Materials & energy
Mining, generation and the grid: the inputs the intelligence economy cannot abstract away.
NOOPS briefing / 001
SydneyFriday 11 December 202608:30–15:00
A one-day conference for investors, founders and strategy leaders. Understand where AI is creating and destroying value, and what will shape the market next.
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Why attend
The investment brief
AI is changing what software costs to build and who can build it. At the same time, demand for power, materials, data centres and chips is reshaping markets far beyond technology.
AI Investor shows how these forces connect—and what they mean for investors, founders and strategy leaders deciding where to place capital, attention and effort.
No panels. No pitches. Six evidence-led briefings. One clear view from infrastructure to applications.
What you’ll take away
Understand how energy, data centres, chips, models and applications affect one another.
Separate temporary bottlenecks from limits that may shape costs, margins and growth.
Assess founders, portfolio companies and internal forecasts against the evidence available now.
The programme
How the programme is structured
We start with the physical foundations AI depends on—materials, energy, data centres and chips. Then we examine models, the software built around them, and the applications customers are paying for.
Mining, generation and the grid: the inputs the intelligence economy cannot abstract away.
Water, cooling and siting: what has been engineered, what remains scarce, and what scales next.
The supply chain as it stands now—and where the binding constraint is moving.
A current view of the frontier, beyond benchmark theatre and launch-day headlines.
The systems around the model that turn raw capability into repeatable economic value.
What is shipping, who is buying, and where defensibility is beginning to settle.
Run of day
Built for the people making the call
This is technology and market analysis—not stock tips, price targets or financial product advice.
Why NOOPS
Hosted by John Allsopp + Mark Pesce

Technologist · Author · Futurist
Inventor of VRML. Columnist for The Register. Four decades reading the intersection of technology, culture and markets.
Full biography ↗
Developer · Publisher · Event maker
Founder of Web Directions and AI Engineer Conference. Twenty years producing world-leading events focused on what matters next.
Full biography ↗Sydney · 11 December 2026
Your seat at AI Investor includes lunch and twelve months of NOOPS Pro: the complete signals dashboard, daily briefings, research and quarterly reports.
Genuinely limited seating.
$995 AUD
Super Early Bird · until 2 October
Early Bird $1,295 · 3 October–20 November
Standard $1,495 · from 21 November
Secure registration and payment are managed by Web Directions.
Three ways in
Get the complete thesis in one day, then continue the conversation over lunch.
$995AUD
Super Early Bird · until 2 October
Then $1,295 Early Bird · $1,495 Standard
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