The Future of
Commerce:

AI+

Robotics

Summit 2026

Explore how advances in AI, autonomy and sensing are propelling drones from experimental tools to indispensable commercial assets. This panel will dive into next-generation, unmanned systems shaping sectors such as logistics, agriculture, public safety and infrastructure inspection. Panelists will discuss emerging technologies, regulatory challenges and real-world strategies for integrating autonomous aerial platforms into complex operations.

• Naashom Marx, (Director of Advanced Mobility Program, Woolpert)
• Dr. Manish Kumar, (Co-Director of UAV Master Lab and Professor, University of Cincinnati) 
• Jay Scherger, (Chief Growth Officer, DEXA (Drone Express))

From hazardous environments to everyday workplaces, robots are transforming how industries manage risk and protect people. This panel looks at how robotics, AI and 3D perception-based safety enable more agile, connected warehouse operations by using virtual safety zones that adapt to real layouts and protect people without overrestricting automation. Attendees will gain perspective on cutting-edge solutions that enhance human safety and support resilient operational design.

• Jeremy Jarrett, (CEO and President, Kinetic Vision)
• Arshan Poursohi, (CEO and Co-Founder, Third Wave Automation)
• Carlo Cruz, (Corporate Engagement Director, Toyota Ventures)
• Mark Gagas, (COO, Sensory Robotics) 

Uncover how large language models can be practically applied across the commerce value chain from demand generation and digital shelf optimization to customer service, supply chain visibility and revenue acceleration. The focus is on moving beyond hype to identify where LLMs create measurable enterprise value, how to integrate them into existing workflows and what leaders must do now to build a durable competitive advantage.

• Michael Stich, (Partner, CourtAvenue)
• Maggie Hackman, (Associate Director of Strategy, CourtAvenue)
  

The web has been declining for years – ads, cookie banners, SEO spam – while consumers increasingly start and complete purchases through platforms like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. This shift to agentic commerce, projected to reach $945 billion in gross merchandise value by 2028, spans two models: human-initiated (AI research, recommendations and transactions) and fully autonomous agents that shop and manage orders independently. AI is collapsing the funnel, redefining how products are discovered and purchased. This session covers what it takes to win: clean product data, LLM-enriched catalogs, real-time inventory and emerging protocols (UCP, ACP, AP2, onX, Agent Pay), along with six actions brands should take now to prepare.

• Kelly Goetsch, (President, Pipe17)

This session will examine how organizations can move beyond AI experimentation to deliver measurable business impact. Executives will gain practical insight into where AI is creating real return on investment today and how leaders can prioritize investments that drive productivity, revenue growth and operational efficiency.

• Bruce Seidel, (Director, Investors & Capital Allocation, eGateway Capital)
• Chris Stegner, (CEO and Co-Founder, Very Big Things)
• Geoff Marsh, (Managing Partner, AMEND)
• Chris Hickok, (CIO, Messer Construction Company)

Explore how venture capital is shaping the future of robotics and AI by funding breakthrough technologies that move from research labs into real-world enterprise deployment. Leaders will gain perspective on how strategic capital allocation accelerates automation, augmenting human talent and driving measurable workforce productivity gains across operations, supply chain and knowledge work.

• Mike Veith, (Founding Partner, eGateway Capital)
• Nate Purdum, (Director, Koch Disruptive Technologies)
• Tyler Mantel, (Partner, Roll Tack Ventures)
• Aidan Madigan-Curtis, (Partner, Eclipse Capital)

The $300 billion in U.S. online grocery sales are still largely packed manually from stores and are typically unprofitable. Yet, consumer appetite and expectation keeps growing for quick delivery, on-demand pickup and 100% accuracy. Earlier tests of traditional automation to solve this problem have not been successful. New and fundamentally different technology is making inroads with systems that can fully auto-pack at high speeds, enabled by AI, and fit in small spaces, closer to customers.

• Jeremy Vaughan, (Global Client Service Leader, EY)
• Mir Aamir, (CEO and President, Fulfil)
• Yael Cosset, (Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Technology Officer, Kroger)

The University of Cincinnati has more than 350,000 alumni worldwide. This panel brings together Bearcats who are founding and scaling companies that are transforming the industries of manufacturing, healthcare and beyond. Panelists will share what business leaders and founders need to know to stay ahead as “physical AI” transforms the commerce landscape.

• Chris Carper, (Director, Solution Engineering, Microsoft)
• Jeremy Jarrett, (CEO and President, Kinetic Vision)
• Jide Akinyode, (COO and Co-Founder, Persona AI)
• Benjamin Ko, (CEO, Kaleidoscope Innovation)

For three years, the industry has promised agents that book flights, process claims and authorize payments—and failed to deliver. The reason is architectural: conversation and business rules have always lived in separate systems, and no company will hand high-stakes interactions to a model that treats its own policies as suggestions. This session introduces neuro-symbolic AI and the case for a fundamentally different foundation model—one where the same computation that understands what a customer is saying is the one enforcing the rules that govern what happens next. Leaders will leave with a clear framework for why generative AI was never built for task-oriented agents, what the missing architecture looks like, and what it means for the enterprises whose interactions—every booking, claim, payment, and return—run the economy.

• Ohad Elhelo, (CEO and Co-Founder, AUI)

With the Maestro product line and the Exotendon IP within, Craig Douglass's company, Contact Control Interfaces, has pioneered turning training and simulation HCI into a truly hands‐on experience for both human & robotic hands alike. To achieve the CCI mission, relevant examples of partnerships fostered by Craig include those with the USAF / DOW, receiving an Epic Games MegaGrant, and collaborations across the deployment stack, such as with Cincinnati Children's Hospital & Minerva Humanoids. While leading CCI, Craig's goal has been to unlock the physical and tangible extension of our human hands' functional capability via human-in-the-loop haptics and tangible interaction data. 

• Craig Douglass, (CEO and Co-Founder, Contact CI)