The First Keynote and Featured Sessions for SXSW 2027 Are Here

The countdown to SXSW 2027 officially begins with our first round of Keynote and Featured Session announcements, and we couldn’t be more excited to share them!

SXSW sparks cross-industry conversations, creating an amalgamation of ideas that shape what’s next. These Featured Sessions point to a theme running through this year’s programming: as technology accelerates, people still crave community. From AI to branding, this round brings together voices from across the spectrum. Whatever brings you to SXSW 2027, we’ve got you covered.

See the full lineup here.

Keynote Deep Unlearning: The Rise of AI and the Radicalization of a Tech Idealist

Timnit Gebru, Founder and Executive Director, Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR)

Timnit Gebru has been present at nearly every inflection point in tech’s recent history. She was an engineer at Apple on the cusp of the iPhone’s first release, a Ph.D. student at Stanford’s computer vision lab as her adviser worked on the enormous datasets so crucial to AI’s development, and the most senior Black woman on the Ethical AI team at Google as DeepMind and OpenAI took over the field of artificial intelligence—where she was forced out for having raised the alarm about bias in large language models, causing global shockwaves in the tech industry. Over the course of her life, Gebru has seen up close how the destructive ideologies and outsized egos of the tech world have come to wreak havoc on our environment, our economies, and the lives of billions of people.

This session discusses how we could have made a different choice every step of the way — and how we still can.

Follow Timnit on LinkedIn Featured Sessions A Conversation with Timm Chiusano on the Art of Appreciation

Timm Chiusano, Principal, Chiusano & Daughter

Did you know there is a specific distinction between gratitude and appreciation, and that it can be a path to a happier and more fulfilling existence?  We’re told to practice gratitude, chase purpose, and live in the moment—but we are never taught how appreciation is the skill that makes it all possible. Through personal stories, surprising research, and practical exercises, Timm Chiusano shows how noticing and valuing the world around us can interrupt negative spirals, strengthen relationships, build self-worth, and help us make better use of the time we have.

Follow Timm on LinkedIn Beyond the Exit: The Founders Next Act

Allison Ellsworth, Founder, Poppi

Mike Hofman, Editor-in-Chief, Inc.

After building poppi into a nearly $2 billion brand, Allison Ellsworth faced a question many entrepreneurs never publicly discuss: What comes next? In conversation with moderator Mike Hofman, Allison will explore the unique pressure placed on female founders to continually prove themselves, replicate success, and reinvent their careers. She will unpack the emotional and professional realities of a founder’s second act – from identity shifts and burnout to ambition, reinvention, and redefining success after the achievement everyone thought was the finish line.

Follow Allison on LinkedIn Growth Beyond the Horizon: Moving Past Innovation Paralysis with Strategic Foresight

Joanna Lepore, Global Foresight Strategist, Dig Insights

Most leaders today prefer to be surprised and deal with the crisis of the moment, in that moment. But that stagnation is not a measured response; it’s paralysis, and it’s causing an innovation and growth gap in your strategy. In this session, global foresight strategist Joanna Lepore draws on firsthand experience building foresight as an enterprise-level capability inside some of the world’s biggest brands, using it to fuel innovation and commercial growth. When scaled properly, foresight moves quickly past theory into operational practice and commercial results. And it does one other critical thing for leadership: driving better decisions when indecision is the easier option.

Follow Joanna on LinkedIn Amy Webb Launches Technology Convergences 2027

Amy Webb, CEO, Future Today Strategy Group

Every few centuries, the tools humans make stop being tools. Fire became civilization. Writing became a memory. The engine became the modern world. What tools are we creating today that will change the course of history? At SXSW, futurist Amy Webb, CEO of the Future Today Strategy Group and professor at NYU Stern, will take you on a mind-bending exploration of the forces reshaping business, culture, and society. With her signature wit and data-driven approach, Amy will decode the technology convergences that demand your attention, reveal scenarios that challenge how you think about the future, and tell you exactly what to do differently on Monday morning. If you’ve joined Amy’s packed sessions in past years, you know to expect startling insights, big shifts in perspective, and ideas you’ll be talking about long after the session ends. This year’s theme is “Second Nature”—because the tools that eventually change history are the ones we stop noticing. And before you leave the room, we’re going to build a tool together that you’ll take home. (Yes, a real one. Yes, you’ll take it home.)

Follow Amy on LinkedIn

Badges are now on sale for SXSW 2027. What are you waiting for? Register by Thursday, Sept. 17, to secure the lowest rate of the season. 

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