SAN FRANCISCO - LG Electronics has announced its 2022 LG NOVA Innovation Festival, a two-day in-person event that brings together startups, industry experts, investors, mentors and influencers to facilitate collaborative conversations on innovating for the future. The highly anticipated, second-annual event is spearheaded by LG NOVA, the Silicon Valley-based LG North American innovation center whose mission is to find innovative, future-impacting startups and entrepreneur communities to build, nurture and help them grow.
Taking place Sept. 7-8 in the greater San Francisco area, the event will provide learning, mentoring and discussion opportunities covering Digital Health, Metaverse/Gaming, Smart Lifestyle, ESG/Electric Mobility and Open Innovation. The Innovation Festival will engage attendees in thought-provoking keynotes, deep discussions, workshops and interactive activities on these key areas of technology that impact our daily lives. Highlights will include a startup pitch competition, expert panels and dedicated networking hours.
The event headlines two inspirational innovators as keynote speakers – Marc Tarpenning, Venture Partner at Spero Ventures, Co-founder of Tesla and Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen, Founder of OpenWater, and previously Co-Founder & CTO of the One Laptop per Child.
With his fellow co-founder, Tarpenning completely revolutionized the automotive industry with the launch of Tesla Motors in 2003. At the Innovation Festival, Tarpenning will speak on his experiences from Tesla and NuvoMedia – a company that pioneered ebooks which sold to Gemstar/TV Guide in 2000.
Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine and CNN's Top Thinkers in Science and Technology, Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen is a pioneer in imaging, display and computer hardware. Currently, she is taking on brain cancer and other neurological diseases with OpenWater working on fMRI-type imaging of the body using holographic and infrared technologies. Dr. Jepsen will share her inspirational story and approach to thinking innovatively.
"Our goal for the festival is for attendees to connect with LG, corporate and industry experts, accelerators, entrepreneurs and others in the startup ecosystem to discuss challenges in the market and new areas of innovation focused on building a positive, sustainable future for us all," said LG Electronics Senior Vice President of Innovation Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, and head of LG's North American Innovation Center, LG NOVA. "The important conversations that will be discussed at our event reflect our NOVA mission and principle of outside-in collaboration."
Coinciding with the announcement of winners in LG's first annual Mission for the Future startup challenge and the launch of the second LG partner search, attendees at the event will be able to connect with the LG NOVA Entrepreneur-in-Residence team to get the inside track on the upcoming Mission for the Future 2022. This year's submission process opens on Sept.1, 2022.
Registration for the Innovation Festival is open now through Aug. 31; details along with the full event schedule and speaker roster can be found on LG NOVA's website.