DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar at the 2016 GeekWire Summit. (GeekWire photo)

The 2017 GeekWire Summit is finally here. After months of planning, we’re thrilled that more than 800 business, tech, media and government leaders will join us starting tomorrow for our annual conference.

Investor Gary Rubens announces support for Geeks Give Back at the GeekWire Summit 2016, along with WSOS director Naria Santa Lucia. (Photo / GeekWire)

Now in its sixth year, the GeekWire Summit is one of the premier technology events in the country, exploring what’s next in the innovation economy and discussing big technological trends that will shape society.

Things will get rolling Monday, Oct. 9th at 6 p.m. with a Welcome Party for all Summit attendees hosted at the Living Computers Museum + Labs in Seattle’s Sodo neighborhood. If you’ve not yet secured your spot for the GeekWire Summit, a limited number of tickets are available here.

Here’s everything you need to about this week’s big show.

Dates: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 9 – 11, with a Welcome Party at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 9 at Living Computers: Museum + Labs (2245 First Ave S, Seattle WA, 98134) and the main conference at the Sheraton Seattle on Oct. 10-11.

GeekWire Summit Locations: The main conference on Oct. 10-11 will take place at the Sheraton Seattle, 1400 Sixth Avenue in downtown Seattle. Map here. The Welcome Party on Oct. 9th is taking place at the Living Computers: Museum + Labs, and the Capital One Rooftop Party on the evening of Oct. 10th will take place at Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails (Motif Seattle, 1415 5th Avenue).

Welcome Party at Living Computers: Museum + Labs: Meet Summit attendees, speakers, and other VIPs at this warm-up party hosted by Vulcan, Inc. at the unique Living Computers Museum + Labs in SODO (2245 First Ave S, Seattle WA, 98134). The Welcome Party, at 6 p.m., is open to all GeekWire Summit attendees. Get your geek on, and check out what computers used to look like.

We will be returning to the rooftop deck at Frolik for the Capital One opening night party on Oct. 10th. Photo by Dan DeLong for GeekWire

Capital One Rooftop Party at Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails: Wrap up day one of the GeekWire Summit at the Capital One Rooftop Party hosted at Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails (Motif Seattle, 1415 5th Avenue) on Oct. 10th, just a quick 2-minute walk from the Sheraton. Hang out with GeekWire Summit speakers, attendees and other VIPs and geek out on one of the best rooftop decks in Seattle. Play a little shuffleboard and ping pong. Oh, yeah, drinks and appetizers to be served, too! And don’t forget to find one of the Capital One wallets!

Conference start time on Oct. 10th: Registration, located on the second floor of the Sheraton, opens at 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10th, followed by a welcome and introduction at 8:50 a.m. Be sure to grab your coffee before our first session at 9:00 a.m., a fireside chat with Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson.

Do I need to bring my printed tickets? No. If you’ve purchased tickets, just pick up your Summit pass at the 2nd floor registration booth at the Sheraton Seattle on Oct. 10th or 11th. Registration will open at 7:45 a.m. NOTE: Summit badges will not be available at the Oct. 9th Welcome Party at the Living Computers Museum.

Are tickets still available to purchase? Yes, a limited number of tickets are still available, so make sure to invite a friend, colleague or co-worker to join the fun. Tickets available on the registration page here.

Agenda: We’ve lined up two days of great content, featuring technology leaders from across the industry, including fireside chats with Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta (11:30 a.m. on Oct. 10th); Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson (1:00 p.m. on Oct. 10th); VP of Amazon’s Alexa and Echo Devices Toni Reid (2:00 p.m. on Oct. 10th); Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (9:30 a.m. on Oct. 11th); Stripe co-founder John Collison (11:35 a.m. on Oct. 11th) and a panel about fake news titled “Tech, Media and the Truth” (1:55 p.m. on Oct. 11th) and many more. Check out the full schedule on the “Agenda” tab and read more about the speakers under on the “Speakers” tab on the event site here.

Pre-Summit Survey: Tell us what you’re hoping to get out of the Summit, and submit questions for our speakers, in this pre-event survey.

Food & Drink: No need to search for your own meal — we’ve got you covered. Light breakfast will be served on both mornings, and boxed lunches will be available to all attendees. We’ve also sprinkled coffee and beverage breaks throughout the day to keep the energy flowing.

Wi-Fi & Power: Free Wi-Fi will be available throughout the Summit, courtesy of sponsor Boeing. Power also will be available at select tables during the Summit. Visit the K2 Charging Lounge in the Exhibitor hall to power up throughout the event.

App: All the essential info you need for the GeekWire Summit from speaker bios to session schedules and maps, are now available in the GeekWire Summit 2017 App sponsored by Cray. The app also includes live polls, an “Ask a Question” feature during key sessions, ways to engage with fellow Summit attendees and more. It’s accessible from all devices with an internet browser here and available for download in the Google Play store and iOS App store. 

Social Media: We’ll be using the hashtag #gwsummit for the event on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Prizes and giveaways: Have what it takes to uncover what’s inside the mysterious Best Buy Box? That’s just one of the fun activities we’ve got cooking at this year’s Summit. The Best Buy Box is loaded with geeky prizes so crack the code and you can win. Plus, the first 500 Summit attendees will receive a game-day approved Welcome Bag, including some cozy GeekWire socks, courtesy of our partners at Strideline. Other prizes that will be available from our sponsors: Two first-class round trip tickets on Alaska Airlines; two tickets to the Seahawks-Cardinals game on Dec. 31, plus a night stay at the Sheraton; iPads, Amazon Echoes; GoPros; signed Steve Largent jerseys; a drone and much more.

Visual artist Guillaume Wiatr of MetaHelm will re-creating all aspects of the Summit.

Murals: Back by popular demand, visual strategist Guillaume Wiatr of MetaHelm will be recreating the Summit activities with his custom murals. Follow along, as Guillaume recreates the Summit in real time creating dynamic visuals from the exciting content on stage.

Parking: Paid parking is available at garages in the vicinity. Parking at the Sheraton is valet-only and available on a first come-first serve basis. There are self-parking options nearby. Visit the City of Seattle’s e-Park website here for real-time parking information. We encourage you to bus, bike or use other alternative transportation.Our transportation partner for the event is BMW’s ReachNow, and you can email us at events@geekwire.com to receive a special code to use for the Summit.

Geeks Give Back: Join our big philanthropic effort, Geeks Give Back, to support the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship. More on Geeks Give Back here.

Accommodations: For availability at the Sheraton, please contact the hotel directly. Other hotels within walking distance of the GeekWire Summit include The Roosevelt SeattleMayflower Park Hotel SeattleThe Paramount and Hotel Max. Please contact hotels directly for pricing and availability.

Attire: Business casual.

Still have questions? Email us at events@geekwire.com.

A big thanks to our title GeekWire Summit title sponsor: Bank of America.

Also, thanks to gold sponsors: BaiduBoeingCapital OneSirqulHomeAdvisorWave BusinessWSGRExtraHopZillow Groupand Dragonchain.

And a shout out to our silver sponsors and supporting sponsors: Living Computers Museum + LabsVulcanK2MozWGU WashingtonBest BuyAvalaraEYIntellectual VenturesNortheastern UniversityUPS ConnectAlexandriaCrayGlobal Innovation Exchange and EPAM.

Thanks to our partners: BloombergKUOWBootstrapper StudiosStridelineAlaska AirlinesALLtechKiller InfographicsName Brand Promotions and Sharp.

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