Cathie Wood founded ARK Investment Management LLC in 2014, focusing on disruptive innovations like genome sequencing, robotics, AI, energy storage, and blockchain. Prior to ARK, she spent 12 years at AllianceBernstein as Chief Investment Officer of Global Thematic Strategies, managing over $5 billion. Cathie also co-founded Tupelo Capital Management, a hedge fund managing $800 million, and worked at Jennison Associates for 18 years in various roles, including Chief Economist and Portfolio Manager. She began her career at The Capital Group as an Assistant Economist. Cathie holds a summa cum laude Bachelor of Science in Finance and Economics from USC.

Cathie was named to Bloomberg's 2018 Bloomberg 50 list and was included in Fortune’s 2019 Investors Guide. She received the “Women in Finance – Outstanding Contribution Award” from Market Media in 2016, and has been a speaker at prestigious events such as the World Economic Forum (2016-2017) and the World Strategic Forum (2017).

Vinod Khosla is an entrepreneur, investor, and technology fan. He is the founder of Khosla Ventures, focused on impactful technology investments in software, AI, robotics, 3D printing, healthcare and more. Vinod was a co-founder of Daisy systems and founding CEO of Sun Microsystems where he pioneered open systems and commercial RISC processors. One of Vinod’s greatest passions is being a mentor to entrepreneurs, assisting entrepreneurs and helping them build technology-based businesses. ​He is driven by the desire to make a positive impact through technology to reinvent societal infrastructure and multiply resources. He is also passionate about Social Entrepreneurship.

Vinod holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from IIT, New Delhi, a Master's in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Bill Gross is a lifelong entrepreneur who has founded over 150 companies in 50 years, with more than 50 achieving successful IPOs or acquisitions. He is known for pioneering the pay-per-click keyword model for online advertising, which became foundational for Google’s business model.

With over 100 patents to his name, Bill is currently focused on climate mitigation technologies and artificial intelligence. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Caltech, where he also leads the Technology Transfer and Innovation Committee.

A frequent speaker at TED, the World Economic Forum, and DLD in Munich, Bill teaches entrepreneurship classes and aims to address global challenges through technological innovation. His dream is to make a positive impact on pressing world issues by fostering innovation that spreads globally.

Arianna Huffington is the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, the founder of The Huffington Post, and the author of 15 books, including Thrive and The Sleep Revolution. In 2016, she launched Thrive Global, a behavior change technology company with the mission of improving productivity and health outcomes.

She has been named to Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people and the Forbes Most Powerful Women list. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.

Her last two books, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder and The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night At A Time, both became instant international bestsellers.

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and the founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum. Before establishing SkyBridge in 2005, he co-founded Oscar Capital Management, sold to Neuberger Berman in 2001, and worked in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs.

In 2022, Anthony ranked #47 in Cointelegraph’s Top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain. Previously, he was named #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100 in 2016 and received the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award in 2011. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation. Anthony has authored five books.

He was part of President Donald J. Trump’s Presidential Transition Team and briefly served as Chief Strategy Officer of the Export-Import Bank and White House Communications Director in 2017. A Long Island native, Anthony holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.

Jared Kaplan is the Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder of Anthropic, an AI lab whose research and products put safety at the frontier. Jared’s research on scaling laws revolutionized the industry by providing a framework for understanding and predicting the behavior of advanced AI systems, guiding resource allocation, and shaping transformative technologies. Jared also helped pioneer Constitutional AI, an approach to developing AI systems that are constrained by and aligned with a set of predetermined principles and values. He spent the first 15 years of his career as a theoretical physicist in academia, and prior to co-founding Anthropic, Jared was instrumental in building GPT-3 and Codex at OpenAI. 

Jared is also an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, where he has taught courses on the foundations of deep learning. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Stanford University.

Adam Woodworth is the CEO of Wing Aviation, LLC. He previously served for four years as Wing’s CTO before being appointed to run the company in 2022. Adam joined Wing in 2014 as a hardware engineer and has seen tremendous growth in the organization, managing production and engineering teams along the way.

Bill Barhydt is a serial entrepreneur and Internet technology pioneer with over 30 years of experience. He is the founder and CEO of Abra, a leading investment platform for high-net-worth individuals and institutions, offering trading, custody, high-yield interest accounts, and borrowing/lending services.

Prior to Abra, Bill worked on mobile money and financial inclusion projects worldwide, consulting with governments, telecoms, and aid agencies. He founded Boom Financial (now part of Digicel) to expand mobile banking and microfinance globally, which led him to discover Bitcoin in 2011.

Bill began his career in R&D at the CIA and NASA and later worked at Goldman Sachs in bond trading and Fixed Income. As an early team member at Netscape, he contributed to the infrastructure that helped shape the consumer Internet.

A recognized expert in Internet and mobile technologies, Bill has spoken at over 100 major conferences, including the World Economic Forum, the US State Department, Mobile World Congress, and TED, where he gave the first-ever TED Talk on Bitcoin in 2011 when it was valued at $3.

Brett is the founder and CEO of Figure, an AI Robotics company building a general-purpose humanoid robot. In 2023 Brett founded Cover, an AI security company building weapon detection systems for schools. In 2018, Brett founded Archer Aviation, building electric aircraft that went public at $2.7B (NYSE: ACHR) and prior to this founded Vettery, an AI-based recruiting marketplace that was acquired for $110M.

Josh currently leads Google Labs. He's an early stage leader who co-founded Google's Next Billion Users effort and helped create Chromebooks. His work has focused on making technology more accessible to everyone. He holds degrees from the University of Oklahoma and Oxford University.

Divya Chander, MD, PhD, is an anesthesiologist, neuroscientist, futurist, and entrepreneur specializing in brain health, AI, and bioethics. She is the Founder/CEO of Lucidify, a neurotechnology company using brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and machine learning to detect brain failure and support cognitive longevity. Previously, her research at Stanford University pioneered automated tracking of brain state transitions and advanced theories of consciousness, presented on global stages like TED-NYC and the UN.

Her work explores human augmentation, AI, and the recognition of consciousness in non-human entities. Formerly the Neuroscience Chair of the Singularity Group, she tracks the rapid growth of neuro and medical technology and its impact on governance, startups, and the global economy. She is part of the Health and Space Brain Trusts at XPRIZE and a strong advocate for biometric and data rights.

As a Stimson Loomis Innovation Fellow and former Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, she advises governments and organizations on neurorights and digital identity. A finalist for astronaut selection, she also develops BCIs for astronaut brain health and medical systems for space exploration.

Matthew Walker, PhD, is Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at UC Berkeley and founder and director of the school's Center for Human Sleep Science. Matthew is the author of the New York Times and International bestseller, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. His TED talk, "Sleep is your superpower," has garnered over 20 million views to date. He has received numerous funding awards from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and is a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences. His research examines the impact of sleep on human health and disease. He has been featured on numerous television and radio outlets, including CBS 60 Minutes, National Geographic Channel, NOVA Science, NRP, and the BBC. He is also the host of the celebrated Matt Walker Podcast and the founder and director of the Global Sleep Education Foundation, which can be found at whywesleep.org.

Francis Pedraza founded Invisible as a 28 year old in 2015, coming from a family that valued entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. It was this upbringing, where he was encouraged to read, that led him to first immerse himself in the Western classics and, following the failure of his first company, delve into the Eastern classics. This literary journey profoundly shaped his philosophical approach to business. The experience of his first company's failure fortified Francis for the initial challenging four years at Invisible, laying the groundwork for its subsequent four years of success.

Invisible is The Operations Innovation Company, running & automating business processes for the Fortune 100, and powering AI Training for all the leading Generative AI companies. With the company now scaling profitably, Francis has expanded his focus to include an Incubator called Infinity and a Venture Fund called Visionary Ventures, while returning excess capital to shareholders via buybacks, secondaries and someday - dividends. Francis's unique business philosophy, 'The Sovereignty Game,' underscores his contrarian approach to business strategy and can be explored in more detail at: www.visionary.vc

Palmer Luckey is an American inventor, innovator, and entrepreneur. He is the Founder of defense technology company Anduril Industries, designer of the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display, and the Founder of Oculus VR, which was acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $2.3b. 

Palmer founded Anduril Industries in 2017 to radically transform the defense capabilities of the United States and its allies by fusing artificial intelligence with the latest hardware advancements. At Anduril, Palmer integrates a consumer technology business model with mission-driven objectives, enabling rapid  product development and deployment, setting the company apart from other players in the defense industry. His deep interest in defense technology was driven by his time at the USC ICT MxR lab, where he built  hardware used to research immersive PTSD treatment for US veterans. He continued to support various military applications of VR during his time at Oculus, informing his belief that radical modernization of US  military technology is a prerequisite for preserving our way of life.

Palmer began attending Golden West College and Long Beach City College at the age of 14, and studied at California State University, Long Beach  before dropping out to build Oculus VR.

Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen is CEO and Founder of Openwater, a breakthrough medical technology company in diagnostics and therapeutics. She has been named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine (“Time 100”), Forbes 50 over 50, and to CNN’s top 10 thinkers in science and technology. She has ~300 patents published or issued to her name. Previously, Dr. Jepsen served as the Executive Director of Engineering at Facebook & Oculus and prior to a similar role at Google. Prior to this, Dr. Jepsen was a professor at MIT and co-founded the nonprofit organization "One Laptop per Child," for which she served as CTO and architect of the famed $100 laptop.

Ramez Naam is an award winning author, computer scientist, and investor. He's the founder and Managing Partner of Planetary VC, which invests in startups for human and planetary flourishing, across energy, climate, and AI. Ramez served for more than a decade as the Co-Chair for Energy and Environment at Singularity University. He’s also the award-winning author of 5 books, including the Nexus trilogy of science fiction novels. Ramez spent 13 years at Microsoft, leading teams working on email, internet search, and AI. He’s the author of more than 20 patents, several co-invented with Bill Gates.

Rana’s life work is about humanizing technology before it dehumanizes us. An Egyptian-American scientist, entrepreneur, author, and AI thought leader, she is on a mission to bring emotional intelligence to technology. She is Deputy CEO at Smart Eye and formerly Co-Founder and CEO of Affectiva, an MIT spin-off that pioneered Emotion AI. Rana led Affectiva to a successful acquisition by Smart Eye in 2021 and now focuses on scaling it into a global AI powerhouse. She is also an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, where she teaches AI and entrepreneurship.

Her bestselling memoir, Girl Decoded (2020), chronicles her journey from the Middle East to the U.S. as a scientist and entrepreneur. She has raised $50M+ in venture capital to develop Emotion AI, applying it to industries like automotive, media analytics, and mental health.

A passionate advocate for ethical AI, Rana works with organizations like the Partnership on AI and the World Economic Forum. She champions diversity in tech through All Raise and YPO and serves on multiple boards, including the MIT Media Lab E14 Fund. A TED speaker and PBS NOVA co-host, she has been recognized on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 and Forbes’ Top 50 Women in Tech.

Dr. Hans Keirstead is a renowned stem cell expert and entrepreneur, known for pioneering therapies in cancer, immune disorders, spinal cord injury and motor neuron diseases. He founded several biotech firms which were sold to major pharmaceutical companies, yielding returns of 2.5X-9.5X to investors. Dr. Keirstead currently holds leadership positions at AIVITA Biomedical, Immunis, and the Human Immunome Project. During his 15-year tenure at the University of California Irvine, Dr. Keirstead mentored >100 students, published >150 manuscripts, and was granted >20 patents. Recognized as one of Discover Magazine’s top 100 scientists, he has been featured in major publications like Newsweek, WIRED, and The New York Times. His accolades include being named one of the “Top 20 Canadians” by the Consul General of Canada, receiving the Cameron Award for the top PhD thesis in the country, and receiving the NIH’s Solowey award for the most promising researcher in the USA.

Dr. Helen Messier has dedicated most of her career to harnessing data to bridge the translational gap in medicine. She has cultivated a unique expertise in seamlessly integrating multi-omic data and digital health technologies into real-world clinical care, to enable patients to realize the beneficial potential of biomedical technologies. Dr. Messier holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Genetics and a Ph.D. in Molecular Immunology from the University of Alberta. Following her doctoral studies, she completed post-doctoral studies at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology in San Diego, CA, and received her MD from the University of Calgary. She is certified in family medicine. Beyond clinical practice, Dr. Messier has left an indelible mark as a notable innovator and healthcare entrepreneur. Alongside her roles on various medical and scientific advisory boards, she founded a national network of concierge medical practices in Canada, served as the Medical Director of Genomics at Human Longevity Inc, and played a pivotal role as the inaugural Chief Medical Officer of Viome. In her current role as the Chief Medical and Science Officer at Fountain Life, Dr. Messier brings her extensive experience and profound knowledge to further advance her mission in expanding proactive and preventative medicine. In addition to leading the company’s clinical and scientific programs, Dr Messier is establishing Fountain Life University, to train Fountain Life certified practitioners and lead the effort to gain insights and publish findings from Fountain Life’s vast amount of data.

Joshua Xu is the CEO and Co-Founder of HeyGen, an AI-powered video creation platform transforming how businesses and individuals craft videos. Driven by a mission to replace the traditional camera and make visual storytelling accessible to all, Joshua leads HeyGen in redefining video production with cutting-edge AI technologies, including realistic avatars, text-to-video generation, and multilingual content creation.

With a strong technical foundation, Joshua earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tongji University and a Master’s in Computer Science. He further honed his expertise with an MS in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, where he developed a passion for artificial intelligence and robotics.

Recognized as a thought leader in AI video generation, Joshua has shared his insights on prominent podcasts, including No Priors and Unsupervised Learning, where he discussed advancements in generative AI, trust, and the potential of interactive AI avatars. His vision for HeyGen reflects his belief that creating professional-quality videos should be as simple as writing a script. By bridging technology and creativity, Joshua Xu is paving the way for a future where video storytelling is effortless, scalable, and universally accessible

Steven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author, an award-winning journalist, and the Executive Director of The Alliance. He is one of the world’s leading experts on human performance.

Keith Ferrazzi, is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Never Eat Alone, Leading Without Authority, Competing in the New World of Work, and his newest book, Never Lead Alone: 10 Shifts from Leadership to Teamship. An accomplished speaker, entrepreneur, investor, Keith is recognized as the world's top executive team coach, having coached the transformation of Fortune 50 corporations, the World Bank, Unicorns and governments. You've perhaps read his columns in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, WSJ, Fortune, Fast Company, and Inc. Magazine.

Former CMO & Head of Sales at Deloitte and Starwood Hotels, Keith founded Ferrazzi Greenlight—a team coaching firm—and leads the Greenlight Research Institute focused on team transformation.

Sekou Andrews is the Founder/CEO of SekouWorld, Inc. and the creator of "Poetic Voice," a groundbreaking fusion of inspirational speaking and spoken word poetry. A former school teacher turned entrepreneur, Sekou has built a 7-figure business using poetry as a tool for influence. His innovative style, blending storytelling, leadership, theater, and humor, has made him a sought-after speaker, performing for corporate giants like Google, Nike, and Viacom, as well as high-profile events, including private performances for Barack Obama and Oprah.

Sekou's accolades include multiple awards such as ABA’s “Entrepreneur of the Year,” two National Poetry Slam championships, six CLIO awards, and the first GRAMMY nomination for “Best Spoken Word Album” in over 30 years. Forbes has called him a “polymath” and “the de facto poet laureate of corporate America.” He’s performed on major platforms like Good Morning America, HBO, and Showtime, and has shared stages with artists like Drake, Stevie Wonder, and John Legend.

In addition to his speaking career, Sekou is a voiceover artist, actor, and co-creator of a two-man play. He also teaches public speaking through his Stage Might training system, helping leaders become dynamic communicators. With over two decades of experience, Sekou continues to redefine both spoken word poetry and the public speaking landscape, bringing his unique voice to the world’s biggest stages.

Matt Fitzpatrick is the CEO of Invisible Technologies, leading the company through a period of rapid growth. Under his leadership, revenue more than doubled from 2023 to 2024, reaching $134 million, following a 24x increase from 2020 to 2023. Ranked as the #3 Fastest Growing AI Company on the Inc. 5000 List, Invisible achieved a $500 million valuation in early 2024.

Previously, Fitzpatrick was the global leader of QuantumBlack Labs, McKinsey’s AI software development group, overseeing the creation of sector-based machine learning products, digital transformation tools, and GenAI solutions. He managed a team of 1,000 engineers and product leaders across QuantumBlack Labs and McKinsey, driving innovation in financial services, real estate, and private equity. He also founded FinLab, a global team developing scalable data and software applications for financial institutions.

Before rejoining McKinsey, Fitzpatrick co-founded a multi-category e-commerce retailer and worked as a private equity investor. He holds a BA in Politics from Princeton University and an MBA from The Wharton School.

Dave Blundin is a serial entrepreneur and Founder of Exponential Ventures (XPV). Dave is also Managing Partner at Link Ventures, a VC firm investing in early-stage technology startups. He has co-founded 23 companies, at least five of which have achieved $100 million+ valuations, and served on 21 private and public boards.

XPV’s mission is to harness talent and deploy capital to entrepreneurs leveraging AI in an aligned fashion to positively impact humanity by addressing the world’s grand challenges. The tech incubation process has led Dave to become chairman of 12 companies, including EverQuote (NASDAQ: EVER). Dave is also the Chairman and founding CEO of Vestmark, which manages over $3TN in US assets, and General Partner at Vestigo Ventures, a fintech-focused fund.

Dave is extremely passionate about mentoring and coaching young entrepreneurs & management teams to accelerate the impact of technology on society. Dave is currently an instructor at MIT teaching a class in Spring 2025 named “AI Venture Studio”, which is vastly oversubscribed and has about 100 students.

Dave sits on the Board of Directors of XPRIZE and received his BS in Computer Science from MIT where he researched neural network technology at the AI lab.

Dr. Robert Hariri is a pioneering stem cell researcher and biotech entrepreneur. He is widely acknowledged for his discovery of pluripotent stem cells derived from the human placenta, and as a member of the team that discovered the physiological activities of tumor necrosis factor. With over 200 issued and pending patents, and an additional 200+ publications, his work has significantly advanced immuno-oncology, cell therapeutics, and regenerative medicine.

Dr. Hariri was Founder and CEO of Anthrogenesis Corporation, and after its acquisition, served as CEO of Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, which was spun-out in 2017 to form Celularity. Dr. Hariri also co-founded the genomic-based health intelligence companies Human Longevity, Inc. and Fountain Life, and serves on numerous public boards including Cryoport (NASDAQ:CYRX).

His contributions have earned him the Thomas Edison Award, the Pontifical Medal for Innovation, and more. Dr. Hariri earned his MD and PhD from Cornell University.

Moreover, Dr. Hariri is a jet-rated commercial pilot and hosts the Piloting Health Podcast.

Gina Kloes is a powerhouse in leadership transformation, guiding entrepreneurs, executives, and bold visionaries to break barriers and master wealth. As the founder of EOS Nova, she equips leaders with the mindset, energy, and strategy to thrive in an ever-evolving world.

Her journey—from working at a gas station to becoming the first UC Berkeley Law graduate without an undergrad degree—is a testament to resilience and reinvention. A former Silicon Valley attorney, CFO, angel investor, and international speaker, she has trained elite teams, mentored at Draper University and the Branson Center for Entrepreneurship, and led high-impact sessions at Abundance360 and global leadership forums.

Gina has been featured on ABC, Lifetime Networks, and more, and her award-winning book, What’s Your Magical Moment?, inspires people to claim their full potential. She stands for freedom, disruption, and transformation—because real success isn’t just about wealth; it’s about building a life that makes you say, “WOW, THIS ROCKS!”

Torrey Smith is the Co-Founder of Endiatx (pronounced "ehn-dee-ah-tix") and the visionary behind PillBot™.

Prior to Endiatx, he developed medical devices across three exits:
AEGEA Mara™ Water Vapor Ablation (exited to CooperSurgical)
AtheroMed Phoenix Atherectomy™ System (exited to Volcano Corp, now owned by Philips)
Ensure Medical EXOSEAL™ Vascular Closure Device (exited to Cordis/JNJ)

An aerospace engineer by training, he takes a keen interest in the deep tech sector, and is a proud mentor at the Founder Institute. He is also the principal founder of the international arts collective known as Sextant, and he has had his design work featured in the Smithsonian.