Top 10: Tech & AI-in-Industry Conferences
Worldwide
Where does industry show what AI really delivers on the shop floor, in logistics and in the product – not on slides, but on machines? Ten trade fairs and conferences from Hanover to Shanghai that take physical AI, robotics and automation seriously. In date order, with honest reasons. One of them we organise ourselves.
Coming up next
- m:con Rosengarten Mannheim · 19. November 2026AICon Industry Mannheim
- NurembergMesse · 24.–26. November 2026SPS – Smart Production Solutions
- Expo City Dubai · 7.–11. December 2026GITEX Global
- Las Vegas · 6.–9. January 2027CES
The ten conferences in detail
AICon Industry MannheimBy dcyphr.®
Us again – what a coincidence. The industry edition of AICon answers the one question most AI projects fail at: how does AI get from the presentation into production? Industrial AI, robotics and intelligent automation with real use cases – together with the City of Mannheim and NEXT MANNHEIM, motto “experience AI live”.
SPS – Smart Production Solutions
The leading automation fair: around 1,200 exhibitors in 15 halls, from controllers to the software-defined factory. Industrial AI is a focus topic in 2026 – here AI is not a demo but a product in the control cabinet.
GITEX Global
One of the largest tech shows in the world, in 2026 for the first time at Expo City and in December. Governments, corporates and startups from 180+ countries – the place to see how the Middle East and Asia invest AI into infrastructure and industry.
CES
The tech world's opening of the year. Relevant for industry because robotics, sensors and AI chips arrive in volume products here – from humanoid household robots to vehicle platforms. Know the consumer side, understand the supply chain.
MWC Barcelona
Long more than mobile: 5G/6G, edge computing and AI for connected factories, logistics and vehicles. For anyone whose AI applications have to run out there – in the plant, on the road, in the field.
NVIDIA GTC
The technical pacesetter: this is where the platforms are unveiled that industrial AI and humanoids will run on for the next two years – Omniverse, Isaac, Jetson, the partners' reference robots. Keynote and hundreds of sessions free to stream.
Hannover Messe
The world's most important industrial fair, in 2027 in a compact four days with AI as a cross-cutting theme across all areas – automation & digitalisation, energy & industrial infrastructure, research & technology transfer. Partner country Spain. If you manage only one fair a year: this one.
Automate
North America's largest automation and robotics show by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), in Las Vegas for the first time in 2027. The view of the US market: cobots, vision, AI-driven quality inspection – and an audience that buys rather than browses.
automatica
The leading fair for intelligent automation and robotics, every two years in Munich – with Europe's densest offering of robots, grippers, machine vision and AI software. A must for anyone who procures physical AI rather than just discussing it.
World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC)
China's AI showcase, every July in Shanghai – 17 to 20 July in 2026. Humanoids in series production, AI chips, industrial platforms: to understand the pace of the world's second big AI market, you have to see it once.
Dates from the organisers’ announcements as of October 2026 – always check with the organiser.
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Frequently asked questions about industrial and tech conferences
What is the difference between an AI conference and an industrial trade fair?
At the conference you hear what is possible; at the fair you see what is running. Hannover Messe, SPS and automatica show AI built into controllers, robots and plants – the conference formats (GTC, AICon Industry) explain how it gets there. A first project needs both.
Which industrial trade fair matters most for AI in production?
In Europe the Hannover Messe (5–8 April 2027), where AI is a cross-cutting theme across all exhibition areas in 2027; for automation technology SPS in Nuremberg (24–26 November 2026); for robotics automatica in Munich (22–25 June 2027).
Is there an industrial AI conference in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region?
Yes, AICon Industry Mannheim on 19 November 2026 at the m:con Rosengarten – industrial AI, robotics and intelligent automation with real use cases, together with the City of Mannheim and NEXT MANNHEIM.
Is a trip to CES, GTC or WAIC worth it?
For strategy and product leads yes, every two to three years: CES shows what reaches the consumer market, GTC sets the technical pace, WAIC gives the Chinese perspective. For everyday work in a mid-sized company, streams and reports – and the European fairs – are enough.
Getting AI from the presentation into production?
Physical AI, robotics and automation are our daily business – 15 minutes are enough for a first assessment.