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Vivek Wadhwa
Travels From TRAVELS FROM
California, USA
Speaker Fee Range SPEAKING FEE RANGE ** Please note that while this speaker’s specific speaking fee falls within the range posted above (for Continental U.S. based events), fees are subject to change. For current fee information or international event fees (which are generally 50-75% more than U.S based event fees), please contact us.
$30,000 to $50,000
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PROFILE
Vivek Wadhwa
Travels From TRAVELS FROM
California, USA
Travels From SPEAKING FEE RANGE*
$30,000 to $50,000
Email Core Agency Book Vivek Wadhwa
speakers@coreagency.com
  • Influential technology entrepreneur who inspires listeners to think bigger and take advantage of the amazing opportunities that advancing technologies bring.
  • Author of The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent, named by The Economist as a Book of the Year.
  • Founder of Relativity Technologies, which was named one of the 25 coolest companies in the world by Fortune magazine.
  • Named by Forbes.com as a “Leader of Tomorrow” and one of Time magazine's “Top 40 Most Influential Minds in Tech."

Vivek Wadhwa is a Distinguished Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering and a Director of Research at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering. He is a globally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post and author of The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent, which was named by The Economist as a Book of the Year of 2012, and of Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology, which documents the struggles and triumphs of women in technology. Wadhwa has held appointments at Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, and Emory University and is a faculty member at Singularity University.

Wadhwa is based in Silicon Valley and researches exponentially advancing technologies that are soon going to change our world. These advances—in fields such as robotics, artificial intelligence, computing, synthetic biology, 3D printing, medicine, and nano-materials—are making it possible for small teams to do what was once possible only for governments and large corporations to do: solve the grand challenges in education, water, food, shelter, health, and security. They will also disrupt industries and create many new policy, law, and ethics issues.

In 2012, the U.S. Government awarded Wadhwa distinguished recognition as an “Outstanding American by Choice,” for his “commitment to this country and to the common civic values that unite us as Americans.” He was also named one of the world’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine in that year; in June 2013, he was on TIME magazine’s list of “Tech 40,” one of forty of the most influential minds in tech; and in September 2015, he was second on a list of “ten men worth emulating” in The Financial Times.

Wadhwa teaches subjects such as technology, industry disruption, entrepreneurship, and public policy; researches the policy, law, and ethics issues of exponential technologies; helps prepare students for the real world; and advises several governments. In addition to being a columnist for The Washington Post, he is a contributor to VentureBeat, The Huffington Post, LinkedIn Influencers blog, and the American Society of Engineering Education’s Prism magazine. Prior to joining academia in 2005, Wadhwa founded two software companies.

VIDEOS
Keynote Speech
Play Video

Vivek Wadhwa delivers a keynote speech at TiEcon, discussing our “Star Trek future” and why the time is now to become an entrepreneur. Wadhwa extols the benefits of technological advances and believes technologies like driverless cars and advanced robotic personal assistants will become reality sooner than later. After all, as Wadhwa says, “Technology is advancing exponentially.”

Wadhwa is a relatable speaker with subtle humor and lots of charm, making him a presenter a joy to watch and easy to pay attention to. He shares tidbits from his childhood and how he imagined technology unfolding. “We watched Rosie from The Jetsons. These are things we grew up dreaming about and I know when I was young, I used to dream about having Rosie, because I would get into trouble for not cleaning my room.” We never got Rosie—instead getting “stupid Roomba”—but that’s why entrepreneurs should be taking the opportunity that technological advancement offers.

On Google’s foray into driverless cars, Wadhwa says, “You think it’s a coincidence that Google calls their operating system Android? It has big plans. Watch and see what happens over the next decade.” Wadhwa is confident that technology will only continue to rapidly advance, bringing us a brighter future. And it isn’t just about the opportunities that entrepreneurs should take—it is, Wadhwa explains, “about uplifting humanity, bettering mankind.” Wadhwa’s excitement about technology is genuine, and will leave audiences looking forward to our future—a future that may seem inconceivable but is just beyond the horizon.

ON SPEAKING
Vivek Wadhwa I always have people tell me that my talk changed their way of thinking and made them realize what an amazing period we live in.

CORE Agency What do you want people to learn/take away from your presentations?

Vivek Wadhwa
I always have people tell me that my talk changed their way of thinking and made them realize what an amazing period we live in. They begin to realize the opportunities and risks of advancing technologies. They begin to see the world in a different way.

CORE Agency What kind of special prep work do you do prior to an event? How do you prepare for your speaking engagements?

Vivek Wadhwa
In all, I have about 15 hours of speaking content from the two-day workshops that I conduct for executives of billion dollar companies and the university classes I teach. I usually speak to the organizers of the events to learn what their objectives are and the backgrounds of the people who will be in the event and tailor my presentation to their needs. No two talks I give are ever the same because they are geared to the audience.

There is nothing more rewarding than inspiring and motivating other people to work towards making the world a better place.

CORE Agency Have you had any particularly memorable speaking engagements / unusual situations arise while on the road?

Vivek Wadhwa
I always have people lined up after my talks and get emails from the participants telling me how I have opened their minds and changed their outlooks. Parents always ask how they can educate their children on what they have learned. I have had CEOs tell me that my talks or workshops have caused them to change their business strategy. Entrepreneurs thank me for showing them how to think bigger.

This is what makes it worthwhile for me to be doing all this. This is why I give talks and why I teach—because I can have a positive impact on people. There is nothing more rewarding than inspiring and motivating other people to work towards making the world a better place.

CORE Agency What types of audiences would most benefit from your message?

Vivek Wadhwa
My focus right now is business executives and students. That is because they can act on what they learn and improve their businesses or career prospects, but I can also positively impact many other audiences as well.

CORE Agency Which of your keynote speaking topics are your favorites and why?

Vivek Wadhwa
My favorite talks are about using technology to make the world a better place. Yes, I teach business executives how to survive disruptions and rethink the way they innovate, but I have more fun teaching entrepreneurs how to solve global problems and save the world!

That is the beauty of teaching—you learn by sharing knowledge.

CORE Agency What inspired you to start doing speaking engagements?

Vivek Wadhwa
I used to be a technology entrepreneur and founded two companies. We took the first one public and built very successful businesses. Then I had a massive heart attack because I had burnt myself out. I decided to spend the rest of my life learning, teaching, and helping others. That is why I joined Duke University, and later Harvard, UC-Berkeley, Emory, Stanford, and Singularity University. (Yes, I know I may have been asking for another heart attack!).

Most of my talks for the first few years were in academia and then I started receiving requests from business executives to speak at their events. I started doing this about two years ago and have found this very rewarding—because I can have a positive impact on their business strategies and learn a lot from them. That is the beauty of teaching—you learn by sharing knowledge.

CORE Agency How do you keep your audience engaged and actively listening during your keynotes? Do you use case studies, personal stories and/or in your speeches?

Vivek Wadhwa
I speak to the audience as if they were my friends and we were talking one on one. I don’t give canned speeches; instead, I focus on building bonds with the audience and teaching what is of interest to them. My job, when I am on-stage, is to teach and inspire.

CORE Agency What are some of the successes you've helped clients achieve?

Vivek Wadhwa
Nearly every group I have spoken in front of has told me that my lectures were educational, inspiring, and motivational. I know that I have helped them think bigger and take advantage of the amazing opportunities that advancing technologies bring.

PROGRAMS
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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Exclusive Interview Vivek Wadhwa
“Even though this seems hard to believe, we are less than 15 years away from being able to generate 100% of today’s energy needs through solar.”

In this interview, Vivek Wadhwa discusses:

  • How exponential technologies will change every industry faster than we think.
  • The economic consequences that new technologies will present.
  • The future of education and why college matters more than ever.

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