ASU+GSV Summit

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Matt Wilkerson, Founder & CEO at Extern; Heather Stefanski, Partner and Chief Learning and Development Officer at McKinsey; Stephanie Veck, Strategic Partnerships Lead, Economic Opportunity at American Institutes for Research (AIR); John Koelliker, CEO & Co-Founder at Leland; and Raymond Sass, Senior Vice President at Lightcast.

The speakers explored how the so-called entry-level jobs crisis has shifted from a headline-driven problem to an urgent opportunity for redesign. They challenged the assumption that early-career talent must arrive fully “ready” and instead examined how leading employers are transforming real work into the primary engine for learning.

The session discussed how embedded learning cultures, hands-on experience, and learning in the flow of work are helping close the experience gap by rethinking how people start, grow, and thrive in their first roles. From redefining what it means to be qualified to redesigning entry-level roles so contribution is immediate and learning is continuous, the panel highlighted how companies can build capability from day one while delivering real business value. Rather than reviving outdated models, the conversation focused on creating new frameworks where potential compounds over time.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Julie Stone, Chief Learning Officer at TTEC; Tigran Sloyan, CEO & Co-founder at CodeSignal; Ken Schumacher, Founder and CEO at Ropes; Nikki Eatchel, Chief Assessment Officer at Prometric; and Jennifer Lee, Partner at GSV Ventures.

The speakers explored how contingent workers now make up nearly 40% of the workforce, creating new challenges for organizations seeking to maintain performance, trust, and culture as talent continuously rotates in and out. They examined how AI is reshaping the contingent workforce through Tinder-like talent marketplaces, rapid skills matching, verification systems, fraud detection, and real-time performance signals.

The session discussed what it takes for contingent workers to be effective from day one, how skills-based hiring and assessment must evolve in a world defined by constant churn, and what this shift means for organizational culture, accountability, and long-term capability building. Through this conversation, the panel highlighted how employers can move beyond disposable labor models to build trust, quality, and alignment in an increasingly contingent workforce.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Vishaal Gupta, President, Enterprise Learning & Skills at Pearson PLC; Lydia Logan, Vice President for Global Education and Workforce Development at IBM Corporate Social Responsibility; Anshul Sonak, Principal Engineer at Intel; Guna Jayaraman, Chief AI Officer at Cornerstone; and Lawrence Stevens, Director, Learning & Skills Ecosystem at Cisco.

The speakers explored how, as AI moves from experimentation into widespread enterprise adoption, organizations are discovering that the core challenge is not the technology itself, but rather building the skills and organizational readiness required to unlock its full potential. Drawing on insights from the AI Workforce Consortium, they reframed the conversation from simply adopting AI tools to redesigning work around outcomes by focusing on measurable value created through human-AI collaboration.

The session examined how strategy, skills, and roles must be aligned to support enterprise transformation, while also addressing why individual productivity gains often fail to translate into organization-wide impact. Through this conversation, leading companies explored what contributes to this productivity gap and what it takes to redesign work in ways that generate sustainable enterprise value.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Portia Pratt, Senior Policy Analyst at National Governors Association; Lee Lambert, Chancellor and CEO at Foothill-De Anza Community College District; Kristin Hultquist, Past Chair at MSU Denver Board of Trustees; and Alison Griffin, Principal Consultant at FutureRise.

The speakers explored how Workforce Pell is opening federal funding to short-term, non-degree programs, shifting the national conversation from access to accountability as policymakers and institutions face mounting implementation demands. They discussed how, with the public comment period recently closed and the final rule still pending, policymakers, governors, and institutions are racing to build the approval processes, accountability systems, and data infrastructure required to support this new era.

The session examined where implementation currently stands, what remains unsettled, and what states, employers, and institutions must do now to prepare for Workforce Pell’s launch. Through this conversation, the panel highlighted the regulatory urgency, operational complexity, and infrastructure development necessary to ensure short-term credential pathways can scale effectively while meeting evolving accountability standards.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Destin Mizelle, Roadtripper at Roadtrip Nation; Enoch Ellis, Roadtripper at Roadtrip Nation; Tobias Brown, Roadtripper at Roadtrip Nation; and Jasmine Haywood, Strategy Director at Lumina Foundation.

Inspired by Roadtrip Nation’s documentary Thriving: Black Men in Higher Education, the speakers explored the relationships and supports that help Black men thrive across college, career, and community. Through honest conversation and lived experience, they discussed the role of friendship and mentorship in building belonging, resilience, and long-term success.

The session examined what it takes to move from support systems to opportunity systems, highlighting practical ways higher education leaders and industry partners can strengthen networks, expand pathways into entrepreneurship and innovation, and ensure the next generation of Black men has access not only to education, but also to the connections that sustain representation, mobility, and enduring success.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Hugh Yao, CEO at LingoAce Academy Inc; Max Azarov, CEO at Novakid; Karine Allouche, General Manager, Language Learning Worldwide and Skills GTM Europe at Chegg; and Alina von Davier, Chief of Assessment at Duolingo.

The speakers explored how language learning apps did not simply add AI, but instead rebuilt around it earlier than almost anyone else in education. They discussed how these companies were already building AI-native experiences—including conversational practice, real-time feedback, deep personalization, and continuous engagement—before much of the broader education industry had fully understood what AI-native education could become.

The session examined how language learning companies became the field’s native speakers, fluent in capabilities that many others are still learning to use, while also confronting the hard lessons that come with that fluency. The panel explored how the category previews where every AI-native education company may be headed: explosive growth, intensifying competition, and the challenge of building sustainable businesses when AI commoditizes core features overnight. Through this conversation, the speakers unpacked what language learning’s breakthroughs and market battles reveal about building durable AI-native education companies in an era of rapid technological change.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Justin Wenig, Founder & CEO at Starbridge.ai; Diana Heldfond DiGia, CEO and Founder at Parallel Learning; Vinay Bhaskara, Co-founder at CollegeVine; and Erik Edwards, Partner at Cooley LLP.

The speakers explored how securing a strong Series A+ round is only the beginning for AI-first EdTech companies, as the real challenge lies in successfully scaling within today’s rapidly evolving market. They discussed what has been resonating most with both customers and investors as category leaders work to solidify their market positions.

The session examined how founders are proving unit economics, deepening customer retention, building durable competitive advantages, and staying ahead in an increasingly competitive AI landscape. Through this conversation, the panel unpacked what it takes not only to raise capital, but also to scale effectively and sustainably as AI-first companies navigate their next stage of growth.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Fernando Bleichmar, CEO at Risepoint; Chris Lynne, President at University of Phoenix; Jeffrey Conlon, Chief Executive Officer at Unitek Learning Education Group, LLC; Elizabeth Chou, Partner at Leeds Illuminate; and Adnan Nisar, Senior Partner and Co-Head of Knowledge and Learning Solutions at The Vistria Group.

The speakers explored how the greatest needs in education often exist within the most regulated spaces, where structural barriers can leave major opportunities for impact frustratingly out of reach for private investors. They discussed how federal funding restrictions on non-degree programs, evolving compliance requirements, and broader regulatory complexity have historically pushed private capital away from education and economic mobility sectors.

The session examined how investors and operators are finding ways to break through these barriers through innovative delivery models in underserved communities, technology platforms bridging education and employment, and strategic approaches to navigating policy constraints. Through this conversation, the panel unpacked not only where private capital can invest in education, but also how to navigate regulatory complexity while creating meaningful pathways to opportunity and long-term impact.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Jaime Casap, Co-Founder at Purpose Lab; Alisa Sommer O’Hara, Global Head of Learning & Education Partnerships at Google; Tom Sayer, CEO and Co-Founder at Ello; and Dan Carroll, Co-founder and Advisor at Clever.

The speakers explored how frontier AI labs including Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft have been rapidly expanding their education product ecosystems—embedding AI into learning platforms, building education workflows, and making tools increasingly free, bundled, and ubiquitous. They examined how these shifts are placing pressure on traditional EdTech business models while simultaneously creating new opportunities for startups.

The session discussed where EdTech companies can still carve out durable positions as platform giants double down on education, and how startups can leverage frontier labs not only as competitors but also as enablers that allow them to build faster and smarter. Through this conversation, the panel unpacked where founders should focus, which business models are under the most pressure, and how to build, partner, and scale successfully in an era increasingly shaped by AI platform giants.

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Ron Levin, Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures; Carole Ackermann, Chairwoman of the Board and President of EHL Board of Trustees at EHL Hospitality Business School; Ariel Hersh, Investment Director at SEEK Investments; and Nana Kyei, Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey.

The speakers explored how the capital backing EdTech is changing rapidly as traditional venture models evolve and a new generation of investors emerges. They discussed how operators-turned-investors, family offices, evergreen funds, strategics, philanthropies, and hybrid capital players are reshaping the landscape with different time horizons, incentives, and definitions of success.

The session examined how the EdTech capital stack is being rebuilt, who these new investors are, and what they are seeking that others may overlook. From patient capital and platform plays to impact-driven returns and operational alignment, the panel unpacked how this shift is transforming company-building and what founders need to understand to raise capital, build partnerships, and scale successfully in the next era of EdTech.