The TechCrunch team will be attending SXSW 2025, the renowned tech, music, comedy, and film conference that commenced on Friday in Austin, to uncover the essence of this era dominated by artificial intelligence.

It’s no surprise that AI has already taken center stage, given its prominent presence in the conference schedule. This year, there appears to be a focus on the practical applications of AI in the real world, rather than just speculative discussions about its potential. A cursory glance at the extensive SXSW schedule reveals AI’s ubiquity, both in Austin and globally.

SXSW has a tendency to mirror the current trends and projects within the tech ecosystem, often coinciding with the hype cycle. Various technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, scooters, cryptocurrency, and psychedelics, have all had their moment in the spotlight at SXSW in the past.

The tech segment of the conference began on Friday and will run until March 13, featuring several tracks that align with TechCrunch’s areas of interest, including the creator economy, culture, startups, health and medtech, and energy. Although the AI track officially starts on Sunday, it has already made appearances, with notable examples including Signal President Meredith Whittaker’s on-stage interview, where she highlighted the security and privacy risks associated with agentic AI, and a health expert’s warning about the dangers of excessive reliance on AI for social connections.

Deep tech, including space and quantum computing, will also have a significant presence at the conference, along with climate and sustainability discussions. Notably, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe is scheduled to deliver a keynote on March 11. Furthermore, transportation will be another key area of focus, with autonomous vehicles making a return, albeit in a more tangible form – they’re now on the roads, not just a topic of conversation.

Earlier this week, Uber and Waymo launched a robotaxi service in Austin, allowing any Uber user to access the “Waymo on Uber” service. TechCrunch will be exploring this service and gathering feedback from human Uber drivers on their thoughts about the robotaxi service.

Throughout the conference, TechCrunch will be engaging with VCs, founders, and industry experts to gauge the tech world’s response to the current administration and, of course, to uncover the next groundbreaking innovation. We will also be attending numerous keynotes and interviews with prominent tech and business figures, including Alan Baratz of D-Wave Quantum, Qualcomm President and CEO Christano Amon, Colossal Biosciences founder Ban Lamm, and Arm CEO Rene Haas.

Rest assured, we won’t be all work and no play – we’ll be having some fun too.