The AI & data center issue · 2027
The AI and data center conferences of 2027 in one guide: NVIDIA GTC in San Jose, the OCP Global Summit in San Francisco, Data Center World in Nashville, FMS and Sensors Converge in Santa Clara, AWE USA and embedded world North America in Long Beach. Pick the right floor, then let us build the booth: a live rack or a running dev kit, a screen with the benchmark, power for every unit and a quiet table where architects and procurement teams talk volume.
01 THE 7 BIGGEST
Ranked by each organizer’s latest published attendance figure, then by exhibitors where no attendance figure is published. SC and OCP lead, and Santa Clara and Long Beach host three of the seven.
SC26 (International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis)November 2026 · Chicago18,000+ attendees expected at SC26, per SC
2027 OCP Global SummitOctober 2027 · San Francisco15,000 attendees at the 2026 summit, per OCP
DCD Connect | New York 2027May 2027 · New York5,500+ senior data center professionals, per DCD
Sensors Converge 2027June 2027 · Santa Clara5,000+ attendees and 200+ exhibitors, per Questex
AWE USA 2027June 2027 · Long Beach5,000+ attendees and 250+ exhibitors, per AWE
FMS 2027 (Future of Memory and Storage)July 2027 · Santa Clara4,500+ attendees from 1,750+ organizations, per the organizer
Data Center World 2027May 2027 · Nashville450+ exhibitors in the 2026 Expo Hall, per Data Center WorldRanked by the most recent figure each organizer publishes; some are expected counts and some give no year, so read each number with its label. Data Center World is ranked by its exhibitor count because it publishes no attendance figure. NVIDIA GTC is not ranked because NVIDIA gives no attendance figure on the GTC pages linked in this guide. Sources: SC26 · 2027 OCP Global Summit · DCD Connect | New York 2027 · Sensors Converge 2027 · AWE USA 2027 · FMS 2027 · Data Center World 2027.
The lookbookCompute & signal 2027
Architects, developers and engineers judge AI hardware the way their users will: switched on, running a real workload, on a person’s face or in a person’s hands. Plan the booth around that moment.
One prompt, one result, one number, in under two minutes.
02 PICK YOUR NEXT FLOOR
Three kinds of floor sit in this guide. AI and supercomputing: NVIDIA GTC in San Jose and Washington, D.C., SC and Q2B. Data center, memory and storage: the OCP Global Summit, Data Center World, DCD Connect New York, the 7x24 Exchange and FMS. Edge AI, sensors and XR: Sensors Converge, embedded world North America, the Embedded Vision Summit, AutoSens USA and AWE USA. Search, filter, compare and save the ones that fit your product.
Every profile includes dates, city and venue, the audience, who exhibits, company fit, what’s good to know before booking, and a direct link to the organizer.
Popular cities
When & where November 15–20, 2026 · Exhibits November 17–19 · McCormick Place · Chicago, Illinois
HPC and AI system architects, researchers, data center and IT leaders from universities, industry and government; more than 18,000 attendees expected.
Supercomputer, server, processor, accelerator, storage, networking, cooling and HPC software vendors, plus research institution exhibits.
Go if you make compute, storage, interconnect or cooling hardware for HPC and AI clusters.
SC26 is no longer accepting exhibitor applications; use it to plan SC27. The Grand Opening Gala is in the exhibit hall on November 16, 7–9 pm.
When & where Event: May 24–27, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · Music City Center · Nashville, Tennessee
Facility, operations and construction managers, power and cooling specialists, IT infrastructure staff and executives; AFCOM's annual conference.
Power, cooling, racks, cabling, monitoring, construction and data center services; 450+ exhibitors in the 2026 Expo Hall in Washington, D.C.
Go if you sell power, cooling, rack or monitoring hardware to data center operators.
Moves from Washington, D.C. (2026) to Nashville for 2027.
When & where Event: June 8–10, 2027 · Exhibits: June 9–10, 2027 · Santa Clara Convention Center · Santa Clara, California
Design, embedded and AI/ML engineers, engineering managers, product leaders and OEM buyers; Questex cites 5,000+ attendees.
Sensor, MEMS, embedded processor, edge AI, wireless module and development tool companies; 200+ exhibitors, with the EDGE AI FOUNDATION Pavilion and a Startup Zone.
Go if you make sensors, embedded processors, edge AI chips or IoT modules.
Expo hours: June 9, 10:00 am to 5:30 pm; June 10, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
When & where Event: June 14–17, 2027 · Exhibits: June 15–17, 2027 · Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center · Long Beach, California
XR developers, platform and device makers, enterprise and government buyers, studios and investors; AWE cites 5,000+ attendees and 400+ speakers.
AR/VR headsets, smart glasses, optics and displays, spatial computing and AI companies; 250+ exhibitors on a 150,000+ sq ft expo.
Go if you make XR hardware, optics, displays or sensors for spatial computing.
The AWE Playground is a 20,000 sq ft demo area with its own application; Startup Pitch submissions close April 20, 2027.
When & where Event: October 4–7, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · Moscone Center · San Francisco, California
Hyperscale and AI data center engineers, hardware architects, supply chain and procurement leaders; 15,000 attendees at the 2026 summit in San Jose, per OCP.
Servers, racks, power, liquid cooling, networking, memory and storage makers building to Open Compute Project specifications.
Go if you build data center hardware, cooling or power for hyperscale and AI buyers.
Moves from San Jose to Moscone Center in San Francisco starting in 2027.
When & where Event: October 12–14, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · Long Beach Convention Center · Long Beach, California
Embedded hardware and software engineers, system architects and product developers.
Microcontrollers, processors, modules, boards, development tools, embedded software and edge AI companies.
Go if you sell embedded processors, boards, modules or tools; it is the U.S. edition of Nuremberg's embedded world.
Moves from Anaheim (September 22–24, 2026) to Long Beach for 2027.
No show matches those filters.
03 KEYNOTE FIRST. THEN THE EXPO.
NVIDIA GTC, FMS, DCD Connect, AutoSens, the Embedded Vision Summit, the 7x24 Exchange and Q2B put architects, engineers and buyers in one place beside the program. Exhibiting usually means a sponsor package, a compact booth or a hotel exhibit floor rather than a large build. Each card says what exhibiting looks like there.
Showing the conferences that match your filters above.
When & where November 30–December 3, 2026 · Conference & Expo December 1–3 · Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center · Washington, D.C.
AI developers, public-sector technology leaders, researchers and enterprise IT teams.
NVIDIA partners: AI computing, robotics, autonomous systems and software companies.
Consider it if you sell AI hardware or systems to government and enterprise buyers in the NVIDIA ecosystem.
Workshops are November 30 and the keynote December 1; expo presence is through NVIDIA sponsor packages.
When & where December 8–10, 2026 · Marriott Marquis Chicago · Chicago, Illinois
Quantum computing researchers, hardware and software developers, enterprise adopters and investors.
Quantum hardware, cryogenics, control electronics, photonics and software companies.
Consider it if you make components or systems for quantum computers.
A hotel conference with sponsor and exhibit packages; the series also runs in Tokyo and Copenhagen.
When & where Event: February 2–4, 2027 · Exhibits: February 2–4, 2027 · Moscone West (Moscone Center) · San Francisco, California
Engineers and product developers building computer vision and physical AI into products.
AI processors and accelerators, camera and sensor modules, vision software and development tools; 60+ exhibitors.
Go if you make vision processors, image sensors, cameras or edge AI modules.
New for 2027: the Summit becomes part of SPIE Photonics West, so it shares the week with the Photonics West Exhibition.
When & where Event: March 14–18, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · San Jose McEnery Convention Center and venues throughout San Jose · San Jose, California
AI developers, data scientists, researchers, enterprise IT and data center leaders, startups and investors.
Server, GPU system, networking, storage, cooling, robotics and AI software companies from the NVIDIA ecosystem.
Go if you build AI servers, data center infrastructure, edge AI devices or robotics on NVIDIA platforms.
NVIDIA runs exhibits through sponsor packages; the FAQ gives March 14–18 and the homepage March 15–18.
When & where Event: May 17–18, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · New York Marriott Marquis · New York, New York
Senior data center professionals: operators, developers, investors, engineers and energy teams; DCD cites 5,500+.
180+ exhibitors in power, cooling, compute, construction and data center services.
Consider it if you sell power, cooling or compute infrastructure to data center operators and developers; close to Purple's Fishkill shop.
Four co-located events in a Times Square hotel; hotel freight and elevator rules shape the build.
When & where Event: May 18–20, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · Huntington Place · Detroit, Michigan
ADAS and autonomous vehicle engineers working on sensors, perception, sensor fusion and AI validation.
Camera, lidar, radar, image sensor, test and perception software companies, with the Global Innovation Showcase.
Consider it if you make automotive sensors, imaging chips or perception systems.
Co-located with InCabin at the same venue.
When & where Event: June 6–9, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes · Orlando, Florida
Data center, mission-critical facility and infrastructure leaders from enterprises, colocation and hyperscale operators.
Power, cooling, critical facility equipment and services companies as conference sponsors.
Consider it if you sell critical power and cooling equipment to data center owners.
A resort conference: company presence is through sponsorship packages. Theme: Powering the AI Surge.
When & where Event: July 27–29, 2027 · Exhibits: not confirmed yet · Santa Clara Convention Center · Santa Clara, California
Engineers, system architects and executives from memory, storage and AI infrastructure companies; 4,500+ attendees from 1,750+ organizations, per the organizer.
Memory chip, SSD, controller, storage system, CXL and test companies; 100+ exhibitors.
Go if you make memory, storage devices, controllers or test equipment.
Organized by Terrapinn; exhibit space is sold with sponsor packages.
No conference matches your filters.
04 BY CITY
Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Jose hold five of these events between them, Long Beach hosts both the XR and the embedded show, and Chicago closes 2026 with SC26 and Q2B. Racks, cooling units and demo counters cost real money to ship, so pairing two shows in one region saves freight.
SC26 at McCormick Place in November 2026 and Q2B at the Marriott Marquis Chicago in December 2026.
AWE USA in June and embedded world North America in October, both at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center.
The Embedded Vision Summit with SPIE Photonics West in February and the OCP Global Summit, which moves to Moscone Center in October 2027.
Sensors Converge in June and FMS in July, both at the Santa Clara Convention Center. NVIDIA GTC runs in San Jose next door in March.
Put one number on the big screen: the one your buyer is measured on.
05 THE YEAR, BY KEYNOTE
SC26 in Chicago and NVIDIA GTC Washington, D.C. close 2026. February opens 2027 with the Embedded Vision Summit at Moscone, March brings NVIDIA GTC in San Jose, and May stacks DCD Connect New York, AutoSens USA in Detroit and Data Center World in Nashville. June runs the 7x24 Exchange in Orlando, Sensors Converge in Santa Clara and AWE USA in Long Beach back to back, FMS follows in July, and October brings the OCP Global Summit to San Francisco and embedded world North America to Long Beach. Every dated U.S. event in this guide, in order.
Conference marks conferences & summits. Everything else is a trade show.
Trade shows by monthFebruary 2027March 2027May 2027June 2027July 2027October 2027
Trade shows by cityChicagoWashingtonSan FranciscoSan JoseNew YorkDetroitNashvilleOrlandoSanta ClaraLong Beach
The European fairs that U.S. AI, embedded and connectivity companies plan around: embedded world in Nuremberg, electronica in Munich and MWC in Barcelona. International shows are not included in the U.S. directory counts.
| Show | Next dates | Where | How often |
|---|---|---|---|
| MWC Barcelona ↗GSMA's global mobile and connectivity event for operators, device makers, network vendors and chip companies; the organizer lists 105K+ attendees, 2,900+ exhibitors, sponsors and partners, and 207 countries and territories. | March 1–4, 2027 | Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain | Annual, late February or early March |
| electronica ↗Messe München's trade fair and conference for electronic components, systems and applications, held with SEMICON Europa; more than 3,480 exhibitors and over 80,000 visitors in 2024, per electronica. | November 10–13, 2026 | Messe München, Munich, Germany | Every two years (even years), November |
| embedded world Exhibition & Conference ↗The embedded systems trade fair in Nuremberg; the 2026 edition had 1,242 exhibitors and 35,962 visitors, per NürnbergMesse. | March 16–18, 2027 | Exhibition Centre Nuremberg, Germany | Annual, March |
06 BUILT AROUND THE RUNNING DEMO
Infrastructure buyers want to see the hardware, read the benchmark and then talk volume at a table. Here are real booths we built for an instrument maker, a software company, a power equipment maker, a smart-cart company, a connected-systems maker and a proptech brand, and what fits in every booth size.
01 / THE INSTRUMENT BENCHdata-pixel · Purple Exhibits
Fiber-optic inspection instruments sit on two lit counters with screens reading out the measurements, a dark backlit wall shows the robot cell the tools work in, and high tables in the middle keep the engineers talking at the bench.
02 / THE DEMO STATIONSLeadSquared · Purple Exhibits
A round hanging sign marks the booth from across the hall, three blue walls each carry a screen and one message for the software demo, and white lounge seating and high tables between them keep every conversation on the floor.
03 / THE POWER LINEKaizen Switchgear · Purple Exhibits
White plinths run along both sides with the switchgear components on top, printed panels name each product family above them, a screen sits on the back wall, and a counter with a brochure rack and a meeting table finish the space.
04 / THE SYSTEM WALLBarantech · Purple Exhibits
A white backlit wall carries every module of the connected system, mounted and switched on, above a counter with live control panels. Blue LED light runs under the counter, and high chairs and a kiosk with a screen sit at the aisle.
05 / THE LIVE DATAEasy Shopper · Purple Exhibits
Two lime green backlit fabric walls carry the brand, the install count and a map, the smart carts stand on the carpet with their tablets switched on, and a shelf unit at the side holds screens with the live data.
06 / THE ROOMSApartment List · Purple Exhibits
House-shaped structures edged in LED light hold a screen and a sofa inside, a pink carpet and armchairs make a lounge in front, and a purple hanging sign carries the brand over the whole space.
07 FOUR STACKS, FOUR KINDS OF BUYER
Start with the person who approves the purchase. AI system architects and researchers walk GTC and SC, hyperscale hardware and procurement teams walk OCP, facility and operations managers walk Data Center World, DCD and 7x24 Exchange, and product engineers walk Sensors Converge, embedded world, AutoSens and AWE. Pick the people you need at your counter, and we’ll help you narrow the field.
For GPU system, server, networking, AI software, robotics and quantum companies selling to AI developers, data scientists, research labs and enterprise IT at NVIDIA GTC, SC and Q2B.
What mattersBenchmarks they can reproduce, software support, lead times, a reference architecture and an engineer who can answer the hard question.
For rack, power, liquid cooling, memory, storage, cabling and construction companies selling to hyperscale, colocation and enterprise operators at OCP, Data Center World, DCD Connect, the 7x24 Exchange and FMS.
What mattersPower per rack, cooling capacity, uptime, delivery dates, service in the field and compliance with the specs they build to.
For processor, module, sensor, camera, lidar and development tool companies selling to product engineers at Sensors Converge, embedded world North America, the Embedded Vision Summit and AutoSens USA.
What mattersPerformance per watt, a dev kit they can take home, documentation, long-term supply and a reference design they can start from.
For headset, smart glasses, optics, display and spatial computing companies selling to developers, studios, enterprise and government buyers and investors at AWE USA.
What mattersA headset on their head in the first minute, comfort, field of view, a developer platform and a clear path from pilot to rollout.
08 EVERY PLATFORM STARTED AS A PROTOTYPE
Young hardware and AI companies often start in a startup zone or a pitch competition, where a working prototype meets the same engineers and investors as a large booth. Here’s how to get in, with the source for every rule.
Rules and deadlines are the latest the organizers published. Startup zones fill early, so apply as soon as space opens.
MAKE IT A WORKLOAD, NOT JUST A WALL
The hardware gets them to stop. A demo running on a wired line, a live dashboard with the numbers that matter, the unit at hand height and a table out of the aisle give an architect, an operator or an OEM engineer a reason to start the evaluation.
Plan a booth that books meetings
09 LET’S GET YOU BENCHMARK-READY
AI and data center floors run on heavy hardware, live dashboards and short windows with the right architect. Let’s break it into manageable pieces: the live demo, the rack on the floor, power and heat, the dashboard, the developer bench, the hotel floor, the freight and the follow-up.
A loaded server rack, a cooling distribution unit or a battery cabinet is heavy, tall and expensive to move.
At Sensors Converge, embedded world North America and the Embedded Vision Summit, the buyer is an engineer who wants to try the part.
Scan every badge with notes: the workload, the scale, the timeline and who signs. Send data sheets, benchmark reports, evaluation units and NDA drafts within days of the show.
Tag every lead as an architect, an operator, a procurement contact, an OEM engineer, a developer or a partner, so follow-up reaches the right person. Track results over a full evaluation cycle: a design win started at the booth can take a year to reach production, so measure evaluations opened, not only leads.
THE ARCHITECT’S FILE
Architects, operators and engineers decide fast between sessions. Have this ready as a printed sheet and a short digital kit, so starting the evaluation is easy.
New to the terms? See the glossaryBENCHMARK # RUN-01STATUS: RACKED
DESIGN WIN
10 THE MATH BEHIND THE RACK
Let’s put numbers behind the plan. Add your full show budget and your own deal economics to see what breaking even could look like over a realistic sales cycle.
Get itemized quotes and an explicit contingency. Heavy hardware, electrical, wired internet, material handling and labor weigh more on an infrastructure budget than floor space, and show-week hotels in San Jose, San Francisco and New York add up fast. These categories are a planning checklist, not a price estimate.
NVIDIA GTC vs. OCP Global Summit vs. Data Center World vs. Sensors Converge vs. AWE USA: the five U.S. events that cover the AI stack from the server rack to the edge chip to the headset, compared on the figures each organizer publishes.
| Topic | NVIDIA GTC | OCP Global Summit | Data Center World | Sensors Converge | AWE USA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who attends | AI developers, data scientists, researchers, enterprise IT and data center leaders, startups and investors | Hyperscale and AI data center engineers, hardware architects, supply chain and procurement leaders; 15,000 attendees at the 2026 summit in San Jose, per OCP | Facility, operations and construction managers, power and cooling specialists and IT infrastructure staff; 86% of 2026 attendees were manager level or above, per Data Center World | Design, embedded and AI/ML engineers, product leaders and OEM buyers; 5,000+ attendees, per Questex | XR developers, device makers, enterprise and government buyers, studios and investors; 5,000+ attendees and 400+ speakers, per AWE |
| Who exhibits | Server, GPU system, networking, storage, cooling, robotics and AI software companies from the NVIDIA ecosystem | Servers, racks, power, liquid cooling, networking, memory and storage built to Open Compute Project specifications | Power, cooling, racks, cabling, monitoring, construction and services; 450+ exhibitors in the 2026 Expo Hall, per Data Center World | Sensors, MEMS, embedded processors, edge AI and wireless modules; 200+ exhibitors with the EDGE AI FOUNDATION Pavilion and a Startup Zone, per Questex | AR/VR headsets, smart glasses, optics, displays and spatial computing; 250+ exhibitors on a 150,000+ sq ft expo, per AWE |
| When & where | March 14–18, 2027 (conference March 15–18), San Jose McEnery Convention Center and venues across San Jose | October 4–7, 2027, Moscone Center, San Francisco | May 24–27, 2027, Music City Center, Nashville | June 8–10, 2027 (expo June 9–10), Santa Clara Convention Center | June 14–17, 2027 (expo June 15–17), Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center |
| How you get space | Through NVIDIA sponsor and exhibitor packages | Exhibit and sponsor packages through the Open Compute Project Foundation; 2027 rates are not confirmed yet | Booths through Informa’s sales team; 2027 rates are not confirmed yet | Expo booths, plus a Startup Zone for companies 5 years old or less with under $1 million in sales | Expo booths; the 20,000 sq ft AWE Playground takes demos by application |
| Same stretch | NVIDIA also runs GTC Washington, D.C., November 30–December 3, 2026 | embedded world North America in Long Beach the week after, October 12–14 | DCD Connect New York and AutoSens USA the week before, May 17–20 | The 7x24 Exchange spring conference in Orlando, June 6–9, overlaps | Sensors Converge in Santa Clara the week before, June 8–10 |
| Watch out for | NVIDIA’s FAQ gives March 14–18 and the homepage March 15–18, so plan around the conference days | The summit moves from San Jose to San Francisco starting in 2027 | The show moves from Washington, D.C. (2026) to Nashville for 2027 | Short expo days: June 9, 10:00 am to 5:30 pm, and June 10, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm | Startup Pitch submissions close April 20, 2027 |
Figures are each organizer’s own, with the year where the organizer gives one. NVIDIA gives no attendance figure on the GTC pages linked in this guide.
Second lookThe rack & the link
A clean rack with every cable labeled, a link that lights, a board a buyer can turn over in the hand: the details architects notice in the first minute at the booth.
11 THE CLUSTER IS UP. ASK AWAY.
By the figures organizers publish: SC, the supercomputing conference (more than 18,000 attendees expected for SC26, per SC), the OCP Global Summit (15,000 attendees in 2026, per OCP), DCD Connect New York (5,500+, per DCD), Sensors Converge (5,000+, per Questex), AWE USA (5,000+, per AWE) and FMS (4,500+ attendees from 1,750+ organizations, per the organizer). Data Center World had 450+ exhibitors in its 2026 Expo Hall, per Data Center World. NVIDIA gives no attendance figure on the GTC pages linked in this guide.
NVIDIA GTC 2027 runs March 14–18, 2027 in San Jose, California, at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and venues throughout San Jose. The conference days are March 15–18; NVIDIA’s FAQ gives March 14–18 and the GTC homepage March 15–18.
Yes, through NVIDIA’s sponsor and exhibitor packages. Exhibitors are server, GPU system, networking, storage, cooling, robotics and AI software companies from the NVIDIA ecosystem. NVIDIA GTC Washington, D.C. (November 30–December 3, 2026, Ronald Reagan Building) also sells expo presence through sponsor packages.
November 30–December 3, 2026 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Workshops are November 30, the keynote is December 1, and the conference and expo run December 1–3, per NVIDIA.
October 4–7, 2027 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. The summit moves from San Jose to San Francisco starting in 2027. The 2026 summit brought 15,000 attendees to San Jose, a 38% increase over the 10,835 who attended in 2025, per OCP.
Data Center World 2027 runs May 24–27, 2027 at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. It moves from Washington, D.C. (2026) to Nashville. The 2026 Expo Hall had 450+ exhibitors, and 86% of 2026 attendees were manager level or above, per Data Center World. 2027 booth rates are not confirmed yet.
SC26 runs November 15–20, 2026 at McCormick Place in Chicago, with exhibits November 17–19 and the Grand Opening Gala in the hall on November 16. SC26 is no longer accepting exhibitor applications, so use it to plan SC27; SC27 dates and city are not confirmed yet. In the organizer’s survey, attendees spent an average of 8.2 hours with exhibitors and 35% come from abroad.
AWE USA 2027 runs June 14–17, 2027 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, with the expo June 15–17. AWE cites 5,000+ attendees, 250+ exhibitors and 400+ speakers on a 150,000+ sq ft expo. Startup Pitch submissions close April 20, 2027.
AWE USA, the event built around XR hardware, smart glasses, optics, displays and spatial computing. AWE cites 5,000+ attendees and 250+ exhibitors, and its 20,000 sq ft AWE Playground takes premiere and launch demos by application. AWE USA 2027 is June 14–17 in Long Beach.
Sensors Converge 2027 runs June 8–10, 2027 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, with the expo June 9 (10:00 am to 5:30 pm) and June 10 (10:00 am to 4:00 pm). Questex cites 5,000+ attendees and 200+ exhibitors, with the EDGE AI FOUNDATION Pavilion and a Startup Zone on the floor.
FMS 2027 runs July 27–29, 2027 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. The organizer cites 4,500+ attendees from 1,750+ organizations, 250+ speakers and 100+ exhibitors. Exhibit space is sold with sponsor packages through Terrapinn.
October 12–14, 2027 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center. It moves from Anaheim (September 22–24, 2026) to Long Beach for 2027. It is the U.S. edition of embedded world in Nuremberg, which runs March 16–18, 2027.
February 2–4, 2027 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. New for 2027, the Summit becomes part of SPIE Photonics West and shares the week with the Photonics West Exhibition. It lists 60+ exhibitors in AI processors, camera and sensor modules and vision software.
May 17–18, 2027 at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square. DCD cites 5,500+ senior data center professionals and 180+ exhibitors in power, cooling, compute, construction and services. Four events run together in the hotel, so hotel freight and elevator rules shape the build.
AutoSens USA 2027 runs May 18–20, 2027 at Huntington Place in Detroit, co-located with InCabin. It brings ADAS and autonomous vehicle engineers together with camera, lidar, radar, image sensor, test and perception software companies, with the Global Innovation Showcase.
June 6–9, 2027 at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes. It is a resort conference for data center and mission-critical facility leaders; companies take part through sponsorship packages. The 2027 theme is Powering the AI Surge.
Q2B Chicago 2026 runs December 8–10, 2026 at the Marriott Marquis Chicago for quantum researchers, hardware and software developers, enterprise adopters and investors. It is a hotel conference with sponsor and exhibit packages; the series also runs in Tokyo and Copenhagen.
Five: the Embedded Vision Summit (February 2–4, Moscone Center, San Francisco), NVIDIA GTC (March 14–18, San Jose), Sensors Converge (June 8–10, Santa Clara), FMS (July 27–29, Santa Clara) and the OCP Global Summit (October 4–7, Moscone Center, San Francisco).
DCD Connect New York (May 17–18, 2027, New York Marriott Marquis), NVIDIA GTC Washington, D.C. (November 30–December 3, 2026) and the 7x24 Exchange Spring Conference (June 6–9, 2027, Orlando). Data Center World moves to Nashville for May 24–27, 2027. Our Fishkill, NY shop is close to the New York and Washington events.
Most of these organizers do not publish a public rate card. NVIDIA GTC, FMS and the 7x24 Exchange sell space through sponsor packages, and 2027 rates for the OCP Global Summit and Data Center World are not confirmed yet. Budget for the space or package plus the booth, electrical, wired internet, material handling, labor and hotels. Our booths start at 10×20 with one all-in price in a fixed proposal.
Yes. The Sensors Converge Startup Zone is for companies 5 years old or less, under $1 million in annual sales and under 25 employees, with a product launched in the last 12 months; it includes two staff badges and one conference pass. AWE USA runs a Startup Pitch Competition (submissions close April 20, 2027; pitches June 15) with the Auggie Award for Startup to Watch.
A demo that runs on a wired line, not show WiFi; the hardware itself at hand height (a server sled, a cold plate, a dev kit or a headset); a screen with the live dashboard or the benchmark; power planned for every unit; and a closed table or room where architects and procurement teams talk volume, roadmaps and NDAs.
Yes. We build custom booths from 10×20 up in our Fishkill, NY shop and our Las Vegas shop, with fixed proposals, 30–45 day builds and your own project manager on the floor running the install with the labor the show requires. Since 2015 we have built 10,000+ booths for 3,000+ exhibitors.
12 SPEAK FLUENT DATA HALL
GPU, HBM, CXL, PUE, cold plate, spatial computing. The words architects, facility managers, embedded engineers and show managers use every day, in plain English, so nothing gets lost between the benchmark, the data sheet and the purchase order.
12 MORE TECH GUIDES
Purple builds for the whole tech calendar. These guides cover the rest of it.
Every U.S. electronics and technology show of 2027 on one calendar, with the Top 10, cities and costs.
Open the full tech calendarCES week in Las Vegas, CEDIA Expo, KnowledgeFest, Nationwide PrimeTime! and the hi-fi listening shows.
Open the consumer electronics guideNAB Show, InfoComm, the NAMM Show, CinemaCon, LDI, Display Week and the broadcast and cinema conferences.
Open the pro AV & broadcast guideFiber and broadband, towers and cabling, satellite and carriers, public safety radio: SATELLITE, IWCE, APCO, Fiber Connect and more.
Open the telecom & wireless guideSEMICON West, SPIE Photonics West, OFC, DAC, IEEE IMS, IPC APEX EXPO and the chip, photonics, RF and PCB conferences.
Open the semiconductor guide
YOUR STACK. YOUR BUYERS. YOUR FLOOR.
From the first crate at the advance warehouse to the meeting where the architect signs off on the evaluation, let’s create an AI, data center or XR booth that keeps every demo running, lights every screen the right way and gives your buyers a quiet place to talk. Fixed proposals, 30–45 day builds and your own project manager on the floor.
Let’s plan your AI boothResearched and written by the Purple Exhibits team. Updated November 2, 2026. Show dates, venues, prices and rules come from each organizer’s published pages, linked on every show card. Fit notes, booth ideas and planning tools are our editorial guidance from building booths for ai & data center exhibitors. Listings are not paid placements. The guide covers U.S. business-to-business events plus selected international shows.
Photos: sergio carvajal / Pexels · Darlene Alderson / Pexels · Darlene Alderson / Pexels · Jessica Lewis / thepaintedsquare / Pexels · cottonbro studio / Pexels · Mikhail Nilov / Pexels · Alena Darmel / Pexels · Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels · cottonbro studio / Pexels · cottonbro studio / Pexels · Fábio Lucas / Pexels · Caleb Oquendo / Pexels · Christina Morillo / Pexels · Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels · Michelangelo Buonarroti / Pexels · SHVETS production / Pexels · Mikhail Nilov / Pexels · ThisIsEngineering / Pexels · SHVETS production / Pexels · Michelangelo Buonarroti / Pexels · Christina Morillo / Pexels · Oktay Köseoğlu / Pexels · Josh Sorenson / Pexels · Mikhail Nilov / Pexels · Benni Fish / Pexels · Tara Winstead / Pexels · Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels · Gezer Amorim / Pexels. Booth photographs: Purple Exhibits.
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