Akash Accelerate '25: Fueling AI Innovation

[vakaytion]

Akash Accelerate ‘25: Fueling AI Innovation

As Akash continues to expand and evolve, driven by the successful deployment of AI agents and recent breakthroughs in the AI industry, we are excited to start planning for our second annual Akash Accelerate event. This year's conference will be dedicated to exploring the Akash ecosystem, showcasing partners, and featuring prominent thought leaders in open-source AI, energy and compute communities, among other exciting topics.

The following outline details anticipated outcomes, the timeline for GitHub, the budget, and the event location for Akash Accelerate.

Building on the momentum of last year's successful Akash Accelerate, we intend to maintain a similar program structure while considering the higher costs associated with hosting the event in Brooklyn compared to Austin, Texas. Our planned itinerary for Akash Accelerate 2025 includes a comprehensive day of content, followed by a rooftop happy hour reception. To cap off the evening, we will host an exclusive VIP dinner for our distinguished speakers, providing a unique opportunity for meaningful connections and discussions.

Anticipated Outcomes

To measure the success and impact of Akash Accelerate, we will be monitoring the following key performance indicators:

KPI’s	Akash Accelerate 2024 Event Metrics	Akash Accelerate 2025 Anticipated Outcomes
Number of RSVPS	1377	2500
Number of Attendees	342	500

Timeline

1. Github Discussion: Open for one week review and feedback: March 28, 2025
2. Gov Prop LIVE: March 31, 2025 (within a week)
3. Confirm Content and Run of show: April 15, 2025
4. Being Promotion: April 15, 2025
5. Host event: June 23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NYC at Venue, 74Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Budget

Below is the estimated cost of the event, including transportation and accommodations for the OCL team and up to 5 community members to attend the event.
Total Estimated Budget: $320,000

Note: All unused funds will go back into the community pool

[fenilmodi00]

I’m excited about Akash Accelerate '25 and fully support its vision to showcase Akash’s role in AI! To help the community align with this effort, could the team @vakaytion kindly share a more detailed budget breakdown? For example, how funds are distributed across venue, logistics, and community.

Additionally, would the event be live-streamed like last year? This would be incredibly valuable for global members unable to attend in person but eager to participate.

[vakaytion]

Good Morning Fenli,
YES we will definitely be live-streaming the event in full this year again. The community hosted many watch parties last year, and we want to allow for that again.

In regards to the line item budget breakdown, the follow is below: Some of the items are inflated a bit as production and supplies in NYC are generally more expensive. As always, any funds that are not used will go back into the community pool.

VIP Dinner: $20,000
Networking Happy Hour: $10,000
Venue: $38,000
Catering: $40,000
Equipment Rental: $30,000
Event Management: $15,000
A/V Rental: $5,000
Furniture Rental: $15,000
Videographer & Photographer: $12,000
Marketing Materials: $5,000
Swag & Merchandise: $30,000
Insurance & Security: $5,000
Hotels: $25,000
Flights: $30,000
Food & Transportation for OCL & Insiders: $15,000
Overage: $25,000
Total Estimated Budget: $320,000

[SophoclesSummer]

This proposal passed on chain on April 28, 2025 by a 76% majority.
https://www.mintscan.io/akash/proposals/289

[vakaytion]

Good afternoon Akash Community:
I am sharing the Akash Accelerate 2025 Event Retro Report below

Post-Event Report: Akash Accelerate 2025

Event Overview

Event Name: Akash Accelerate 2025
Date: June 23, 2025
Location: Williamsburg, NYC, 74Wythe
Organizer: Akash Network Marketing Team

Attendance and Engagement

The breakdown of attendees and viewers is as follows:

Category	Number of Attendees
Total Registrants	1844
Total Attendees	303
Total Watch Party Viewers	762
Total LiveStream Views	1900

Feedback and Learnings

Overall feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the quality of the content and the networking opportunities. Specific feedback points included:

• Positive:
  • High-quality speakers and insightful presentations.
  • Quality Event Agency: Rachel Behar Events in Brooklyn
  • Excellent networking opportunities with key industry players
  • Guests were happy with the speakers not being repeat speakers from every conference. Happy with the Traditional Finance and Energy Guests.
  • Excellent Food and Beverage Service
• Areas for Improvement:
  • More advanced technical content for experienced developers.
  • Suggestions for dedicated tracks for specific use cases. (Morning Content be one theme, Afternoon Content be a different theme)
  • Live Media Coverage with podcast booth.
  • Consideration of Sponsorships
  • Paid Event
• Negative
  • AV team was not as organized as I would have liked.
  • Temperatures were very hot.
  • Production misalignment at times

Financial Summary

Projected Expense	$320,000
Total Expenses	$385,927

Recommendations for Akash Accelerate 2026

Based on the success of Akash Accelerate 2025 and the feedback received, we recommend the following for future events:

• Diversify Content: Introduce more advanced topics and specialized tracks to cater to a broader audience. (AI and ML crowd)
• Enhance Experience: Explore options for interactive elements and specific activations. More door prizes and giveaways– things for guests to do in between sessions.
• Sponsorships: Explore options for brand-aligned companies to sponsor the event at a variety of tiers.
• Ticketed Event: I suggest charging a small amount of money for tickets. Guests that pay between $10 and $20 for an event, the show rate is between 85-90% as opposed to a 30% show rate of free events.
• Event Signup: Consider a move away from Luma events, and registration to akash.network.

Digital Assets

Dropbox Drive:
Kenneth Cooper Films- https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/fdcofixpv2xmecvivcmys/ALJM6MEeMC5itaz1_NNmCAQ?rlkey=mxxjdg7rhtg427sw2hxhzec6r&e=1&st=jwxoapsf&dl=0
Tay Photography- TBD

YouTube Livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiVrlo7XJA0

[vakaytion]

YouTube views are + 2.1K