Thanks to everyone who attended our lastest San Francisco Conference!
Be sure to check out our other past events at techfire.eventbrite.com!
Details about our Fall 2019 Summit at Salesforce Tower in San Francisco:
PHOTOS: View photos from the event.
Nov. 6, 2019 • San Francisco (Salesforce Tower)
Autonomous Vehicle + Micromobility Summit
A TechFire Summit
Featuring speakers from BMW i Ventures, Lime, Maniv Mobility, Alliance Ventures, Wind, CalSTA, and more!
TechFire has been recognized in Techmeme’s list of nationally-significant tech conferences. Join us and see for yourself what the buzz is about!
Agenda + Venue
Wed., Nov. 6, 2019 (8 AM – 1 PM) at Salesforce Tower in San Francisco
At Accenture’s Innovation Hub in Salesforce Tower
We’re excited to announce that the event will be in Salesforce Tower, at Accenture’s San Francisco Innovation Hub, 415 Mission St, Floor 33, San Francisco, CA 94105
Agenda
Wed., November 6, 2019 (8 AM - 1 PM)
8:00 AM: Registration / Networking
9:00 AM: Welcoming Remarks by TechFire
9:10 AM: Maniv Mobility's Michael Granoff, Founder and Managing Partner
9:35 AM: Wind Mobility's Eric Wang, Co-Founder/CEO
10:00 AM: Lime's Adam Kovacevich, Head of Americas Government Relations
10:25 AM: Accenture’s Zafar Razzacki, Managing Director – Accenture Digital, Industry X.0; and Mary Hamilton, Managing Director, Accenture Technology Labs
10:50 AM: Networking Break
11:10 AM: BMW i Ventures' Dr. Ulrich Quay, Managing Partner
11:35 AM: CalSTA's Lori Pepper, Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions
12:00 PM: Alliance Ventures' Ryan Armbrust, Partner, (Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s $1 billion VC fund), moderated by Michael Danaher, Partner, WSGR
12:25 PM: Closing Remarks
12:30 PM: Informal Networking to Follow (until 1 pm)
Testimonials
Speaker Biographies
Dr. Ulrich Quay, Managing Partner, BMW i Ventures
As the Managing Partner of BMW i Ventures, Dr. Ulrich Quay heads BMW’s €500 million ($550 million+) corporate venture capital fund.
BMW i Ventures invests across autonomous driving, industry 4.0, digital car & automotive cloud, shared & on-demand mobility, e-mobility, customer digital life, AI/data/cyber security, and energy services.
A sampling of portfolio companies include Fair, Lime, May Mobility, Nauto, RideCell, and Zendrive, Turo, and Zūm.
BMW i Ventures is headquartered in Silicon Valley, also has offices in San Francisco and Munich.
Dr. Quay has been with BMW i Ventures since 2011, and previously was with BMW in Germany and the UK.
Ryan Armbrust, Partner, Alliance Ventures
Ryan Armbrust is a Partner at Alliance Ventures, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi’s $1 billion venture capital fund.
Co-located in Amsterdam, Silicon Valley, Paris, Yokohama, Beijing and Tel Aviv, Alliance Ventures invests $200 million annually on behalf of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Launched in 2018, the fund targets technology and business model innovation in vehicle electrification, autonomous systems, car connectivity and new mobility services. Christian leads the investment team with headquarters in Silicon Valley.
Previously was a Partner and Venure Partner at ff Venture Capital in San Francisco and New York. Ryan is a graduate of Columbia University, where he also served as a Technology Licensing Officer for Columbia Technology Ventures.
Lori Pepper, Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions, California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA)
In August 2019, Governor Newsom appointed Lori Pepper to be Deputy Secretary for Innovative Mobility Solutions, at the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) . Prior to her appointment, Lori worked in Washington, DC as the Senior Federal Policy Specialist for Honda North America, Inc. where her portfolio focused on technology and innovation. This included connected and automated vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and spectrum issues.
Lori also served on Capitol Hill for 10 years. She served as Policy Advisor and Deputy Floor Director for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, serving as the Speaker’s advisor on issues related to small business, agriculture, and veterans, as well as her liaison to the moderate Blue Dog Coalition. Lori also served on the Science and Technology Committee as Director of Policy & Outreach under former Chairman Bart Gordon (TN), and worked for Rep. Albert Wynn (MD), among other roles.
Michael Granoff, Founder/Managing Partner, Maniv Mobility
Michael Granoff is founder and Managing Partner of Maniv Mobility. Maniv, a VC firm focused exclusively on mobility startups, just raised their latest $100 million fund. Based in Israel, Maniv invests globally. The Drive calls Maniv “a venture capital powerhouse” that is “among the most well-connected and most-respected in the sector, and serves as an advance scout for many other investors.”
Aside from startup boards, Mr. Granoff serves on the board of Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), a DC-based policy and advocacy organization, and is a past board member of electric car network developer Better Place. He has been involved in three US Presidential campaigns and in 2010 received Brandeis University’s Asper Award for Global Entrepreneurship. Mr. Granoff holds a B.A. from Tufts, an MBA and JD from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and is a veteran marathon runner and father of four.
Adam Kovacevich, Head of Americas Government Relations, Lime
Adam is currently Head of Americas Government Relations for Lime, the shared scooter mobility company. In that role he leads a team that expands consumer access to shared scooters and helps cities craft smart rules of the road for a new mode of transportation.
Adam Kovacevich has 20 years of communications, public policy, and public affairs strategy experience in Washington, D.C. and the technology industry.
Adam previously led Google’s 15-person U.S. policy strategy and external affairs team. In that role, he drove the company’s U.S. public policy campaigns on privacy, security, antitrust, intellectual property, intermediary liability, telecommunications, advertising, taxation and workforce issues — as well as its partnerships with conservative, progressive, consumer and civil rights organizations.
Eric Wang, Co-Founder/CEO, Wind Mobility
Eric Wang is Co-Founder & CEO of Wind Mobility, a scooter startup with European roots that’s backed by $72 million in funding. Wind currently operates in 20+ cities across Europe, Israel and Asia, including Germany, France, Spain, Israel, Austria, Portugal, Denmark, Korea and Japan. The company currently employs more than 120 people worldwide.
Wind was founded as BYKE, Europe's first dockless e-scooter and bike sharing startup. Eric previously co-founded Wodache, China's first ridesharing platform.
Michael Danaher, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (MODERATOR)
Michael Danaher is a partner in the corporate and securities practice at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSGR), where he has practiced for 20 years. He provides general corporate representation to public and private companies in technology and life sciences industries. Mike's transactional work includes private financings, public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate partnerships, both domestic and cross-border.
Mike has one of the most active practices in the country representing venture-backed companies. He chairs the committee responsible for promoting innovation in the firm's venture capital practice and also serves on the investment committee for the firm's affiliated fund, the WS Investment Company. In addition, Mike previously served as a member of the firm's Policy Committee.
Michael will be serving as a fireside chat moderator at the event.
Past Speakers
If there’s one thing TechFire is known for across our 45+ past events, it’s for attracting the top speakers around. This summit will be no exception, featuring a lineup of the top leaders shaping the future of mobility across autonomous vehicles, micromobility, mobility policy, and venture capital.
Pictured at right: TechFire’s 2017 Self-Driving Car Summit with Aurora’s Chris Urmson, NHTSA chief Heidi King, and Applied Minds’ & Toyota Research Institute advisor Bran Ferren; TechFire’s 2018 Micromobility Summit with Lyft’s Anthony Foxx and LADOT’s Seleta Reynolds; and other events featuring leaders from Bird and Spin and VCs and elected officials.
Aurora Co-Founder/CEO Chris Urmson
NHTSA chief Heidi King
LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds
Applied Minds’ Bran Ferren (advisor to Toyota Research Institute)
Lyft’s Anthony Foxx (Chief Policy Officer & Senior Advisor to the President & CEO; former US Secretary of Transportation under President Obama)
Bird’s Dave Estrada (Chief Policy & Legal Officer)
Bird investor Saar Gur (General Partner @ CRV)
And more from Spin, Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Greylock, Lightspeed, First Round, SV Angel, et al.
Tickets
Themes
Key Themes to be addressed:
The Road Ahead for Autonomous Vehicles: what’s next for AVs; “Are We There Yet?”: addressing public expectation vs. reality on how long the journey to Level 4 (and 5) autonomy will take; what new types of startups and industry partnerships are likely in 2020 and beyond.
The Future of Micromobility: what’s next for scooters, e-bikes, and beyond: will we see consolidation as the market matures? Will we continue to see major innovation on modes, or has the sector reached a plateau?
Policy: Micromobility & Autonomous Vehicle Policy
Sponsors
PRESENTING SPONSOR
SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE!
To inquire about sponsoring, email david@techfire.co.
Past Sponsors include Lyft, Spin/Ford, Accenture, Fenwick & West, DLA Piper, Deloitte, EY, CBRE, and more.
INTERESTED IN EXHIBITING?
Exhibitor tables may be purchased directly on the ticketing page.
