Ida Kymmer
Next in Vogue; WEF & SXSW Speaker; MENA Director of Business at Infinite Reality; Startup Judge & Innovator
Ida Kymmer is a writer and keynote speaker on emerging technologies and innovation. Her multidisciplinary background combined with deep cultural understanding, she provides engaging and inspiring perspectives. She has been speaking at the World Economic Forum, SXSW, Gitex, TechBBQ, Deloitte Innovation Day, Next in Vogue, and many more conferences and events.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
Ida Kymmer's videos
What Ida Kymmer's clients say
Here is some of the feedback from audiences and clients who have worked with Ida.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
Available for
Ida’s speaking themes
Languages:Â
- English
Click the button below to check Ida’s fees and availability for your event.
CHECK AVAILABILITY
Ida Kymmer's 2025 biography
Ida Kymmer: Global Business Strategist, Keynote Speaker, and Emerging Tech Expert
Ida Kymmer is a writer, keynote speaker, and international business strategist with expertise in emerging technologies, innovation, and business development.
She has spoken at world-renowned events such as the World Economic Forum, SXSW, Gitex, TechBBQ, Deloitte Innovation Day, Next in Vogue, and many more.
With a Master of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies, Ida publishes Tech for War and Peace, a weekly newsletter covering technology in war and peace contexts.
Her areas of focus include innovation, sustainability, disinformation, creativity, global inclusion, defence, and peace tech.
Ida has lived in nine countries and speak in five languages (Swedish, Korean, English, German, and Serbian-Croatian).
Ida’s experience in emerging technologies is extensive: she worked with Dexter Studios in South Korea to develop 3D screens for the SLS Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and was involved with developing 3D musicals and early VR applications for architectural renderings.
From 2021 to 2023, Ida was the Director of Global Affairs at Journee, working with brands like BMW, H&M, Clinique, and Shiseido to shape the future of immersive technology and commerce.
Today, Ida is the Director of Business MENA, for Infinite Reality. She also consults for companies in the creative industries of tech, fashion, and art on innovative solutions as well as acting as a startup judge for Vinnova and Hub71.
Ida Kymmer's 2025 talks & topics
The Green Transition Paradox - How Green is Really Your EV?
What does it take to get everyone driving EVs? To build more EVs, we need to increase the amount of battery minerals we use. And to get more minerals, we need to mine them.
Over the past few years, the demand for battery minerals, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite, has drastically increased. Today, the mining sector is responsible for 4-7 per cent of GHG emissions globally. In many instances, battery minerals are mined in areas where the operations fuel conflicts and human rights assaults.
Only this year, we have followed the tragedies of miners in Indonesia, and the DRC is on the brink of war. By 2027, the global market value of battery minerals is projected to reach USD 18 billion.
But there are solutions out there. In this talk, we discuss use cases from the top automotive companies in the world and global mining experts fighting to make battery metals sustainable and fair.
Insights & Take Aways
The mineral needs of the green transition | Emissions and other negative effects of mining | Solutions to mining
Keywords
Sustainability, Green Technology, Battery Minerals, Green Transition, EV Batteries,
Possible Topic Variations
Solving the Sustainability Paradox, How Green is Your EV?, Circular Technology, What Does Your iPhone Has to Do With Conflict Minerals, and E-Waste?
Tech for War and Peace
The ex- CEO of Google recently called himself a licensed arms dealer, and is running both the D3 VC fund investing in especially deep tech startup from Ukraine as well as the drone startup White Stork. The past years, we have quickly transitioned from the peace dividend into budgets all over the world being allocated to military build up and what is said to change the character of war: automated systems, AI, robots, and drones. At the same time, consumer technology is being used in the conflicts today, everything from Starlink and Telegram to Chinese cheap drones are an integral part of the conflicts of today.
In this talk, Ida heads straight into the complex and often frightening topic of today’s innovations and how they have direct impact in ongoing conflicts in the world. She gives and updated view on what is happening right now, using her knowledge from the weekly newsletter with the same name name, as well as use cases, data, and interviews with key stakeholders.
Expect difficult questions without clear answers, frightening examples of the future of war, and examples of peace builders are raising to use technology to break the arms races around the world.
Insights & Take Aways
Acceleration of innovation in military and defence, its causes and patters | Projections of how future war will look like | Consumer technology use in contemporary conflicts
Keywords
Defence technology, national security, peace technology, AI, robots, drones, automated systems.
Possible Topic Variations
Silicon Valley and the Pentagon, The Automated Future of War, War and StartUps
K-Pop, Semiconductors, and Coffee
Korea has emerged from being one of the poorest countries in the world in the 1950s to a global cultural and technological powerhouse. Today, Korea is one of the most innovative countries in the world, and innovation can be found in all industries: automotive, defence, consumer electronics, beauty, entertainment and music.
In this session, we will explore what Korean innovation is, how it emerged, and why it works. We will move through historical, cultural, and political factors, covering the big conglomerates, systems of innovation, startups, a few K-pop songs and a couple of cups of coffee.
Insights & Take Aways
Korean Innovation Culture | Korean Success | Korean Startups | Korean Innovation History |
Keywords
Korea, Innovation, Startups, Culture, K-pop, Chaebol, Samsung
Possible Topic Variations
Why Korean Innovation Works, Perhaps Diversity Isn’t the Answer, K-pop and Softpower for Innovation
Creating Wonder in an Automated World
Often, we are close to obsessed with using a technology because its new, because we are supposed to. The outcomes feel dull, forced, awkward, and are soon replaced by the next big thing. But when aesthetic quality and creative excellence instead becomes the drivers for the curation of technology used, magic happens. We can experience wonder, a feeling of being a part of something far away from our day-to-day.
Let’s step into the power of human creativity and the wonders that are created when it is matched with frontier technology. Let’s explore what is possible, the methods used by artists and creatives, and how we can curate technological experience to maybe even change someone’s mind.
In this talk, Ida goes beyond the efficiency of automation, production speeds, and job elimination by AI and other frontier technology. She looks at what happens when we create mind bending beautiful experiences using emerging technologies, the creative methods used, and how this can be applied to business and societal purposes.
She demonstrates use-cases from Use cases from art museums, entertainment complexes, brand activations, architecture and performing arts in combination with data and interview with artists, creative agencies, architects and data scientists.
Insights & Take Aways
How frontier technology is used in art and creative fields | How to apply an aesthetic approach to business and societal purposes | Use cases from the most stunning applications for frontier technology
Keywords
AI, Creativity, Emerging Technologies, Immersive Technology
Possible Topic Variations
Against Attention, AI – the End of Human Creativity?, Aesthetic Excellence in an AI Generated World
Made by Africa
The startup ecosystems in Africa are on the rise – the continent has the highest growth rate in the world of startups receiving funding, with 90.9% of funded ventures consisting solely of local co-founders. More is on its way; Norrsken22, an Africa focused VC, recently received the backing of more than 30 unicorn founders to raise $205 million for new tech investments on the continent.
The largest concentration of startups is in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt, focused on solving current issues. Of the 7 unicorns on the continent, 6 are in fintech-solving banking and cross-border transfers. Many upcoming startups are in energy and recruiting.
And remember, by 2050, 1 of 4 people on Earth will be African. In this talk, Ida guides you through some of Africa’s most exciting upcoming startups and startup ecosystems and how they solve everything from everyday payments and insurance to healthcare and e-commerce. She will demonstrate real-world use cases and has built her talk on a great amount of data and in depth interviews with prominent stakeholders.
Insights & Take Aways
Africa’s startup ecosystems | Focus areas of African startups | How to identify a great startup in Africa |
Keywords
Africa, Startups, VC Funding, Fintech, Impact
Possible Topic Variations
African Startup Ecosystems, VCs for Africa, A Continent of New Opportunities, Africa is Next