2026 Agenda at a glance
Event Hub: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Teachers College, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027
Bollinger Forum: 601 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027
Track
October 13 features the invite-only StartEd CEO Summit at the Bollinger Forum, and carries over into October 14 for curated 1:1s.
October 14 opens EdTech Week at Teachers College centering on Higher Ed, Workforce Learning and Early Learning.
October 15 centers K-20, educators and investors.
Each day carries mainstages, masterclasses, think tanks, demos and 1:1s; find your track below.
Location
Date
StartEd CEO Summit (Invite-only)
Bollinger Forum, Columbia University
Tuesday, October 13
Who it's for
CEOs & Founders
Private Equity
Strategics & Acquirers
Late-Stage Investors
A closed-door day for CEOs of companies at roughly $10M–$100M in revenue, and the investors,
acquirers and operators who partner with them. Growth strategy, capital and M&A — discussed candidly.
- 8AM - 9AM
Registration & Coffee - 8:40AM - 9:15AM
Kickoff: The Mega-Trends Reshaping Education - 9:30AM - 3PM
Fast-Growth CEO Sessions: PreK-12 at AI Speed · The Assessment Layer · Higher Education's Reset · Selling to the Chief Learning Officer - 9:30AM - 11AM
Leading in the AI Age · Deal-Ready: A Legal Masterclass - 12PM - 1:30PM
Think Tank Over Lunch: The EdTech CEO's Job in 2030 - 1:30PM - 2:15PM
What Private Equity Really Looks For - 3PM - 3:15PM
Featured Talk: The Analyst's View — What the Public Market Knows - 3:15PM - 4:30PM
Think Tank: AI-Enabled Go-to-Market · Inside the Strategic Acquirer - 4:30PM - 5:15PM
Closing Session: Bets for 2027 - 5:30PM - 7:30PM
CEO Summit Reception: New York Builds Education - Oct 14, 9AM - 2PM
CEO Summit Lounge at Teachers College: curated 1:1s across Strategics · PE/Growth · Venture · Foundations
Higher Ed · Workforce · Early Learning
Teachers College, Columbia University
Wednesday, October 14
Who it's for
Higher Ed Leaders & Faculty
Workforce & L&D
Early Learning
Founders
Investors
Policy
Day One opens EdTech Week for 2,000 senior leaders. Higher education reinvention and the AI-native talent
stack anchor the day, alongside a half-day Early Learning Stage and a full slate of masterclasses,
think tanks and live AI demos.
- 8AM - 9AM
Registration & Coffee - 8:30AM - 9:30AM
Welcome to EdTech Week 2026 · Opening Keynote: Setting the Stage - 9AM - 12:30PM
Early Learning Stage: Creating Systems That Work for Kids — the science of early development, community-wide literacy turnarounds, and a fireside on expanding access to high-quality Pre-K - 9AM - 5PM
Higher Ed & Workforce Mainstage: AI governance and the law, postsecondary ROI, apprenticeships and earn-and-learn, the AI economy in New York, and The Dean's Agenda — preparing students and protecting programs in the age of AI - 10AM - 3PM
Outcomes Tank: K-20 - 9AM - 2PM
Masterclasses: AI intelligence layers, content and curriculum operations, courseware and instructional design - 9AM - 3PM
Think Tanks: AI for Higher Ed · Public Higher Ed · Corporate Learning · Rearchitecting the Student Experience - 11AM - 12PM
Higher-Ed Shark Tank · Decoding the Deal: Founders and Funders in 2026 - 12PM - 2PM
(Invite-only) Executive Luncheon · Early-Learning Luncheon - 2PM - 4PM
Capital & Market Dynamics: new funding models, Workforce Pell, platform risk from Big Tech - 4PM - 5PM
Emerging EdTech Awards: Growth-stage finalists ($2-10 million in revenue) pitch across PreK-12, Higher Ed and Workforce - 5PM - 7PM
StartEd Marquee Reception
PreK-12 · Educators · Investors
Teachers College, Columbia University
Thursday, October 15
Who it's for
District & School Leaders
Educators
PreK-12 Founders
Investors
Policy
Day Two belongs to the classroom and the capital behind it: literacy and instructional coherence,
teacher agency and AI, evidence and efficacy, procurement and policy — closing with the
mainstage Shark Tank Finale.
- 8AM - 9AM
Registration & Coffee - 9AM - 5PM
K-20 Mainstage: student agency in the age of AI, school systems to learning ecosystems, the future of tutoring and feedback - 9AM - 12PM
Educator Sessions: instructional coaching, teacher co-design, attendance and early warning, making innovation stick - 10AM - 3PM
Outcomes Tank: Efficacy & Evidence Demos - 11AM - 12PM
Policy & Market: ESAs and the federal tax credit · beyond the test score · high-commitment K-12 partnerships · exit considerations - 12PM - 1PM
Break & Networking - 1PM - 2:45PM
Literacy in the Age of AI · Capital for Capability Workshop · Alternative Capital for Education Companies · From Enrollment to Employment - 1PM - 4PM
Masterclasses & Curated 1:1s: pilot-to-partner, evidence-first product strategy, career-connected pathways - 3PM - 5PM
Featured Conversations: Coding Kids with NYT reporter Natasha Singer · Fireside with Neeru Khosla - 3:30PM - 4:45PM
2026 EdTech Week Shark Tank Finale: global finalists pitch live on the mainstage - 4PM - 4:45PM
A New High School Model: Lessons from Year One - 5PM
Closing
Agenda in development and subject to change. Invite-only sessions require application or invitation.
StartEd CEO Summit (Invite-only)
StartEd CEO Summit (Invite-only)
Bollinger Forum, Columbia University
Tuesday, October 13
Who it's for
CEOs & Founders
Private Equity
Strategics & Acquirers
Late-Stage Investors
A closed-door day for CEOs of companies at roughly $10M–$100M in revenue, and the investors,
acquirers and operators who partner with them. Growth strategy, capital and M&A — discussed candidly.
- 8AM - 9AM
Registration & Coffee - 8:40AM - 9:15AM
Kickoff: The Mega-Trends Reshaping Education - 9:30AM - 3PM
Fast-Growth CEO Sessions: PreK-12 at AI Speed · The Assessment Layer · Higher Education's Reset · Selling to the Chief Learning Officer - 9:30AM - 11AM
Leading in the AI Age · Deal-Ready: A Legal Masterclass - 12PM - 1:30PM
Think Tank Over Lunch: The EdTech CEO's Job in 2030 - 1:30PM - 2:15PM
What Private Equity Really Looks For - 3PM - 3:15PM
Featured Talk: The Analyst's View — What the Public Market Knows - 3:15PM - 4:30PM
Think Tank: AI-Enabled Go-to-Market · Inside the Strategic Acquirer - 4:30PM - 5:15PM
Closing Session: Bets for 2027 - 5:30PM - 7:30PM
CEO Summit Reception: New York Builds Education - Oct 14, 9AM - 2PM
CEO Summit Lounge at Teachers College: curated 1:1s across Strategics · PE/Growth · Venture · Foundations
EdTech Week — Day One
Higher Ed · Workforce · Early Learning
Teachers College, Columbia University
Wednesday, October 14
Who it's for
Higher Ed Leaders & Faculty
Workforce & L&D
Early Learning
Founders
Investors
Policy
Day One opens EdTech Week for 2,000 senior leaders. Higher education reinvention and the AI-native talent
stack anchor the day, alongside a half-day Early Learning Stage and a full slate of masterclasses,
think tanks and live AI demos.
- 8AM - 9AM
Registration & Coffee - 8:30AM - 9:30AM
Welcome to EdTech Week 2026 · Opening Keynote: Setting the Stage - 9AM - 12:30PM
Early Learning Stage: Creating Systems That Work for Kids — the science of early development, community-wide literacy turnarounds, and a fireside on expanding access to high-quality Pre-K - 9AM - 5PM
Higher Ed & Workforce Mainstage: AI governance and the law, postsecondary ROI, apprenticeships and earn-and-learn, the AI economy in New York, and The Dean's Agenda — preparing students and protecting programs in the age of AI - 10AM - 3PM
Outcomes Tank: K-20 - 9AM - 2PM
Masterclasses: AI intelligence layers, content and curriculum operations, courseware and instructional design - 9AM - 3PM
Think Tanks: AI for Higher Ed · Public Higher Ed · Corporate Learning · Rearchitecting the Student Experience - 11AM - 12PM
Higher-Ed Shark Tank · Decoding the Deal: Founders and Funders in 2026 - 12PM - 2PM
(Invite-only) Executive Luncheon · Early-Learning Luncheon - 2PM - 4PM
Capital & Market Dynamics: new funding models, Workforce Pell, platform risk from Big Tech - 4PM - 5PM
Emerging EdTech Awards: Growth-stage finalists ($2-10 million in revenue) pitch across PreK-12, Higher Ed and Workforce - 5PM - 7PM
StartEd Marquee Reception
EdTech Week — Day Two
PreK-12 · Educators · Investors
Teachers College, Columbia University
Thursday, October 15
Who it's for
District & School Leaders
Educators
PreK-12 Founders
Investors
Policy
Day Two belongs to the classroom and the capital behind it: literacy and instructional coherence,
teacher agency and AI, evidence and efficacy, procurement and policy — closing with the
mainstage Shark Tank Finale.
- 8AM - 9AM
Registration & Coffee - 9AM - 5PM
K-20 Mainstage: student agency in the age of AI, school systems to learning ecosystems, the future of tutoring and feedback - 9AM - 12PM
Educator Sessions: instructional coaching, teacher co-design, attendance and early warning, making innovation stick - 10AM - 3PM
Outcomes Tank: Efficacy & Evidence Demos - 11AM - 12PM
Policy & Market: ESAs and the federal tax credit · beyond the test score · high-commitment K-12 partnerships · exit considerations - 12PM - 1PM
Break & Networking - 1PM - 2:45PM
Literacy in the Age of AI · Capital for Capability Workshop · Alternative Capital for Education Companies · From Enrollment to Employment - 1PM - 4PM
Masterclasses & Curated 1:1s: pilot-to-partner, evidence-first product strategy, career-connected pathways - 3PM - 5PM
Featured Conversations: Coding Kids with NYT reporter Natasha Singer · Fireside with Neeru Khosla - 3:30PM - 4:45PM
2026 EdTech Week Shark Tank Finale: global finalists pitch live on the mainstage - 4PM - 4:45PM
A New High School Model: Lessons from Year One - 5PM
Closing
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
EDTECH
WEEK PROGRAM
OCTOBER 14-15
Our flagship festival convening leading and emerging voices directing the industry and cutting through the noise.
Features an unforgettable lineup of insights and speakers— apply to share yours!
PARTICIPANTS CAN EXPECT…
An expanded event hub for all festival programming on one convenient campus
A robust calendar of programming, with dedicated time to network and connect.
Curated tracks and a user-friendly app to customize your experience
STARTED
CEO SUMMIT
OCTOBER 13-14
PARTICIPANTS CAN EXPECT…
Panels, keynotes, private suites, and networking with industry leaders
An intimate convening of transaction-oriented EdTech CEOs, investors, and advisors
Discussions on the future of AI, scaling, leadership, and more.
A program tailored to forge connections between EdTech executives at companies with $10m-$100m in revenue and growth-to-late stage investors, such as VCs, private equity firms, strategic buyers, foundations, and investment banks.
SHARK TANKs
OCTOBER 14-15
PARTICIPANTS CAN EXPECT…
StartEd’s Sharks make investments in 2026 finalists
Prime exposure to investors, evangelists, and distributors
Invaluable feedback and practice to fine-tune your pitch
Pitch your company live, on-stage, to a curated panel of top investors in EdTech and Workforce Learning. Get visibility, feedback, funding, and media attention from this high-energy event.