Program
Schedule at a glance
Monday Sept. 14
SPCT Day
Partner Day
Pre-Conference Training
Tuesday Sept. 15
Main Conference Day 1
Wednesday Sept. 16
Main Conference Day 2
Thursday Sept. 17 – Friday Sept. 18
Post-Conference Training
Call for speakers
The 2026 SAFe & AI Summit San Diego is calling for bold thinkers and proven practitioners ready to share what’s working, lessons learned, and what didn’t work. Step into the spotlight, spark new thinking around AI-Native SAFe and the evolution of Agility, and gain the recognition you deserve as a leader shaping what comes next.
Submission Deadline: June 12, 2026
2026 tracks include
1. AI-Native SAFe
Evolve your SAFe system for the age of AI
Your SAFe implementation got you here. It wasn’t designed for what’s next.
AI is changing:
- How fast teams build
- How decisions get made
- How feedback loops operate
This track focuses on how leading organizations are evolving SAFe itself to meet that reality.
You’ll learn how to:
- Integrate AI into ART workflows and delivery cycles
- Shift from outputs → outcomes and intent
- Enable AI-augmented teams at scale
- Accelerate innovation without breaking flow
This is not replacing SAFe. It’s unlocking the next level of it.
2. The AI-Native Enterprise
From experimentation to measurable value
AI is everywhere. Real impact isn’t. This track is for leaders and transformation owners who need to:
- Move beyond pilots and POCs
- Align AI to real business outcomes
- Build an operating model that actually delivers ROI
Learn how organizations are becoming AI-Native, embedding AI into how decisions are made, how value flows, and how results are measured.
What you’ll get:
- Clear models for driving Return on AI (ROAI)
- Real examples of AI at enterprise scale
- Practical approaches to governance, funding, and prioritization
3. Real-World Applications
Proof. Practice. Results.
This is where everything comes together. No theory. No generic talks. Just real stories and real work.
- Customer-led sessions from organizations doing this today
- Partner showcases with real implementations
- Practical walkthroughs of what worked—and what didn’t
Every session is grounded in:
Before → After → How → Measured Impact
Expect:
- Hard-earned lessons (including failures)
- Tangible examples you can apply immediately
- Clear evidence of business results
4. Hands-On Labs
No slides. No spectators.
If you want to actually do the work, this is where you go. These are interactive, outcome-driven sessions where you’ll:
- Build an AI-enabled workflow
- Create a 90-day AI roadmap
- Apply AI to your real-world use cases
- Practice new ways of working with AI inside SAFe
This reflects what we’re seeing in the field: The organizations that experience it in person are the ones that actually move forward.
You don’t just learn it. You leave with it.
Pre-conference training
Maximize your time in San Diego with a one-day, in-person pre-conference training.
When: Monday September 14, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Where: Gaylord Pacific Convention Center.
Leading the AI-Native Organization
AUDIENCE
Be the leader who finally bridges what’s possible with AI to what’s reliable
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
- An aligned view of organizational AI strengths and weaknesses
- A first-pass prioritization of high-value AI initiatives
- An initial workforce upskilling framework
- Near-term Responsible AI governance actions
- A 30-60-90 AI leadership roadmap with owners and signals
Customizing SAFe to Your Context (New)
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
SAFe is a comprehensive framework, and the best results come from thoughtfully contextualizing it to your organization’s needs. Unlock the next evolution of agility by learning how to ground SAFe customizations in your business drivers, data, and operating context. In this session, you’ll explore how to iteratively adopt and refine customizations to achieve measurable outcomes and lasting agility, including experimenting with ways AI can accelerate learning, customization, and time to value. Achieve resilience through uncertainty by iteratively customizing SAFe at your organization.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Robust discovery process that identifies customization needs before they enter your backlog
- Hypothesis-driven experiments that accelerate the adoption of the right customizations for your organization
- Become the wise “Human in the Loop” when leveraging AI to accelerate your time to value
Post-conference training
Maximize your time in San Diego with a two-day, in-person pre-conference training.
When: Thursday September 17 & Friday September 18, 9:00am – 5:00pm
Where: Gaylord Pacific Convention Center.
AI-Native Foundations Class
AUDIENCE
All professionals—business, product, delivery, and operations
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
- Grasp the EDGETM Imperative—Exponential, Disruptive, Generative, and Emergent forces
transforming work - Design a personal 30-60-90-day AI plan and pitch use cases with confidence
- Understand AI, ML, GenAI, LLMs, RAG, and intelligent agents—in plain language
- Master safe and effective AI prompting with proven techniques
- Apply the 7 AI-Native Success Factors to drive value from day one
- Redesign one of your personal workflows using AI
Adopting AI-Native SAFe: The Operating Model for the Age of AI (New)
DESCRIPTION
The exponential rise of Artificial Intelligence, particularly generative AI, presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Despite widespread adoption, a significant maturity gap exists. Approximately two-thirds of companies are stuck with isolated pilots that fail to scale.
The shift from “AI-enabled” to “AI-native” requires more than just new tools; it demands fundamental changes in how work is defined, prioritized, and delivered. AI-Native SAFe represents a significant evolution of the Framework from a system that merely incorporates AI to one where artificial intelligence is foundational.
This two-day session combines training and workshop elements to ensure you are equipped to help your organization implement AI-Native SAFe and navigate the shifts needed to achieve AI-Empowered Agility.
Day 1: AI-Native SAFe
The first day will cover all the key elements of AI-Native SAFe, including changes to roles, events, and workflows. Additionally, you will reflect on which of these are most critical for your current SAFe implementation.
Day 2: Launching AI-Native ARTs
The second day focuses on prioritizing the work to launch and relaunch your existing ARTs as AI-Native ARTs. The output is a plan that can be implemented incrementally to ensure you to enhance the speed, quality, and adaptability of your existing Lean-Agile methods.
Treating AI as a one-off initiative rather than a foundational shift to a new operating model leads to fragmented data, tech debt, and workflows that are not designed for an AI-native environment. Begin building your new operating model for AI today.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Understand the ‘five shifts’ required to achieve AI-Empowered Agility.
- Recognize the importance of a Human-Centric AI Culture.
- Learn about the key changes in AI-Native SAFe.
- Develop a backlog and implementation plan for launching AI-Native ARTs.
Implementing Large Solution SAFe (New)
AUDIENCE
Designed for those building complex, large-scale systems
DESCRIPTION
This course is designed for those building complex, large-scale systems. It focuses on scaling Lean-Agile practices through the recently updated Large Solution Delivery (LSD) discipline and its competencies. It provides essential guidance for effectively implementing SAFe at this scale, offering a clear, scalable, and effective approach to managing complex solutions. This approach is designed for cross-enterprise coordination with external partners and the broader solution ecosystem, to ensure faster, more predictable, and high-quality delivery. This is a new course with new, deeper guidance for the Large Solution Delivery Discipline and its competencies.
KEY OBJECTIVES
- Formulate and evolve a common solution intent and roadmap to align all solution builders and external partners across the broader ecosystem toward a shared goal
- Optimizing structures to reduce handoffs and delays across multiple ARTs, Solution Trains, and other value streams
- Establish intentional architecture and governance that supports emergent design with enterprise-level alignment, ensuring technical integrity within the solution ecosystem
- Coordinate delivery across multiple ARTs and value streams, including strategic suppliers, to ensure predictability and speed by proactively managing cross-organization dependencies and risk
- Address common anti-patterns that occur when building solutions at a large scale
Experiences and insights that move you forward
Experts Coaching Station
Have questions? Need assistance on what your next steps should be? Anything puzzling you? Visit the SAFe and AI Experts Coaching Station for a personalized consultation to discuss what’s on your mind.
Marketplace Theater
Discover fast and focused insights. Enjoy 15-minute Partner Showcase sessions and 30-minute role-based sessions and AI-Native content delivered in a silent disco format—perfect for learning, exploring new solutions, and connecting with experts right in the Partner Marketplace.
SPCs VIP Experience
SPC VIP lounge: Your private place to relax, indulge, recharge, and connect.
Meet and greet with keynote speakers and experts: Exclusive access to top thought leaders. And even more surprises just for you!
