At at Disrupt SF, we'll be joined by four experts to discuss how new technologies are changing the field. Those experts include Peter Barrett, founder and CTO and Playground, a venture fund and design studio focused on hardware startups. Barrett is a 30-year veteran of the tech industry, whose accomplishments include developing Cinepak (video compression software that was included as part of Apple QuickTime) and working at WebTV -- which was acquired by Microsoft, where he led Internet TV efforts for more than a decade. We'll also be joined by Helen Boniske, a partner at early stage hardware investor Lemnos. Before joining Lemnos, Boniske was a front office executive for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

One of the best ways to experience Disrupt San Francisco 2018 is for free -- and who doesn't love free? Right now, we're hunting for the best early-stage AI startups to apply as a TC Top Pick. If your company earns that designation, you get to exhibit for free in Startup Alley at Disrupt SF 2018, which takes place September 5-7 at Moscone Center West. AI will be a big focus at Disrupt SF '18, and that shouldn't surprise anyone. Oil fueled the 20th century, but data, AI and machine learning fuel the 21st. Where once mobile strategy reigned, "AI first" is the new rally cry across nearly every industry, and it will only continue to grow.

As artificial intelligence creeps deeper into each and every industry vertical, demand for experienced technical talent only continues to increase. Now online education tools like Udacity and Coursera are being thrust into the spotlight as potential solutions to the problem. But even as course enrollment in AI classes balloons, Fortune 2000 companies are still paying an unsustainable premium for data scientists. We're excited to showcase this ecosystem at Disrupt SF. Both Udacity's Sebastian Thrun and Coursera's Andrew Ng understand the potential repercussions of this trend intimately.

As artificial intelligence creeps deeper into each and every industry vertical, demand for experienced technical talent only continues to increase. Now online education tools like Udacity and Coursera are being thrust into the spotlight as potential solutions to the problem. But even as course enrollment in AI classes balloons, Fortune 2000 companies are still paying an unsustainable premium for data scientists. We're excited to showcase this ecosystem at Disrupt SF. Both Udacity's Sebastian Thrun and Coursera's Andrew Ng understand the potential repercussions of this trend intimately.

The topic of AI has been a primary focus for Intel's Brian Krzanich, as he works to expand the chipmaker's scope from PCs to the next generation of technology breakthroughs. Intel's Chief Executive will be joining us on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2017 in September to discuss the company's recent massive investments in AI, from multibillion dollar acquisitions to the formation of the Artificial Intelligence Products Group, which reports directly to Krzanich. Intel's CEO has been extremely bullish about forward facing technologies since taking the helm in 2013. Along with AI, under Krzanich's watch, the silicon juggernaut has become a leader in developing the underlying technologies that power 5G networks, self-driving cards, drones and cloud computing. It marks a strong contrast from the Intel Krzanich inherited as chief, which was still reeling from a failure to fully embrace mobile.

Because there are lots of very early stage startups in AI and VR/AR, we are offering five companies in each category the chance to exhibit free of charge.