SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 30, 2015) - The biggest leaders in the technology arena continue to demonstrate the value they place on having a significant brand presence at MakerCon, the conference by Makers for Makers. Intel reprises its presenting sponsorship from a year ago, and Cisco steps up as a first time presenting sponsor. MakerCon, the preeminent event that brings together leaders in the Maker Movement, takes place May 12-13, at the Palace of Fine Arts.
The big tent that MakerCon provides represents a diverse cross section of individuals who are building the growing business ecosystem that faciliates taking a Maker's product, project or idea to the commercial market. Among them are the manufacturers of core technologies and tools that enable Makers to rapidly prototype and iterate on designs and ideas, as well as the incubators and accelerators that provide an end-to-end business solution for Makers, from early prototype to design, manufacturing, distribution and marketing.
"It's really gratifying that the leaders of the most venerable tech companies see high intrinsic value in carving out a foothold in the Maker community," said Sherry Huss, co-founder of Maker Faire and vice president of event product and operations for Maker Media. "Their sponsorships at the highest level demonstrate to Makers that they understand their fervent commitment to a core set of ethics they apply to their work, lives, and passions, and these have their roots in the founding principles that built many of these companies."
Many of the projects and products are prototyped or built on open hardware development platforms such as Intel Edison. Other core charactistics of the Maker Pro community are the value it places on collaboration, education and learning new skills with and from their peers. As a result, Makers are helping to shape the next generation of engineers through a design and community mindset which is having a far-reaching impact on business, social enterprise, and project-based curricula from K-12 to higher educational insitutions.
"Intel's involvement in the Maker Movement, and the Bay Area Maker Faire and MakerCon events in particular, has been steadfast. Intel takes pride in its history, beginning with some of the earliest tinkerers in Silicon Valley, and in its efforts to forge a better future," said Jay Melican, Maker Czar, Intel Corporation. "Delivering technologies that empower and inspire Makers of all ages to learn, to invent, and to carry on the legacy of DIY innovation is core to Intel's values. Taking their partnership to this new level only further solidifies Intel's commitment to the Maker Movement and their support of the Bay Area Maker community."
"For 30 years Cisco technology has changed the way the world works, lives, plays and learns. We make connections to change our world for the better and create shared success that will benefit everyone. We are committed to empowering Makers and problem solvers with the innovation skills to thrive in the future, by starting today. We are pleased to be working with the Maker community to accelerate digital convergence by empowering people with the skills needed to thrive, innovate, and become the global problem solvers for the digital economy," said Harbrinder Kang, vice president, corporate affairs, Cisco.
Over the course of the two days, leaders of the Maker Movement, investors, incubators and accelerators, entrepreneurs launching new startups, and Maker Pros will gather to hear 75 speakers present at over 50 sessions on themes that include the "Business of Making," "Tools of Innovation and Technology" and "Future Tech, Now."
For the full schedule of events, complete list of speakers, session descriptions, and to register, visit makercon.com .
Other MakerCon 2015 Bay Area sponsors include participating sponsors: Autodesk Fusion 360; Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Sony; Evening of Innovation sponsor: Sprout by HP; After Party sponsor: ARM, and communications partner: Marketwired.
About MAKER MEDIA Maker Media is a global platform for connecting makers with each other, with products and services, and with our partners. Through media, events and ecommerce, Maker Media serves a growing community of makers who bring a DIY mindset to technology. Whether as hobbyists or professionals, makers are creative, resourceful and curious, developing projects that demonstrate how they can interact with the world around them. The launch of Make: magazine in 2005, followed by Maker Faire in 2006, jumpstarted a worldwide Maker Movement, which is transforming innovation, culture and education. Headquartered in San Francisco, Maker Media is the publisher of Make: Magazine and the producer of Maker Faire . It also develops "getting started" kits and books that are sold in its Maker Shed store as well as in retail channels. The Make: brand caters to a universe of more than 25 million makers collectively across its Make: magazine, makezine.com, Maker Faires, and Maker Shed properties.
Contact: Vickie Welch Email Contact (415) 806-0999
