Local & Community
Palm Springs Braces for Massive Tech Wave as Immersive PS/NExT Summit 2026 Debuts Next Week
PALM SPRINGS, California — The desert is about to get a crash course in cutting-edge innovation as the PS/NExT Summit 2026 officially prepares to take over the Palm Springs Convention Center next week. Running from Monday, June 22 through Tuesday, June 23, 2026, the two-day event focuses on the intersections of artificial intelligence, creative arts, and practical business development. The event marks a major evolutionary step from last year's completely sold-out 2025 Palm Springs AI & Creativity Expo. Organizers promise this year’s lineup under its new "PS/NExT" moniker—short for New Experiences in Technology—is substantially larger, broader, and more immersive, featuring top-tier global tech visionaries and local creative minds alike.
Presented in partnership with the City of Palm Springs Office of Economic Development and the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce, the summit features six distinct programmatic tracks tailored for residents, small business owners, educators, creators, and entrepreneurs. Instead of standard tech panels, the event is built around hands-on, practical applications, showcasing how everyday businesses can implement AI to streamline workflows and drive revenue. The speaker lineup features several massive names across tech and entertainment, including returning headliner Rob Minkoff, the renowned co-director of Disney's Academy Award-winning animated masterpiece The Lion King. He will be joined by opening keynote speaker Baratunde Thurston, a bestselling author and Emmy-nominated host, alongside Philip Su, an elite software pioneer and former engineering leader at Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft, and Kelly Boesch, a prominent desert-based AI visual artist known internationally for large-scale immersive digital masterpieces.
The summit floor will host a bustling interactive expo along with unique, high-stakes developer events. Highlights include a "Local Business Vibe-a-thon," an innovation challenge where engineers build live, operational tech solutions for small businesses in real time, and "GenJam," a creative four-to-eight-hour sprint where production teams race the clock to build short AI-powered films and musical compositions.
Civic leaders emphasize that the summit's core goal is ensuring the local community can actively shape the emerging tech economy rather than watching it from the sidelines. To maximize local participation, organizers have structured highly accessible pricing tiers. A special two-day pass is available for Coachella Valley residents for $95 with proof of local residency, which increases to $150 at the door. Meanwhile, full access to every track, keynote, and expo floor activation is entirely free for local students and educators through sponsored community access programs. To secure passes or review the comprehensive schedule, residents and visitors can navigate to the newsroom tab on our website, NBCPalmSprings.com, or check out the official event registry at PalmSpringsNExT.com.
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By: NBC Palm Springs
June 19, 2026
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