“We’re really trying to build an ecosystem where government, business, and investment can merge with technology,” says Josh Rainbow, founder of Future Summit.
Future Summit, scheduled to take place in Calgary from November 2025, is designed to connect investors, government leaders, and innovators across high-growth industries.
Future Summit is focused on curated, high-impact conversations that directly foster business relationships, investment opportunities, and policy development.
Rainbow sat down with Digital Journal at YYC DataCon (where Digital Journal was an official media partner) to discuss how his experience leading YYC DataCon shaped the vision for Future Summit.
“It all comes back to relationships,” says Rainbow. “We’re looking to set up curated conversations and connect leaders globally.”
Instead of just a traditional format with large panels and passive keynotes, Future Summit will also shake things up with featured curated discussions, invite-only networking events, executive workshops and investment-driven sessions. Rainbow says the goal is to facilitate the growth of B2B and B2E relationships.
“We’ll likely have around 10 events and interactive workshops over the course of two and a half days that are curated in partnership with industry leaders like Enverus, Google, Confluent and Databricks to name a few,” says Rainbow. “And then we’ll have around 5 world-class keynotes, 4 thought-provoking panels where you have all our innovators in one room listening to some incredible speakers.”
Calgary’s economic transformation and Rainbow’s role in YYC DataCon
Calgary has rapidly emerged as a key player in North America’s innovation economy, driven by a surge in venture capital investment and significant growth in its tech sector.
According to the CBRE 2024 Scoring Tech Talent Report, the city’s tech workforce expanded by 7.5% in 2023 and by 78% over the last five years. Additionally, the Global Startup Ecosystem Report indicates that Calgary’s tech industry contributed $8.1 billion to the local economy over the past three years, marking a 237.5% increase from the previous three-year period. This remarkable growth underscores Calgary’s emergence as a leading hub for technology and innovation in Canada.
One event where that momentum was on display was YYC DataCon, an annual conference focused on artificial intelligence, big data, and emerging technologies, which Rainbow led as executive director and Board member of YYC Data Society.
This year saw the grassroots event grow by five times, Rainbow says, attracting 2,000 attendees and dozens of speakers.
“We began with the objective of establishing Calgary as a significant tech hub in North America,” says Rainbow. “YYC DataCon has grown to become the largest and fastest-growing data and AI conference in Canada, and our team is dedicated to supporting its ongoing development.”
Rainbow says he will be moving on to Future Summit and a new executive director will be appointed to run YYC DataCon.
Investor interest and Alberta’s global opportunity
Harish Consul, founder and CEO of Ocgrow Ventures, also an advisory board member for the event, added that Future Summit arrives at a time when Alberta’s business and technology ecosystem is reaching a major inflection point.
“Alberta has been the economic engine of Canada for so many years as we know and now leading North America in a number of areas,” Consul says. “It’s become this huge beacon of new opportunity and tech innovation, and this ecosystem is growing exponentially.”
The combination of economic growth, even more friendly policy shifts, and increased investment activity is turning Calgary into a major destination for global players, Consul says.
“It’s really this convergence of a number of factors — economic, business, tech — all happening together. I’m fortunate to speak on behalf of Ocgrow Ventures at many global tech & investor events often, this is what’s missing here in Canada. We have smaller versions of a few tech conferences in Toronto and Vancouver, but we need to scale up in a way that attracts top global leaders who are decision makers with a strong capital base, actively looking for new AI and tech growth opportunities here in several industry verticals.”
Consul says there is significant growing interest from international investors, institutions and global family offices into Alberta.
“We have a lot of interest from other global VC funds and serial entrepreneurs that have already built unicorns, and looking to accelerate their investments here. The focus for this Summit will be on moonshot thinking in new AI innovations across multiple industry verticals with exponential growth ahead.”
And the format of the event is targeting these audiences.
Who should attend Future Summit?
Future Summit is designed for executives, investors, and entrepreneurs working in high-growth industries, as well as policymakers shaping economic development.
Rainbow also emphasizes that the event is not just for established investors and executives — it’s also for emerging leaders, early-stage founders, and underrepresented voices in the innovation space.
Diversity and inclusion are key considerations for the event, Rainbow says, aligning with Calgary’s broader push for balanced economic growth.
The goal is to ensure that innovation-driven growth creates opportunities for everyone and not just those already well-connected in the business community.
Future Summit will provide deliberate access points for early-stage entrepreneurs and women-led startups to meet with investors, policymakers, and industry leaders.
The full speaker lineup has yet to be announced, but Future Summit confirms that several prominent global figures in business, government, and technology have expressed interest, with a few already confirmed. To stay up to date, visit futuresummit.ai/newsletter to join for future updates.
By focusing on direct engagement between investors, policymakers, and business leaders, Future Summit aims to position Calgary as a key location for business and investment conversations.
“Calgary is already a global city,” says Rainbow. “But we’re trying to turn it into a globalist city.”
Digital Journal is the official media partner of YYC DataCon 2025. This the final article in a series featuring the initiatives from people involved in the event.
