Käpsele Innovation Festival & AI Transformation Masterclass

What This Is About

You want to launch AI projects but don’t know where to start. You’ve implemented initial pilot projects—but they’re fizzling out because:

• the workforce isn’t on board
• AI is treated internally as an IT project rather than a transformation project
• there’s a lack of budget and risk appetite
• a clear vision of how AI will truly transform your business is still missing
   

This is exactly where this masterclass comes in. In Silicon Valley, people work with a global edge, radical speed, and a drive to change things together. There, failure isn’t a setback—it’s part of the process. Employees aren’t just affected by change; they’re co-creators. AI isn’t an IT project—it’s the core of a new corporate strategy.

In a fireside chat, Patrik Carus-Lacolade, CEO of Techtory, and Sophie Eichinger from SiMa.ai will demonstrate what this looks like in practice: How a mechanical engineering firm from Baden-Württemberg with over 30 years of experience used the InnovationCamp Silicon Valley to establish a partnership with one of the Valley’s leading edge AI startups—and how this led to real-world applications. 

Afterward, we’ll discuss with the audience: What can be applied to your own context—and how can you take action in your companies?

What you’ll take away

• How a mid-sized company successfully takes AI pilots from concept to production
• Which methods help identify pain points, get the team on board, and move quickly into testing
• Dos and don’ts straight from real-world experience
• A specific next step that you’ve defined yourself

Agenda

00'–05' | Interactive Warm-Up: Where do you stand with AI – an honest assessment
05'–10' | Insights from Silicon Valley: current AI trends & what this means for SMEs
10'–30' | Fireside Chat with Patrik Carus-Lacolade (Techtory) & Sophie Eichinger (SiMa.ai): From the Silicon Valley Connection to Physical AI in production – stumbling blocks, turning points, dos and don’ts
30'–40' | Interactive discussion with the audience: best practices, open questions, shared learnings
40'–45' | Wrap-up & next steps via Slido: “My specific next step is...”
Target audience: Management and innovation leaders at SMEs in Baden-Württemberg. No prior technical knowledge required.

Speakers

• Patrik Carus-Lacolade, CEO, Techtory GmbH
  Sophia Eichler, Senior Growth Lead, SiMa.ai
  Moderators: Simone Friese, AHK San Francisco & Maria Weber, BW-i

Organizer: AHK San Francisco in cooperation with BW-i and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs.

For 10% off use code: zukunft-odfqku7k