Click here to buy tickets.

The post TechFest appeared first on CHM.

On April 1, 1976, Apple Computer was founded with a radical idea: that powerful computing should be personal. Fifty years later, Apple stands as one of the most influential technology companies in history—shaping not only products, but culture, design, and how billions of people interact with technology every day.

Join the Computer History Museum for a special CHM Live evening celebrating Apple’s first half-century, featuring a conversation with leaders who helped guide the company through pivotal moments of reinvention, growth, and global impact. From the early garage days of the 1970s, to the heyday of the Macintosh in the 1980s, to Apple’s transformation in the 2000s with the iPhone, the program will explore how Apple repeatedly redefined itself while holding fast to a distinctive vision.

Join us for a landmark anniversary celebration as only CHM does it, honoring one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies, fifty years in to its continuing history-making legacy.

What You’ll Experience:

• A panel moderated by legendary journalist and bestselling author on all things Apple, David Pogue, whose new book Apple: The First 50 Years, releases March 10. (CHM’s event marks the first event on his book tour!)
• Speakers from across the eras of Apple history, including giants like former Apple CEO John Sculley, Senior Employee Chris Espinosa, former Senior Vice President (SVP) of Hardware Engineering Jon Rubinstein (by video), and former Chief Software Technology Officer and SVP of Software Engineering Avie Tevanian.
• Reflect on the ideas, decisions, and people that shaped Apple’s stunning trajectory—and reflect on the incredible impact of a company that dared to “Think Different” and truly made a dent in the universe.

Agenda

5:30 p.m.
Member Reception Check-in Opens

6 p.m.
Member Reception

7 p.m.
Program

8:15 p.m.
Book Signing

The post Apple at 50 appeared first on CHM.

Online dating is a fast growing $9+ billion industry, and that’s just humans seeking humans! Dating AIs are already generating billions and growing at 25% a year. Join us for a conversation that will investigate how computers have changed how we live and love today and what changes might be coming tomorrow.

Here’s what you’ll experience:

• Explore the evolution of digitally assisted romance from early computer dating to modern AI-driven platforms.
• Examine how technology has changed the meaning of love, sex, romance, family, and human connection.
• Learn about business models for digital connection across different eras.

Agenda 

6:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Program

The post Algorithms of Love appeared first on CHM.

Whether you’re an expert, student, or simply curious, how can you truly grasp what is happening in computing? One powerful answer has endured: “Read a book!”

In Readme, historian W. Patrick McCray explores how influential books shaped the trajectory of computing innovations and ideas that echo in the current AI revolution.

Here’s what you’ll experience at this fireside chat with the author:

• A literary history of computing through bestsellers like Giant Brains, Cybernetics, Computer Lib/Dream Machines, The Big Score, Microcosm, DOS for Dummies, and more.
• Insights into how these books didn’t just explain technology but also inspired visions that transformed computing.
• A fresh perspective on how a centuries-old technology remains a force for change and understanding.

Agenda 

6:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

7 p.m.
Program

8:20 p.m.
Book Signing

The post Read Me appeared first on CHM.

With the growth of modern AI, we’re seeing a robotics renaissance. Humanoid robots are stepping out of science fiction and into our daily lives. But what does that mean for us?

Join industry innovators as we explore how these machines are reshaping our expectations of technology, companionship, and what a healthy relationship with technology might look like.

Here’s what you’ll experience:

• Insights from leading experts.
• A deep dive into how humanoid robots redefine what it means to be a “robot” and how we might live alongside them.
• Opportunities to ask questions and engage with thought leaders who are shaping the future.

Agenda 

6:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Program

The post The Future of Humanoid Robots appeared first on CHM.

Pixar’s IPO roadshow in November 1995 was a high-wire act. Two weeks before the premiere of Toy Story—the first feature-length computer-animated film—Steve Jobs barnstormed the country with hand-picked investment bankers, trying to sell Wall Street on his $50 million passion project.

Besides a volatile CEO and skeptical investors, what could go wrong?

How about a company with no revenues, no feature film track record, and a blizzard in New York that forced an all-night drive to Boston to save the roadshow? Instead of his first or second choices, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, Jobs had to work with Robertson Stephens, Hambrecht & Quist, and Cowen.

Defying expectations, Toy Story opened to rave reviews and boffo box office. Just days later, Pixar stock exploded from $22 to $39 on its first day of trading, becoming 1995’s largest IPO and vindicating Jobs with a billion-dollar fortune while cementing his visionary reputation.

Pixar’s IPO turned out to be a watershed moment in the history of digital technology and finance, demonstrating that institutional investors had developed an appetite for pre-revenue companies whose technology promised to reshape entire industries. The deal also marked the rise of boutique West Coast investment banks like H&Q and Robertson (two of what became the legendary “Four Horsemen”) who saw emerging growth opportunities that their bulge bracket New York competitors missed.

30 years later, join the Computer History Museum for a special CHM Live program with the dealmakers who defied the odds: Lawrence Levy (Pixar CFO), Mike McCaffery (Robertson Stephens CEO), and Cristina Morgan (Hambrecht & Quist Head of Technology Investment Banking). Hear the untold stories behind one of Silicon Valley’s most improbable successes from the individuals who made history happen.

Coproducers

Paul Noglows
Ex-Hambrecht & Quist; Coauthor, forthcoming book on H&Q and Robertson Stephens

Paul Noglows is coauthoring a book with JP Mark about two legendary SF-based investment banks—Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q) and Robertson Stephens—as seen through the lens of one of their most important deals: the IPO of Pixar in 1995. Paul Noglows, a former journalist, left Variety to help launch Inter@ctive Week in 1994, covering emerging digital technologies, including the commercial Internet. As a digital media and internet analyst at H&Q in the late 1990s, he helped explain, define, and fund the internet. He was recognized as “Best on the Street” in both Entertainment and Internet by First Call/The Wall Street Journal.

JP Mark
Ex-Robertson Stephens; Coauthor, forthcoming book on H&Q and Robertson Stephens

JP Mark is coauthoring a book with Paul Noglows about two legendary SF-based investment banks—Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q) and Robertson Stephens—as seen through the lens of one of their most important deals: the IPO of Pixar in 1995. Mark was a research analyst at Robertson, Stephens & Company, and Montgomery Securities. He is currently a finance professor and writer who teaches at Golden Gate University. His published works as an author, coauthor, and collaborator include The Empire Builders, Brain Power, and other works.

Agenda

5:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Program

Sponsorship

This program is made possible by the generous support of J.P. Morgan.

The post To Infinity and Beyond appeared first on CHM.

How did Taiwan ascend to such great heights in high-tech manufacturing? Honghong Tinn, author of Island Tinkerers, shares the fascinating history of how hobbyists and enthusiasts in Taiwan helped transform the country through innovative and creative computer use. 

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• Why the stereotype that “the West innovates, and the East imitates” is false!
• The central role of National Chiao-Tung University in creating Taiwan’s computer industry.
• How Taiwanese engineers tinkering with “black-boxed” computers provided through international aid in the 1960s led to a dream of making computers of their own.
• How these inventive efforts laid the foundation for Taiwanese global tech giants like Acer, Asus, Quanta, and TSMC.

You can catch the full program here and enjoy reading the blog recap here.

The post Taiwan Rising appeared first on CHM.

There’s no denying we’re living through an AI boom. But, despite the hype, AI is far from an overnight success. The story of AI is a rollercoaster of both booms and busts stretching back many decades. 

What You’ll Experience:

• CHM Internet History Program Director and Curator Marc Weber will lead a conversation with three pioneers who have each navigated—and helped shape—distinct eras of AI innovation, exploring the hype and disappointment that has characterized AI’s history and offering lessons for today.

The AI Entrepreneurs:

• Jerry Kaplan, cofounder of Teknowledge, the publicly traded AI company that helped ignite the 1980s expert systems boom. He wrote Startup: A Silicon Valley Adventure about his next company, pioneering mobile maker GO Corporation.
• Adam Cheyer, cofounder of Siri, the groundbreaking intelligent assistant later acquired by Apple, and Viv Labs, acquired by Samsung. Cheyer’s work has been instrumental in bringing what is now called agentic AI to mainstream consumers. He most recently served as VP of AI Experience at Airbnb.
• Daniela Rus is a robotics luminary and cofounder of Liquid AI. In 2023 she began building products around a potentially more flexible AI approach called liquid neural networks. She is Director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and has cofounded three other companies.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights from leading figures who have witnessed and influenced AI’s evolution firsthand. Join us for an engaging evening bridging the past, present, and future of AI.

Agenda 

6:30 p.m.
Check-in Opens

7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.
Program

Sponsorship

This program is made possible by the generous support of Mark and Mary Stevens.

The post This Time It’s Different appeared first on CHM.