The 2019 Maifest of the Bavarian U.S. Offices in San Francisco took place on May 10 at the Quadrus Conference Center in Menlo Park, CA. 

This year’s edition of the annual conference focused on the “Future of Manufacturing” and was geared towards experts, companies, and strategic investors active in the Industry 4.0, and advanced manufacturing space. Its goal was to initiate collaborations between German and Bavarian multinational corporations and SMEs as well as US American growth- and early-stage startups. Ultimately, the conference functions as a platform providing insights into how existing and emerging technologies like Additive Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Blockchain are disrupting the manufacturing industry and companies dependent upon industrial output.  

Like last year’s event, there was an exclusive matchmaking session for German global manufacturers, followed by an interactive and informative session with keynote speakers and panel discussions. Participants included renowned Bavarian, German and American global players such as BMW, Brose, Bosch Rexroth, Continental, Cloudera, Deutsche Telekom and Dräxlmaier. In addition, numerous American startups and a few tech unicorns were present, including Carbon, 3DprinterOS, MotorCortex.ai, Cryptowerk and C3.ai.

The conference closed with a happy hour with authentic Bavarian beer, wine, delicacies and a traditional Maifest dance (yes, including a Maibaum!). It was the most natural and entertaining way to end this day and everyone could come together to mix & mingle and enjoy themselves.