Auto Innovators: The Merge 2024

Join us at the Intersection of Influence. Investment. Innovation.

The automobile has become the critical platform of innovation and investment sparking tectonic change across the U.S. industrial base. The speed of innovation is dependent upon access to capital through investments by institutional investors, public markets, private equity, VCs, and government funding. Today, government policies and regulations are playing a bigger role in shaping future industries than ever before. Where will investors focus as innovation competes for capital? The U.S. auto industry supports 10 million jobs, 5 percent of GDP and pumps $1 trillion into the economy every year. What will tomorrow bring?

Electrification…Connectivity…Automation

From innovations and investments in roads and bridges, to new sensors and communication technologies, to new demands on energy supply, connectivity, data and AI, raw materials, and manufacturing, the automobile has become the global catalyst for the next wave of industrial innovation. How does public policy accelerate investment in innovation or detract from it?

What impact will the 2024 elections have on automotive policy and the environment to invest in innovation?

What are the emerging business models for investment and who are the players bringing those to market?

Find out on December 3rd at The Merge 2024.

MAJOR THEMES:

• Converging Sectors: The Emergence of the New Auto Industry

• Policy: The Intersection of Influence, Investment, and Innovation

• The EV Transition: New Infrastructure for a New Industry

• Competition: The Changing Global Map

• Underwriting the Transformation: Deploying Capital Profitably

8:00am-9:00 am: Continental Breakfast & Networking

9:00 am-9:15 am: Welcome: John Bozzella, President & CEO, Auto Innovators

9:15 am-9:30 am: Industry Keynote Address

9:30 am-9:50 am: VIP Keynote Address

9:50 am-10:10 am:  Break & Networking

10:15 am-11:00 am: Session #1: Converging Sectors: The Emergence of the New Auto Industry

11:05-am-11:25 am: Fireside Chat #1

11:30 am-12:15pm: Session #2: Policy: The Intersection of Influence, Investment, and Innovation

12:15 pm-1:15 pm:  Buffet Lunch & Networking

1:15 pm-2:00 pm: Session #3: The EV Transition: New Infrastructure for a New Industry

2:05 pm-2:15 pm: TIP Talk #1                     

2:20 pm-3:05 pm: Session #4: Competition: The Changing Global Competitive Map

3:05 pm-3:25 pm: Break & Networking

3:25 pm-4:10 pm: Session #5: Underwriting the Transformation: Deploying Capital Profitability

4:15 pm – 4:25 pm: TIP Talk #2

4:30 pm-4:50 pm: Fireside Chat #2

4:50 pm-5:00 pm: Closing Remarks

5:00 pm-6:30 pm: Networking Reception

Session 1: Converging Sectors: The Emergence of the New Auto Industry

Merging. Automobiles are fusing together multiple industries by delivering advanced technologies, faster connectivity, expanded infotainment, greater convenience, and enhanced safety all while undergoing the most monumental transition in its history to the era of electric and autonomous vehicles.

These seismic shifts are impacting many industries in unexpected ways, forcing changes in their core businesses spanning sourcing, design, manufacturing, partnerships, distribution and most importantly, raising capital.

We will explore the impact on key industries, and the US economy overall. How is public policy changing to create government investments that combine with private funding to build the necessary capital to fuel this rapid change.

Gaps will remain. What are those gaps, and who can fill them with innovations and the investment they require?

Session 2: Policy: The Intersection of Influence, Investment, and Innovation

The automotive industry stands at a crucial intersection of influence (policy), investment, and innovation. Understand how government policies are helping to set the agenda for investment and innovation today right across the landscape of innovation spanning industries and technologies.

Stability is key for investment; we'll delve into the importance of policy and regulatory certainty. Explore case studies of how a stable environment, shaped by clear policies and regulations, paves the way for sustained investment in the automotive industry and its related sectors. Hear how the 2024 Presidential Election will influence investment and growth of the automotive industry.

Session 3: The EV Transition: New Infrastructure for a New Industry

The US industrial base was designed to meet the needs of the 20th century, leveraging mass production based on stable global trade and reliable supply chains.  Much has changed. The massive demand for rare minerals for EV batteries, the advent of AI spiking the hunger for advanced microchips, and the need for eco-friendly and lighter weight materials requires a thorough re-design of the US industrial base. Moreover, nations are now investing heavily to develop new sources of raw materials to build secure supply chains as the global political environment becomes more fractious.

No industry will be more impacted than the energy sector.  The mass adoption of electric vehicles greatly depends on private and public investment in a nationwide electrification upgrade to create and deliver more, cleaner, higher-powered electricity directly to consumers. What is the state of the current energy grid to handle EVs, and how will the industry prioritize where to invest? What role will renewable energy play in creating additional supply? Will urban centers have to be retrofitted with high-powered transformers and homes installed with inverters to push more ions, faster into EV batteries?

Session 4: Competition: The Global Competitive Map

The disruptive impact of automotive innovations is starting to redraw the competitive boundary lines of whole economies, their underlying industries, and the consumers they serve. The transition to EVs, the advent of AVs, the power of high-speed network connectivity, and the imperative of climate change are creating new competitive frontlines from sourcing critical minerals, to retooling manufacturing, to onboarding more advanced technologies that create new services.

What about the marketplace itself? The EV transition alone creates a new, high growth industry within an industry, who gets to compete in that market, fairly?

What impact will China have on the global auto industry over the next 2-5 years? How will world markets remain open to fair competition? What is the roadmap to securing the EV supply chain to accelerate the EV transition?

What role does national security play in how countries and companies evaluate opportunities? How will global partnerships and use cases change to meet this new global competitive landscape?

Session 5: Underwriting the Transformation: Deploying Capital Profitability

The dynamic change of the automotive industry is driving innovation across the newly defined innovation ecosystem. Where are the opportunity gaps that present solid investment opportunities for institutional investors, private equity, and venture capitalists? What are the public-private investment opportunities to accelerate innovation?

Discover the emerging use cases for investment rooted in the transformation of the industry and critical automotive technologies. As the new mobility ecosystem takes shape here from our experts as they reveal key areas where investors can capitalize on changing business models, and the opportunity gaps created, opening the door to new investments.