AGENDA

The agenda for Upscale SF, taking place June 3-4, 2026 in San Francisco. Two days packed with talks, workshops, and networking opportunities exploring AI, design, and creativity.

DAY 1
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026
Starts Main stage Workshops
8:00 AM
8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Check-In + Welcome Coffee
9:30 AM

9:30 AM – 9:50 AM

Opening

Linus Ekenstam
9:50 AM

9:50 AM – 10:20 AM

Joaquín Cuenca
10:20 AM

10:20 AM – 10:50 AM

Dar Sleeper
10:50 AM
10:50 AM – 11:20 AM Coffee Break
11:20 AM

11:20 AM – 11:55 AM

Niceaunties

11:20 AM – 12:50 PM

Workshop

By Magnific
11:55 AM

11:55 AM – 12:25 PM

Noah Wagner
12:25 PM

12:25 PM – 1:55 PM

Lunch
12:50 PM
1:30 PM

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM

Unlocking AI for E-commerce

Jamey Gannon
1:55 PM

1:55 PM – 2:55 PM

Kevin Roose & Casey Newton
2:30 PM
2:55 PM
2:55 PM – 3:25 PM Coffee Break
3:25 PM

3:25 PM – 3:55 PM

Paul Trillo

3:25 PM – 4:25 PM

From Character to Voiced Narrative: Live in Magnific Spaces

Julien Durand
3:55 PM

3:55 PM – 4:30 PM

Martin LeBlanc
4:25 PM
4:30 PM

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Closing

Linus Ekenstam
5:00 PM
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Happy Hour
DAY 2
Thursday, June 4th, 2026
Starts Main stage Workshops
8:00 AM
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Check-In + Welcome Coffee
9:00 AM

9:00 AM – 9:20 AM

Opening

Linus Ekenstam
9:20 AM

9:20 AM – 9:50 AM

Eliza McNitt

9:20 AM – 10:20 AM

Workshop

Paige Bailey
9:50 AM

9:50 AM – 10:20 AM

Henry Daubrez
10:20 AM
10:20 AM – 10:50 AM Coffee Break
10:50 AM

10:50 AM – 11:25 AM

Nik Kleverov & Billy Bohan Chinique

10:50 AM – 11:50 AM

Workshop
11:25 AM

11:25 AM – 11:55 AM

Remixing the Latent Space

Curt Cameruci
11:50 AM
11:55 AM
11:55 AM – 1:25 PM Lunch
1:25 PM

1:25 PM – 2:00 PM

TBD

1:25 PM – 2:25 PM

What Happens When AI Generation Goes Real-Time

Mikhail Avady
2:00 PM

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM

Jassica Bouvier + Thomas Squire

Area 17
2:25 PM
2:30 PM
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM Coffee Break
3:00 PM

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Panel

Joanna Popper, Kavan the Kid, Javi Lopez, Christina Lee Storm

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Workshop

by Alibaba with Paige Piskin
3:30 PM

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM

Closing

Linus Ekenstam
4:00 PM
5:00 PM
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM After Party by Alibaba

Opening

Linus Ekenstam

9:30 AM – 9:50 AM, Main stage

Joaquín Cuenca

Joaquín Cuenca

9:50 AM – 10:20 AM, Main stage

Dar Sleeper

Dar Sleeper

10:20 AM – 10:50 AM, Main stage

Niceaunties

Niceaunties

11:20 AM – 11:55 AM, Main stage

Workshop

By Magnific

11:20 AM – 12:50 PM, Workshops

Noah Wagner

Noah Wagner

11:55 AM – 12:25 PM, Main stage

Lunch

12:25 PM – 1:55 PM, Main stage

Unlocking AI for E-commerce

Jamey Gannon

1:30 PM – 2:30 PM, Workshops

Intermediate skill level. Designers, Marketers, E-commerce Operators

Learn how to produce a complete suite of high-performing e-commerce assets with AI, from product photography and paid ads to UGC and cohesive brand visuals. You’ll learn how to create any e-commerce asset, for web, social, email, or in real life use, built entirely from scratch using AI.

Kevin Roose & Casey Newton

1:55 PM – 2:55 PM, Main stage

From Character to Voiced Narrative: Live in Magnific Spaces

Julien Durand

3:25 PM – 4:25 PM, Workshops

Beginner to intermediate AI creators

A live, from-scratch build inside Spaces. We start by generating a single source image that defines a scene and character in a specific art style, then derive a headshot and a character sheet for consistency. In parallel, we generate a storyboard using the built-in tool in Spaces. From there, we produce the video clips inside Spaces, referencing the storyboard and the character sheet, with each clip continuing from the last. Voiceover is layered in where the story calls for it. The clips chain into a complete narrative arc, with the assistant LLM node guiding the prompting throughout. Everything runs in the browser. Who is this workshop best for? (AI skill level + industry / roles) Beginner to intermediate AI creators, with a strong fit for filmmakers, AI storytellers, and narrative-focused content creators who want a repeatable pipeline for taking a single source image and building it into a voiced narrative short. Also useful for animators, art directors, and motion designers exploring character-consistent storytelling. Comfortable with basic prompting helps but is not required. Bring a laptop if you want to build along. You will learn how to generate a strong source image that defines a scene and character in a specific art style, then build the full narrative pipeline live and from scratch: deriving a headshot and character sheet for consistency, generating a parallel storyboard inside Spaces, producing the video clips with continuity references back to the storyboard and character sheet, layering in voiceover, and chaining everything into a complete narrative arc with the assistant LLM node guiding the prompting throughout. You walk away with a finished narrative short and the Space you built yourself, ready to reuse on future projects.

Paul Trillo

Paul Trillo

3:25 PM – 3:55 PM, Main stage

Martin LeBlanc

Martin LeBlanc

3:55 PM – 4:30 PM, Main stage

Closing

Linus Ekenstam

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM, Main stage

Opening

Linus Ekenstam

9:00 AM – 9:20 AM, Main stage

Workshop

Paige Bailey

9:20 AM – 10:20 AM, Workshops

Eliza McNitt

Eliza McNitt

9:20 AM – 9:50 AM, Main stage

Henry Daubrez

Henry Daubrez

9:50 AM – 10:20 AM, Main stage

Nik Kleverov & Billy Bohan Chinique

10:50 AM – 11:25 AM, Main stage

Workshop

10:50 AM – 11:50 AM, Workshops

Remixing the Latent Space

Curt Cameruci

11:25 AM – 11:55 AM, Main stage

Exploring the middle ground of culture through AI tools to create art.

TBD

1:25 PM – 2:00 PM, Main stage

What Happens When AI Generation Goes Real-Time

Mikhail Avady

1:25 PM – 2:25 PM, Workshops

Designers and developers

AI image generation didn't get faster overnight - it went through a revolution. Mikhail Avady, CEO of Prodia, traces the history of AI inference and shows what becomes possible when latency drops below 500ms: new tools, new workflows, and a fundamentally different creative experience. Designers and developers What they'll learn: A clear, memorable mental model of how AI inference has evolved and why speed is the defining variable in 2026. 2. Real use cases that only become possible at real-time speeds (live creative tools, instant personalization, interactive generation). 3. How to think about prompting, iteration, and model selection in practice. 4. Every attendee creates something during the session using Prodia + Freepik tools - leaving with a tangible output and an API key to keep going.

Jassica Bouvier + Thomas Squire

Area 17

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM, Main stage

Workshop

by Alibaba with Paige Piskin

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM, Workshops

Panel

Joanna Popper, Kavan the Kid, Javi Lopez, Christina Lee Storm

3:00 PM – 3:30 PM, Main stage

Closing

Linus Ekenstam

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM, Main stage