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The Global Brain Economy Initiative Anchored Four Sessions at Human+Tech Week 2026

From pricing a new asset class to designing brain-positive cities, GBEI used five days in San Francisco to show what the brain economy looks like in practice. The California and Bay Area Brain Economy Initiatives are next.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Global Brain Economy Initiative (GBEI) concluded its partnership programming at Human+Tech Week 2026 this week, anchoring four sessions across the five-day working convening at The Hibernia in San Francisco.

The organizations that endure are the ones that invest early in the infrastructure that enables scale, resilience, and performance. Industrial infrastructure built the 20th century economy. Digital infrastructure built the 21st. The next wave of competitive advantage will be built on something different: the human brain.

GBEI is building the infrastructure for a new economic paradigm, one that treats brain capital as core infrastructure for the future. As AI accelerates, healthier, more adaptive, more resilient brains are the differentiator that will determine which people, companies, and communities thrive. Human+Tech Week 2026 was the right room to make that case.

“The future of the brain economy is being built right now,” said Steve Carnevale, Founding Partner at Blue Ash Ventures and GBEI anchor contributor. “We came to Human+Tech Week to show what it looks like in practice, not in theory.”

What GBEI Brought to the Week

GBEI anchored four sessions across the AGENCY, HOPE, and REACH summits, covering the brain economy from capital formation to clinical care to urban design.

  • May 11, Investor Briefing (3:00-5:00 PM): Pricing the New Infrastructure: The Brain Economy and Cognitive Markets. Steve Carnevale walked a private investor cohort through how a new asset class gets priced into existence, and where the public-private rails are already being built.
  • May 12, AGENCY Summit (3:40 PM): The Brain Economy to Unlock Human-AI Team Intelligence. The session launched the Human+Tech Week x Brain Economy partnership, examining how cognitive and emotional capital are becoming the core drivers of productivity and innovation. Contributors: Megan Henshall (Head of Partnership Strategy & Engagement, Workplace Experience, Google), Brooke Stafford-Brizard (Senior Vice President, Innovation and Impact, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching), and Steve Carnevale (Founding Partner, Blue Ash Ventures).
  • May 13, HOPE Summit (3:10 PM): The Role of the Brain Economy in Advancing Clinical Care: A Paradigm Shift. A panel connecting brain economy principles to healthspan, mental health, and cognitive longevity across the lifespan. Contributors: Susan Armiger (President and CEO, Catalight), Mikele Epperly (Global Integrated Program Leader, Roche/Genentech), and Kelly O’Brien (Executive Director, Brain Health), moderated by Marjorie Morrison (CEO and Founder, PsychHub).
  • May 14, REACH Summit (1:50 PM): Toward a Global Brain-Positive Cities Model. A forward-looking session on how cities can become engines of brain capital, designing urban systems that nurture creativity, connection, and cognitive health. Contributors: Cheryl Healy (Co-Director of Brain Health, McKinsey Health Institute), David Gow (CEO, Center for Houston’s Future), and Jason Ambrose (Studio Practice Leader, HKS Inc.), moderated by Steve Carnevale (Blue Ash Ventures).

What Comes Next

GBEI used Human+Tech Week 2026 to preview two initiatives launching in the months ahead: the California Brain Economy Initiative and the Bay Area Brain Economy Initiative. Both will localize the brain economy through place-based pilots, partnerships, and policy, delivering tangible impact for the populations who live and work here.

The work is moving from framework to infrastructure. The sessions this week were the signal. The initiatives are the execution.

About the Global Brain Economy Initiative

The Global Brain Economy Initiative (GBEI) is building the infrastructure for a new economic paradigm that treats brain capital as core to competitive advantage, community resilience, and human flourishing. GBEI works across academia, government, and industry to develop the frameworks, pilots, and partnerships needed to make the brain economy measurable and deployable at scale.

About Human+Tech Week

Human+Tech Week is the offsite for the future of humanity. A five-day working convening held annually in San Francisco at the intersection of AI and human flourishing. Founded by Nichol Bradford in 2025, HTW 2026 brought together 5,000 contributors across 85 partner organizations and 100+ events citywide, May 11-15 at The Hibernia in San Francisco. Learn more at humantechweek.com.


Media Contact: Rebecca Leung, Director of Marketing, Human+Tech Week rebecca@humantechweek.com | pr@humantechweek.com humantechweek.com | @humantechweek

Joseph Wilson

Joseph Wilson is a veteran journalist with a keen interest in covering the dynamic worlds of technology, business, and entrepreneurship.

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