Bridging Silicon Valley and the Philippines: Announcing the US-PH AI Summit
The Philippines is Asia’s laggard. With AI, the country can leapfrog the typical development path and achieve rapid economic growth.
Thanks to AI’s scaling laws, abundant compute, and the proliferation of open-source models, the Philippines has a rare opportunity to wield a general-purpose technology and tackle the toughest problems.
Think climate-resilient cities, personalized AI tutors for every child, healthcare access or industrial AI to fast-track energy & infrastructure, autonomous fleets, and modern defense tech.
These aren’t unreachable moonshots anymore. They’re tractable challenges for people who can build. So we’re hosting the inaugural US-Philippines AI Summit to bring together leading minds from Silicon Valley and the Philippine tech community.
Our goals are to share the insights & experience of Filipino technology leaders who are building for the world stage, while hosting practical conversations about how AI can be realistically applied to solve key issues in the Philippines
This summit is for founders, professionals, and policymakers who are interested in building and using AI to create a tangible impact on business, healthcare, education, families, the environment, and more. It’s co-presented by:
Join us for a day of insightful discussions and networking.
Register here: https://lu.ma/8lngntby
Agenda at a Glance
Here is a quick look at the topics, speakers, and moderators lined up for the summit:
Opening remarks: Dr. Richard Dasher (US-Asia Technology Management Center, Stanford University) and Philippine Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer.
Keynotes & Fireside Chats:
Sheila Marcelo, Founder & CEO of Ohai.ai. Moderated by Jordana Valencia.
Raiza Martin, Huxe Co-Founder, ex-Google Labs Product Lead. Moderated by Oliver Segovia.
Rey Banatao, Director and Project Lead at X the Moonshot Factory (aka GoogleX). Moderated by Dr. Cris Liban.
Panels: Conversations with Fellows of the Philippine Artificial Intelligence Retreat
Unblocking Growth for Philippine Firms: Featuring Gian Paulo dela Rama (Sprout Solutions) and Beato Bongco (Anycase AI). Moderated by Paolo Malabuyo.
AI in Healthcare: Featuring Dana Kathleen Redeña (Hive Health, YC S21) and Criselle Angeline Peñamante (Harvard Medical School). Moderated by Dr Jeremy Yves Vergara.
AI and Human Capital: Featuring Eugene Rex L. Jalao (University of the Philippines Diliman) and Adrian Cayaco (Stratpoint Technologies). Moderated by Danielle Conkling
Bridging Learning Poverty in K-12: Featuring Allan Tan (Predictive Systems), and JP Madulid (Symph).Moderated by Beryl Chavez Li (Cofounder, YGG).
Detailed Summit Program
12 PM | Doors Open and Registration
1:15 PM - 1:30 PM | Host Welcome & Introduction
Dr. Richard Dasher, Director of the US-Asia Technology Management Center at Stanford University. Dr. Richard Dasher has been Director of the US-Asia Technology Management Center at Stanford University since 1994. He served concurrently as the Executive Director of the Center for Integrated Systems in Stanford's School of Engineering from 1998 - 2015. His research and teaching focus on the flow of people, knowledge, and capital in innovation systems, on the impact of new technologies on industry value chains, and on open innovation management.
Consul General Neil Frank R. Ferrer, Philippine Consul General in San Francisco. Mr. Neil Frank R. Ferrer is the Consul General of the Republic of the Philippines in San Francisco. A career diplomat with extensive experience, he has served in various capacities at Philippine Embassies in Beijing, London, Vancouver, and Ottawa.
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM | Keynote Address & Fireside Chat
Speaker: Sheila Marcelo, Founder & CEO, Ohai.ai.
Sheila Lirio Marcelo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ohai.ai, a startup leveraging generative AI to improve the lives of families. Sheila previously founded Care.com in 2006 and took it public in 2014; she was Chairwoman and CEO until early 2020. She is a Henry Crown Fellow with the Aspen Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
After her keynote, Sheila will stay for a 10-minute conversation followed by a 10-minute audience Q&A covering Sheila's product principles from Care.com to Ohai.ai, her vision for using generative AI to address family needs, building user trust, and advice for Filipino founders aiming for a global market.
Moderated by Jordana Valencia
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM | Unblocking Growth: Practical AI for Philippine Firms
Panelists: Gian Paulo dela Rama (Chief Product and AI Officer, Sprout Solutions) and Beato Bongco (CEO, Anycase AI).
Moderator: Paolo Malabuyo
Description: This session will discuss how AI can simplify regulations, unlock growth, and raise operational resilience for Philippine enterprises and SMBs. The Philippines ranks 95th of 190 economies on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business list, with firms spending an average of 171 hours each year on routine tax and payroll returns. AI workflow agents like Sprout’s “Sidekick” already automate up to 70% of payroll processing, and retrieval-augmented legal copilots like Anycase AI cut legal research time by 75%.
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM | Human Capital in the Age of AI: Academia-Industry Pathways for Skills Development
Panelists: Eugene Rex L. Jalao (Professor, University of the Philippines Diliman) and Adrian Cayaco (Head of AI Engineering, Stratpoint Technologies).
Moderator: Danielle Conkling
Description: The Philippines placed 99th out of 100 countries in Coursera’s 2023 Global Skills Report, and employers face a shortage of about 200,000 workers with advanced IT skills. This panel will outline how university–industry partnerships, curriculum reforms, and talent development can turn this skills gap into a competitive advantage.
3:15 PM - 3:45 PM | Fireside Chat with Raiza Martin
Speakers: Raiza Martin (Huxe Co-Founder, ex-Google Labs) and Oliver Segovia.
Description: Raiza shares the story of developing NotebookLM, a breakthrough Google product for using AI as a personal tool for thought and synthesis, as well as her journey from the Philippines to the epicenter of the AI boom. She’ll walk through the product development process—from initial ideation to launch—highlighting the challenges of integrating AI into a user-friendly tool and the strategies that made it successful.
3:45 PM - 4:15 PM | AI Strategies to Expand Healthcare Access and Reduce Costs
Panelists: Dana Kathleen Redeña (Engineering Lead, Hive Health) and Criselle Angeline Peñamante (Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery, Harvard Medical School).
Moderator: Dr. Jeremy Yves Vergara.
Description: With three in five Filipinos lacking private medical insurance, this panel will map a realistic AI road-map toward accessible, equitable healthcare. It will explore how AI-powered adjudication engines, interoperable data layers, and digital mental-health platforms can cut administrative overhead, personalize care, and extend affordable services to millions.
4:15 PM - 4:45 PM | Bridging Learning Poverty: How AI Can Lift Philippine K-12 Outcomes
Panelists: Allan Tan (Founder / Chief AI Scientist, Predictive Systems), JP Madulid (Deputy CEO, Symph).
Moderator: Beryl Chavez Li (Cofounder, YGG).
Description: Nine in ten Filipino 10-year-olds cannot read and understand a simple story. The panel will discuss how to build education products, teacher-first workflows, and public-sector partnerships that can scale early wins into system-wide gains for Philippine K-12 education.
4:45 PM - 5:15 PM | Fireside Chat: Rey Banatao on X’s Moonshot for Circularity
Speakers: Rey Banatao (Director / Project Lead at X, the Moonshot Factory) and Dr. Cris Liban.
Description: Rey leads X’s Moonshot for Circularity, an ambitious project aiming to transform global waste into valuable resources, initially focusing on plastics. With the Philippines producing 2.7 million tonnes of plastic waste each year, this chat will explore how circularity technology could help address this crisis. Rey, a Young Global Leader recognized by the World Economic Forum, has co-founded and scaled materials science companies.
5:15 PM - 5:30 PM | Closing Address
Speaker: Dr. Cris Liban, PhilDev Foundation Board Chair & Chief Sustainability Officer, Los Angeles County Transport Authority.
🔗 Register to attend in-person here: https://lu.ma/8lngntby
🔗Joining virtually? Register via Zoom.
Thank you again for having me! The conversation was so impactful & the community was wonderful.