AI & Energy Innovation Summit 2025 Recap
What an incredible day at the AI & Energy Innovation Summit!
Chaired by Young Sohn and co-hosted by Playground Global, the Extreme Tech Challenge brought together more than 100 leaders from AI, semiconductors, and energy to explore one of the defining questions of our time: How do we power the AI revolution sustainably?
From speakers to startups, one message was clear: meeting AI’s energy challenge will require collaboration across all areas, from materials science and chip design to grid innovation and power electronics.
Special recognition to Karin Schmid, Co-Chair of this event, whose deep expertise in energy systems and infrastructure helped shape this year’s program and connect the worlds of energy and AI, ensuring the conversations throughout the day were both technically deep and strategically aligned.
Panel Highlights
Opening Keynote – Energy Challenges
Tadao Yanase (NTT)
Set the tone for the day by exploring the vital intersection of AI, semiconductors, and energy systems, and the innovation needed to manage AI’s growing power demands.
Panel 1: Energy Challenges
Sundeep Bajikar (Applied Materials), Aart de Geus (Synopsys), Jerry Hsiao (Foxconn), Tadao Yanase (NTT)
Moderated by Young Sohn
Industry leaders examined how AI’s energy footprint is transforming the semiconductor and manufacturing sectors, emphasizing the importance of global collaboration.
Panel 2: Solving AI Efficiency
Rene Haas (Arm), Francis Ho (WCV), Puneet Kumar (Rivos), Peter Barrett (Playground Global)
Moderated by Sasha Ostojic (Playground Global)
A deep dive into next-generation chip design and system-level power optimization, bridging innovation from startups to established players.
Panel 3: AI Enterprise Applications
Chuck Alpert (Cadence), Aaron Fulkerson (Opaque Systems), Anil Yadav (Samsung), Neel Sundaresan (IBM)
Moderated by Meijung Chen (BCG)
Explored how enterprise AI is evolving and why sustainable, secure infrastructure is essential for scalable adoption.
Startup Roundtable
Brian Dow (Amperesand), Sunghyun Park (Rebellions)
Moderated by Young Sohn
Founders shared insights on developing high-performance, energy-efficient AI solutions aligned with sustainability goals.
Startup Showcase: Innovating for the AI Energy Future
The Summit spotlighted visionary startups developing breakthrough technologies in energy generation, storage, and efficiency for the AI era.
ANAFLASH Inc.– Low power, low latency RCUs for edge AI devices
CalWave – Unlocking the power of the ocean – power and cooling
EH Group – High-performance fuel cell stacks at radically lower cost
HyperAccel Co., Ltd. – GPU-level batched inferencing at 1/10 cost and 1/3 power
Innatera – Ultra-low power neuromorphic processors for intelligent sensing
IONATE – Hybrid Intelligent Transformer for smart power systems
Literal Labs – Fast, efficient, and explainable AI algorithms
Lumai – Using optical beams for ultra-fast & energy-efficient AI processing
Oriole Networks – A full-photonic network for AI and HPC
Revterra – Kinetic Stabilizer for power protection of datacenters and grid
Sizable Energy – Gigawatt-scale ocean energy storage by offshore pumped-brine
Virtus Solis Space Solar Power – Commercializing effective solar power from space
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Thank-you to our Summit sponsors and partners for helping bring this important dialogue to life. Their partnership and commitment to innovation helped make this event possible.
Together, we can accelerate innovation that drives both technological progress and sustainability.