Top Takeaways from Boston AI Week 2025

By Moha Shah Venture Capital Leader | Future of Mobility, Climate, & Insurtech/Fintech | Strategy, Innovation & Digital Transformation

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) continues to make headlines as technology transforms many industries and the future of work. McKinsey’s analysis across 63 use cases in 2023 forecasted that Gen AI could add between $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion to the global economy. Big tech firms such as Google and Microsoft, and scaling Gen AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are striking strategic partnerships and investments to stay ahead of the AI race.

Amid the fast-paced market activity in AI, it can be challenging to detect the signal from the noise. To uncover some ground truths, I recently attended the first Boston AI Week from September 26 to October 3. It was launched by Judah Phillips, a Boston-based technology entrepreneur. There were over 100 events hosted by organizations, including the Museum of Science, MIT, Harvard Business School, GAI Insights, Glasswing Ventures, and Underscore VC. These events showcased Boston’s unique ecosystem at the forefront of AI and innovation.

Boston: A Leading Hub for AI and Innovation

I’ve spent most of my professional career working at Boston-based companies and studied at leading universities in the area. I’ve witnessed the transformation of the startup ecosystem, largely driven by the cross-fertilization of corporate, academic institutions, venture capitalists, startups, and civic groups.

Boston often evokes images of the American Revolution, the Charles River, and top universities such as Harvard and MIT. The city is also a global hub for innovation; it consistently ranks among the top three cities worldwide for its concentration of venture capital (VC) funding. Boston ranks first in biotech, third in AI, fourth in consumer, healthtech, and software-as-service (SaaS), fifth in fintech, and sixth in hardware per Carta’s analysis of VC funding to U.S.-based startups between Q3 ‘24 to Q2 ‘25. Innovative tech companies from Meta to Moderna were founded in Boston over the past few decades.

Source: Carta’s Head of Insights Peter Walker via LinkedIn

Top Takeaways from Boston AI Week

Boston AI Week was filled with thoughtful discussions and learning on the impact of AI. Each event organically attracted leaders from leading corporations, startups, academic institutions, venture capital firms, and civic organizations. Below are my takeaways that I captured from several events.

AI Adoption Among Corporations is Real

During the GAI World 2025, a two-day conference in Boston focused on Gen AI, corporate leaders from companies such as Liberty Mutual, Bain, Apollo Global Management, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Mayo Clinic spoke about how their companies are adopting AI. For example, Liberty Mutual deployed a custom GPT application for its global employees to summarize information and receive answers to common questions. Apollo Global Management is encouraging the adoption of AI tools to drive greater operational efficiencies for its portfolio companies. The speakers and attendees at GAI World 2025 noted that the adoption of AI is real and accelerating; it is transforming the workflows inside companies and how they serve their customers.

AI Literacy Still Lags Across Many Organizations

During sessions at GAI World 2025 and my discussions with industry leaders at Boston AI Week, many of them reinforced the need for upskilling and AI education. Several Fortune 100 companies are embracing popular Gen AI tools, but training is required at all levels of the organization, from the C-suite to junior employees. Several stakeholders noted that having AI enablement teams or AI champions inside companies can help foster AI literacy more quickly.

IT Governance and Ethics Remain Critical in the New Era of AI

As with many new technologies, AI poses increased cyber risks. During a panel at GAI World 2025, several Chief Information Officers discussed the importance of having for companies of all sizes to have strong posture on AI governance, data security, and privacy as AI tools are used and deployed to users externally. Many of my conversations also raised the importance of critical thinking skills to assess the outputs of popular Gen AI tools, whether used for personal or work tasks. Additionally, discussions centered around the need for users across different industries to remain vigilant of the outputs of AI tools and AI agents in the market.

Diverse Leadership Matters as AI Transforms Industries

I attended Women Applying AI’s launch event and a breakfast at GAI World 2025 for women in AI. Both events attracted many women who are interested in AI for different reasons – to learn about AI’s impact on their careers, build new ventures, or invest in AI startups. Speakers emphasized that women and diverse voices are needed as builders, investors, and leaders to ensure equity, inclusion, and innovation. Many of my discussions centered on the importance of staying informed about AI developments and upskilling as AI reshapes many industries.

AI Agents Will Reshape the Future of Work

AI agents were a popular topic during Boston AI Week. Many questions were raised about them including: What are AI agents, and how will they reshape the future of work?

AI agents are designed to perform tasks autonomously; you can check out Google’s overview of AI agents for a more in depth look at what they are and how they work. Many companies are building AI agents and deploying them. Visa, for example, envisions a future of commerce that allows AI agents to seamlessly book and pay for transactions on behalf of users.

During panel discussions at GAI World, executives from companies such as Bain and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan shared how they’re building and deploying AI agents across their organizations. Also, MIT Professor and MIT Media Lab Director Ramesh Raskar delivered an insightful presentation with his vision for a more secure, collaborative, and decentralized “Internet of Agents” through Networked Agents and Decentralized AI (NANDA). Professor Raskar also shared the chart shown below outlining three phases of the agentic web.

   Source: https://nanda.media.mit.edu/

Beyond the innovations in agentic AI, many new startup ventures with AI at their core are being launched in Boston. Curious about agentic AI? Check out our 10 takeaways from our agentic AI event.

Innovation Among AI-First Ventures Continues to Rise in Boston

Photo by Moha Shah

Boston AI Week offered fertile grounds to reconnect with or meet new startup founders. Many first-time founders and serial entrepreneurs whom I met are excited by the application of Gen AI to drive innovation.

One of my favorite events during Boston AI Week was Demo Day hosted by The Next Thing (TNT), an accelerator led by Harvard and MIT students. During 16 live pitches, the students showcased AI-first ventures that they launched over the summer. TNT’s cohort comprised new ventures using AI to solve problems across diverse industries such as consumer, energy, edtech, healthcare, and manufacturing. Some student entrepreneurs who pitched at TNT’s demo day are highlighted below.

Consumer | Harvard graduate student Beatriz Zanforlin showcased Coral, an AI-powered consumer application that provides users with insights and actionable feedback on their conversations.

Manufacturing | MIT Sloan student Dillon Johnson introduced LineGuard, an AI-powered quality control platform to automatically detect manufacturing defects.

Overall, Boston AI Week proved to be an excellent forum to learn from leaders across the AI ecosystem, connect with stakeholders from Boston’s vibrant AI community, and meet startup founders building new AI-first ventures in the city. Want to continue learning AI in community? Join WOMEN x AI's free membership.