Monday, November 9, 2026 | 12:00–5:00 p.m.
Huntsman Hall, 8th Floor
The Wharton School, Philadelphia
Within months of the arrival of generative AI, Mack Institute Faculty Co-Director Christian Terwiesch and his coauthors published one of the first studies examining ChatGPT as an “innovation ideator,” launching the Institute’s research agenda on the implications of AI for innovation management. Since then, Institute-affiliated scholars have translated their growing body of research into digital artifacts that demonstrate how AI can reshape innovation tasks, workflows, and strategic decision-making.
This half-day workshop brings together corporate innovation and venture leaders, investors, and startup founders to explore these developments and their implications. Through hands-on experience with selected tools and faculty-moderated conversation among participants, participants will examine how AI is changing the innovation process and what those changes mean for corporations developing and acquiring innovation, startups building new solutions, and investors evaluating emerging opportunities.
Workshop Program
12:00–1:30 p.m. — Registration and Networking Lunch
Participants from corporations, venture capital, and startups will be mixed across tables to exchange perspectives on how AI is changing innovation and where they see the most consequential opportunities and challenges. These conversations will provide a starting point for the workshop and its concluding executive roundtable.
1:30–1:50 p.m. — Introduction: AI Disruption to Innovation Management
Valery Yakubovich, Executive Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management
AI as a force changing how firms generate ideas, organize innovation work, and make strategic choices.
1:50–2:40 p.m. — AI-Supported Innovation: From Tasks to Workflows & Strategic Goals
Christian Terwiesch, Andrew M. Heller Professor; Co-Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management
Lennart Meinke, Applied Research Scientist, The Wharton School
Moving beyond individual AI use cases to examine how AI can reshape innovation workflows and connect them to strategic objectives.
2:40–3:10 p.m. — Coffee Break
3:10–4:00 p.m. — Strategy Development with AI Agents
Matteo Tranchero, Assistant Professor, The Wharton School
Exploring what happens when AI moves beyond supporting innovation activities and begins participating in the development and evaluation of strategy.
4:00–5:00 p.m. — Executive Roundtable: Implications for Corporate Innovation, Venture Investment, and Startups
Scott Snyder, Senior Fellow, Mack Institute for Innovation Management
Valery Yakubovich, Executive Director, Mack Institute for Innovation Management
Drawing on the research and tools explored during the afternoon, participants and faculty will discuss what the changing economics and organization of innovation mean for corporations, investors, and entrepreneurs.
Discussion will consider questions such as:
- Where is AI creating genuinely new innovation capabilities rather than simply improving existing tasks?
- Which parts of the innovation process are likely to be transformed most significantly?
- What do these changes imply for the kinds of startups that will create durable value?
- How can CVCs connect emerging AI innovation management capabilities with strategic needs inside the corporation?
- How could investors and corporate leaders use AI when distinguishing scalable innovation from impressive demonstrations?