to advanced content, case studies and concrete application models. Ai Deep Dive offers specialized sessions with high technical intensity, focused on vertical insights into artificial intelligence. Ai Horizons delivers inspirational keynotes and transformative use cases, with high-profile speakers explaining the ‘why’ of AI and offering strategic insights into its evolution. Innovation Arena is the space for the ideas and stories of founders, investors and innovators: an arena for direct comparison to investigate how emerging models are shaping the AI ​​ecosystem. Impact Forum explores the impact of AI in different sectors of society, with conferences and discussion tables on its concrete effects on business, culture, public administration and sustainability. Governance & Legal tech explores AI applied to regulation, governance and legal innovations. Finally, Ai Solution and Ai Tools & Business present tools, software and services that are transforming the market, through vertical micro-talks and live demonstrations.

The speakers present will cover a wide range of topics, from the adoption of artificial intelligence in the company to technological infrastructures, governance and ethics of AI up to the social and organizational impact of intelligent systems, with insights also dedicated to regulatory sandboxes, compliance and responsible AI models. The program will see the participation of leading figures from the world of research, industry and dissemination, including Claudio Arlandini, project manager of Ai Factory at the Cineca inter-university consortium, Gaia Contu, scientific-philosophical communicator and doctoral student at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa and Carlo Rinaldi, CMO of Humans.tech, who will share insights on intelligent infrastructures and systems. The two days will alternate moments of strategic vision with in-depth sessions, allowing participants to build a personalized training path between advanced training, concrete cases and direct comparison with experts, companies and research centres.

To enrich the training proposal there are also 3 thematic workshops: highly specialized sessions structured to offer advanced AI skills for application in business processes. The topics range from rapid prototyping to predictive systems and data analysis, up to sales strategy and are designed to meet the needs of different professional figures including sales managers, founders, data analysts, consultants, business intelligence managers, developers, product managers and innovation managers. The complete training program is available online.