The Journey from Research to Reality Comes to Life at NTT’s Upgrade 2026

NTT to spotlight the evolution of global technology breakthroughs from scientific discoveries to real-world applications at its annual research and innovation summit

News Highlights:

• Under the theme “Research to Reality,” NTT’s Upgrade 2026 will showcase key science, technology and business innovations, exploring the latest and greatest research and innovation from NTT companies worldwide.
• The two-day event will take place on April 15-16, 2026, at the Signia by Hilton in San Jose, CA and will showcase more than 30 exhibits, keynotes and panel discussions featuring prominent thought leaders, visionaries, innovators and developers from the worlds of science, technology and business.
• Topic areas will focus on NTT Research 2.0, exploring the evolution of the company’s commitment to translate scientific discoveries and innovative concepts into real-world products and systems.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NTT Research, Inc., a division of NTT (TYO:9432), today announced the return of Upgrade 2026 to Silicon Valley from April 15-16, 2026, at the Signia Hotel by Hilton in San Jose, CA. Under the theme, “Research to Reality,” the two-day event will explore the evolution of scientific discoveries and innovative concepts into real-world products and systems. Through a variety of keynotes and panel discussions with prominent thought leaders, the global flagship research and innovation event will bring together a high-caliber community of executives, researchers and entrepreneurs across the science, technology and business sectors to explore cutting-edge technologies developed across NTT’s operating companies. Anchored by an EXPO featuring more than 30 exhibits, Upgrade 2026 will prominently showcase NTT Research 2.0, an evolution of the company’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of science and technology.

“When NTT Research was founded in 2019, our goal was to focus on fundamental research that would one day change our world,” said Kazu Gomi, President and CEO of NTT Research, Inc. “We knew that ambitious goal would take many years of groundbreaking discoveries and scientific pursuits to achieve. Today, NTT Research is at a pivotal point in time where many of our research pursuits are becoming closer to reality, making it essential to evolve into a company with a focus on both fundamental research and commercialization of our research initiatives into viable products and services. That is the goal of NTT Research 2.0. Upgrade 2026 will explore this evolution by highlighting technology innovation on a global level and the critical role that research plays in creating practical, potentially life-changing technologies.”

Upgrade 2026 will begin on April 15 and will feature keynote presentations by Jordan Topoleski of Cursor, Kevin Hague of The Coca-Cola Company and Shweta Maniar of Google. Panel discussions on day one of Upgrade will cover a variety of topics and disciplines, including building trustworthy and safe AI and how AI is transforming the customer experience. In the evening, NTT CEO Akira Shimada; NTT Research CEO Kazu Gomi; Consul General of Japan in San Francisco Kotaro Otsuki; and CISCO Vice President, Energy Networking Systems, Denise Lee, will kick off Upgrade 2026 at the opening reception featuring cocktails and small plates in the beautiful Circle of Palms Plaza in downtown San Jose.

Day two of Upgrade 2026 on April 16 will feature opening remarks, followed by panels on AI, photonics and sustainable data centers. The first panel will explore basic research powering the future of AI, quantum and photonics, highlighting and how partnerships between university labs and industrial research centers like NTT Research, Harvard and Cornell fuel innovation breakthroughs. Additional sessions on day two include a discussion on fault-managed power from CISCO; a panel on intelligent systems highlighting innovation across the technology stack, where AI converges with advanced connectivity, edge and cloud compute, and sensing; and a panel discussion that will examine photonics as a transformative approach to unlock new levels of efficiency, performance and sustainability, and serve as the future reality for data centers. Upgrade will conclude with one-on-one or small group networking and a closing reception.

Upgrade 2026 will also feature an EXPO showcasing more than 30 exhibits on emerging technologies from global NTT companies. Some of the exhibits that will be on display at Upgrade 2026 include: algae breeding for improved aquaculture feed, decoding thought through brain-AI integration, world’s first programmable nonlinear photonics chip, universal wallet infrastructure, a balanced framework for autonomous drug therapy in acute heart failure, AGV route optimization via digital twin and INSpace. A full list of exhibits can be found here.

Corporate partners for Upgrade 2026 include CISCO, Red Hat and 1Finity. Upgrade 2026 academic/association partners include the Stanford Photonics Research Center (SPRC), the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Global Cyber Alliance.

NTT Research invites executives, researchers and entrepreneurs from across the science, technology and business sectors to attend, as well as NTT customers, employees, partners and stakeholders. For more information on the event and to register, please visit the Upgrade 2026 website. To view a complete schedule and panel details, please view the Upgrade 2026 agenda.

About NTT Research

NTT Research opened its offices in July 2019 in Silicon Valley to conduct basic research and advance technologies as a foundational model for developing high-impact innovation across NTT Group’s global business. Currently, four groups are housed at NTT Research facilities in Sunnyvale: the Physics and Informatics (PHI) Lab, the Cryptography and Information Security (CIS) Lab, the Medical and Health Informatics (MEI) Lab, and the Physics of Artificial Intelligence (PAI) Group. The organization aims to advance science in four areas: 1) quantum information, neuroscience and photonics; 2) cryptographic and information security; 3) medical and health informatics; and 4) artificial intelligence. NTT Research is part of NTT, a global technology and business solutions provider with an annual R&D investment of thirty percent of its profits.

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