Converge by Walmart Global Tech India: What to expect at the biggest retail tech event of the year

The Indian retail industry is going through an unprecedented dynamic, albeit one that arguably has positive payoffs in the long term. The tough circumstances over the last year or so helped accelerate several retail trends (in some cases by 5-10 years), driving rapid adoption of tech and innovation.

As tech in retailing continues to open up incredible opportunities for further innovation, Converge — Walmart Global Tech India’s upcoming flagship event — will help decode what’s next in tech and talent to shape the future of retail.

What’s in store

The two-day virtual event will bring together over 50 industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and influencers to share their perspectives and insights on how to leverage technology to deliver powerful, personal and enhanced retail experiences. Here are some of the notable sessions and speakers from the event.

Nir Eyal on how to build habit-forming products

In an age of ever-increasing distractions, creating customer habits quickly is an important characteristic of successful products. Nir Eyal, the bestselling author of ‘Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products’, has constructed a framework for designing better products and will share his years of research in this presentation. This masterclass gives you a new way to think of the necessary components in changing user behaviour - by studying how the world's most engaging products make users come back again.

Doug McMillon on retailing for the world

Under Doug’s leadership, Walmart is making life easier for busy families and building trust with customers. It is investing heavily in associate wages, benefits and education—including a debt-free, dollar-a-day college program. Walmart is also helping combat climate change and working with suppliers to avoid one billion metric tons of emissions worldwide. Catch his fireside chat on retailing the world, at Converge.

Kurt Keutzer on Artificial Intelligence in industrialisation of ML and DL

Having published six books and over 250 refereed articles, Kurt Keutzer is among the most highly-cited authors in Hardware and Design Automation. The celebrated academician, founder and seed capitalist will talk about his core research on Artificial Intelligence at the panel titled ‘Artificial Intelligence - Challenges in industrialization of ML and DL’.

Ashwini Asokan on the role of AI in retail tech

As a product designer and cultural researcher, Ashwini Asokan, CEO & Founder, MadStreetDen explores how Artificial Intelligence can be brought out of science and tech labs of the world, applied meaningfully and put in the hands of people across the globe. She will be sharing her insights on the panel titled ‘Role of AI in retail tech’.

Manoj Kohli and Subrata Mitra on seed to scale startup funding

This insightful session on funding brings together two greats from the VC community - Manoj Kohli, Country Head, Softbank India and Subrata Mitra, Partner, Accel. Softbank is a global “vision capitalist” that runs the world's largest technology-focused venture capital fund, with over $100 billion in capital.

Accel is a leading global early and growth-stage venture capital firm that is powering a global community of entrepreneurs, having backed companies like Facebook and Flipkart.

Jaynti Kanani on the future of payments and blockchain in retail

In the fireside chat between Jaynti Kanani, Co-founder & CEO, Polygon and Mrinal Chatterjee, VP Engineering – Retail and Emerging Tech, Walmart Global Tech India, they discuss how distributed ledger technology is helping lower costs and speed of financial transactions. It includes deeper analysis into the future of blockchain and its impact on payments in the retail industry.

Dr Geetha Manjunath on decoding the new frontiers of healthcare

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women today, and NIRAMAI has developed a novel software-based medical device to detect breast cancer at a much earlier stage than traditional methods or self-examination. Their solution is a low-cost, portable cancer screening tool that is radiation-free, non-touch, and not painful; and works for women of all ages. At Converge, Dr Geetha Manjunath, Founder & CEO, NIRAMAI will talk about decoding the new frontiers of healthcare.

Sameer Nigam and Rahul Chari on building digital payments and financial services for a billion Indians

PhonePe very recently became the first player to cross the billion-transaction mark on UPI. As the company builds India’s most comprehensive financial services platform, gain insights from two of its leaders — Sameer Nigam, Founder & CEO, PhonePe and Rahul Chari, CTO & Co-Founder, PhonePe — on launching customer-centric products and how to simplify payment flows.

Register now for a front row seat to the future of retail tech

Be inspired by some of the world's most renowned technology disruptors and their insights on modern tech stacks, emerging phygital strategies, experiential retailing and more! Block your calendars and book yourself a front row seat to the future of retail tech.