SXSW Reveal Initial Keynote, Second Round of Featured Speakers for 2025 Event

South by Southwest has revealed its initial keynote and the second round of featured speakers for the 39th edition of its annual Conference, scheduled for March 7-15 in Austin, Texas.

Leading the charge is the Conference’s Keynote Speaker, IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna, who will lead From Sci-Fi to Society: The Next Era of AI and Quantum Computing as he looks past the “sci-fi hype” surrounding the titular subjects and instead focuses on their real-world advantages.

“Exploring the benefits of new advances in technology while addressing their potential challenges represents a core part of the SXSW experience we curate each year,” said Hugh Forrest, Co-President and Chief Programming Officer in a statement.

“We are excited to announce Arvind Krishna as our first Keynote Speaker of the 2025 season. His session on the convergence of AI and quantum computing will cover what this monumental shift in technology will bring to humanity.”

Krishna’s addition to SXSW coincides with the announcement of Featured Speakers, which include founder and Chief Trend Curator at The Non-Obvious Company Rohit Bhargava who will lead the 7 Non-Obvious Secrets Of Understanding People To Predict the Future session; founder and CEO of EMPIRE Ghazi; director and social media strategist Alex Haraus; author, Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University Dr. Katharine Hayhoe.

The list of speakers also features CEO of Bumble Lidiane Jones; activist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen, WNBA Champion, WNBA Finals MVP, 2x WNBA MVP, 2x Gold Medalist, WNBA Rookie of the Year, and broadcaster Candace Parker; author and music attorney at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman Donald Passman; and author, speaker, teacher, advisor, podcast host, and futurist Rishad Tobaccowala.

Many of these speakers will also be involved the featured sessions which have also been announced today, which include Spill the Tea: A Strategic Guide to Office Gossip with Contributing Editor at the Harvard Business Review Amy Gallo; Cleaning Up Our Atmosphere: Carbon Removal Prepares to Go Mainstream with Climeworks COO Douglas Chan and the aforementioned Dr. Hayhoe.

This new announcement of speakers complements SXSW’s previously-revealed first round in September, which included Dr. Peter Attia, Johanna Faries, Douglas Rushkoff, and more.

SXSW will take place from March 7-15 in Austin, Texas, with full details regarding their newly-announced speakers and sessions available via their website.