ODSC AI West 2026: Dates, Speakers, Tickets & Guide
October 27-29, 2026
ODSC AI West 2026 runs October 27-29 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, California, with a parallel virtual track. The 11th edition packs seven applied technical tracks (agentic AI, AI...
ODSC AI West 2026 runs October 27-29 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, California, with a parallel virtual track. The 11th edition packs seven applied technical tracks (agentic AI, AI engineering and evals, physical AI, data and AI infrastructure, personal AI, data science and ML, AI for developers) and a separate business track. Confirmed speakers include Peter Norvig, Michael I. Jordan, Chip Huyen, Deepak Pathak, and Thomas Dohmke (checked 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west/speakers).
I track software and AI conferences the same way I track AI tool deals. Both are early signals for where a market is heading. Most AI conferences these days are keynote plus vendor hall. ODSC has stayed stubborn about a different model since 2015: hands-on training sessions where you write code, tune a model, or build a pipeline alongside the person teaching it. That is the argument I want to make about ODSC AI West 2026, and it is the reason the Platinum tier is the pass that actually matters here.
Why ODSC AI West is a training event, not a keynote event
The organizers split the room in half on purpose. Technical tracks are aimed at engineers who ship models into production. A separate business, strategy, and enterprise track runs in parallel for founders and leaders who want the context without sitting through code-heavy sessions. Nearly 20,000 combined attendees across the year’s ODSC editions puts this among the larger applied AI gatherings on the calendar rather than a boutique meetup (checked 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west). A conference that hands a working data scientist a running notebook is worth more than eight keynotes strung together.
The co-located AI Engineering Accelerator adds pre- and post-conference training days on October 26 and October 29. If Platinum-tier training is the reason for the trip, the Accelerator is a natural add-on. Budget an extra travel day on each end.
What the 2026 track list tells you about production AI
The seven-track lineup for 2026 is the load-bearing detail. Two years ago, “agentic AI” and “AI engineering evals” were not standard conference tracks anywhere. Now they sit alongside data science and ML infrastructure as core programming. That reflects how fast production teams have had to formalize evals and agent orchestration in the last year.
| Track | Format |
|---|---|
| Agentic AI and Autonomous Systems | Talks, hands-on training |
| AI Engineering, Evals, AIOps | Talks, workshops |
| Physical AI and Robotics | Talks, tutorials |
| Data and AI Infrastructure | Talks, workshops |
| Data Science and ML | Talks, hands-on training |
| Personal AI and Workflow Automation | Talks, workshops |
| AI for Software Developers | Talks, tutorials |
Data as of 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west/agenda. The technical side is deliberately layered across formats. Talks and keynotes for broad exposure, hands-on training for build-something sessions, workshops and tutorials for narrower skill work.
Who this is for, and who should skip
I get asked this every year about ODSC. Buy a pass if you write code, train models, or build data pipelines for a living, and specifically if agentic AI, evals, or AI infrastructure is on your team’s roadmap for the next two quarters. The training sessions are the differentiator, and they only unlock at the Platinum tier.
Skip it if you are early in your career with no applied ML experience yet. The technical tracks move fast. The smarter move for a junior engineer is to have a senior teammate go, then bring the workshop material back. Skip it also if the reason to attend is a “future of AI” keynote list. There are cheaper venues for that.
The speaker roster tells you the crowd
The 40-plus confirmed speaker list draws heavily from practitioners at OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, LangChain, Hugging Face, NVIDIA, and Waymo, alongside independent researchers and startup founders. Confirmed keynote-level names include Peter Norvig (Recursive), Michael I. Jordan (UC Berkeley, Inria), Chip Huyen (author of AI Engineering), Deepak Pathak (Skild AI), and Thomas Dohmke (former CEO of GitHub, now Entire). Morning keynotes run October 28 and October 29 (checked 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west/speakers). A speaker mix built mostly from people currently shipping production AI is a different program than one built from conference-circuit regulars.
Pass tiers, the free option, and why Platinum is the entry point
ODSC prices AI West 2026 across multiple pass tiers instead of a single ticket. Two anchors are confirmed. The In-Person AI Expo Pass sits at $330 regular with a promotional rate as low as $99 (checked 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west/expo). A free Virtual pass application also exists for people who only want to watch sessions online.
| Pass | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Silver (2 day) | Keynotes, Demo Talks, AI Expo, virtual sessions, networking reception |
| Gold (3 day) | Silver plus talks, tutorials, extra sessions |
| Platinum (3 day) | All sessions including hands-on training and workshops |
| VIP (4 day) | Platinum plus Speaker Lounge, VIP lunch, VIP registration |
| Expo Pass (in-person) | Expo Hall access only. $330 regular, promo to $99 |
| Virtual (free application) | Sessions online. Free tier requires an application |
Data as of 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west/faq. ODSC runs prices in rolling early-bird rounds rather than one static list, so the exact dollar figure for Silver, Gold, Platinum, and VIP shifts as the event date approaches. Check odsc.ai/west before booking. Platinum is the entry point if hands-on training is the reason to go. Silver and Gold do not include training sessions.
The four real discount codes ODSC publishes
The ODSC discounts page publishes standing 10% codes for four groups. Each requires proof at check-in. Codes below verified 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west/discounts.
- Nonprofit and NGO employees: `WE26NP`
- Government employees: `WE26GOV`
- Academics, researchers, students: `WE26AC`
- Pre-Series A startup founders and employees: `WE26ST`
Alumni get a custom code by emailing [email protected] with “ALUMNI” in the subject, the prior conference attended, and a copy of the previous e-ticket. Company teams and data science meetup groups can request group rates through the Group Discount tab on the registration page. If you are sending more than one or two people, spend the five minutes to ask. ODSC calls the team discounts “generous” rather than a token markdown. There is no StackVerdict code for this one, so what the discounts page shows is the real math.
My buy-or-skip for ODSC AI West 2026
Buy the Platinum or VIP pass if hands-on training in agentic AI, evals, or AI infrastructure is something your team will actually use in the next two quarters. Check the current early-bird rate before booking. Buy the free Virtual pass or apply for the Expo pass if travel or budget is the blocker. The keynotes and Expo are accessible either way. Skip it for now only if your team has no applied AI in production yet. The return on a $300-plus pass is much clearer once there is a live pipeline to compare notes on.
If you want a heads-up the next time a conference like this runs a real discount code, subscribe for AI deal and event alerts rather than catching them manually.
Frequently asked questions
How much do ODSC AI West 2026 tickets cost?
The In-Person AI Expo Pass is $330 regular, promo to $99 (checked 2026-08-24, odsc.ai/west/expo). Silver, Gold, Platinum, and VIP prices run in rolling early-bird rounds rather than a fixed list. Check odsc.ai/west for the current figure on a full pass.
Can I attend ODSC AI West 2026 online only?
Yes. A Virtual pass track runs alongside the in-person event, including a free application option plus paid Virtual Premium and Virtual Platinum tiers that add training-session access and full recordings.
Are the discount codes stackable?
No. Each 10% code applies once at check-in with proof (nonprofit employment, government ID, university ID, or pre-Series A startup proof). Alumni and group discounts are handled separately through email and the registration page.