By Peter Krass
Platforms are transforming how we do business, communicate and interact. They’re disrupting traditional business models. And they’re offering new solutions to complex problems.
These and other related platform topics will be on the agenda of the 2025 MIT Platform Strategy Summit, which is hosted by the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE).
Now in its 12th year, the MIT Platform Strategy Summit stands as the premier event for leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers and scholars seeking to understand and shape the future of platform-driven business and society. Here’s what’s on the agenda:
9:00 a.m.: Welcome by Albert Scerbo, Associate Director of the IDE.
9:10 a.m.: Platform Review and Outlook. A snapshot of the platform ecosystem will be provided by the Summit’s three co-chairs: Peter C. Evans, Senior Advisor of Enterprise Strategy at Capital Growth Partners; Geoffrey Parker, Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College and a Visiting Scholar at the IDE; and Marshall Van Alstyne, Professor of Information Economics at Boston University and a Digital Fellow at the IDE. They’ll be joined by Lynn Wu, Associate Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at The Wharton School.
10:00 a.m.: Platforms, Data Rights and the Rise of Agentic AI: Who’s in Control?
Panelists will explore the fast-shifting landscape of data rights, algorithm behavior and platform power. Attendees can expect a bold discussion on the future of data governance, the challenge of attaining artificial intelligence dominance and the fight for digital autonomy.
11:00 a.m.: Break
11:30 a.m.: Fireside Chat with Bettina Rotermund, Senior VP, Siemens Xcelerator Strategy. In conversation with Summit co-chair Van Alstyne, Rotermund will recount joining Siemens in 2018 to help create the company’s digital transformation branch. She’ll also discuss the strategy for Siemens Xcelerator, a digital marketplace that connects Siemens partners, sellers and developers to a portfolio of services, software and IoT-enabled hardware.
12 noon: Critical Material Security & the Circular Economy. In this panel, industry experts will provide actionable insights into how digital platforms can be used to transform waste into new materials. For example, in electronics, platforms can help companies reuse EV batteries, industrial magnets and rare earth metals. In this way, industries can reclaim resources they already have.
This panel will be moderated by Evans, who recently wrote: “By connecting suppliers of secondary materials with manufacturers and buyers, platforms could increase the overall supply of critical materials, promote sustainability and reduce dependence on primary extraction.” As he added, this is particularly urgent in light of China’s recent export bans on critical materials.
1:00 p.m.: Lunch
2:10 p.m.: Platform Book Sneak Peek. Summit co-chairs Parker and Van Alstyne will preview their forthcoming book, Platform Domination, set for publication in 2026. This will be their follow-up to Platform Revolution, the 2016 book they co-wrote with Sangeet Paul Choudary, now available in 10 languages.
2:30 p.m.: Powering the Future: Platforms and Energy Transition. With the growth of power systems such as wind and solar, and the emergence of other supply sources, the energy sector is undergoing the largest change since the mid-1900s. That includes new data layers and platforms to coordinate complex interactions. In this panel, industry leaders will discuss providing the necessary data infrastructure and platforms to match an increasingly variable supply with fast-growing demand.
3:30 p.m.: Break.
4:00 p.m.: Fireside Chat: Platform, Power and Geopolitics — the New Battleground of Global Business. Andrew McAfee, Co-Director of the IDE, will chat with Alan Davidson, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). They’ll discuss the ways in which platforms have essentially become geopolitical weapons in the high-stakes intersection of commerce and global strategy.
4:45 p.m.: Closing Remarks by the Summit’s three co-chairs.
5:15 pm: Networking Reception: Attendees will enjoy food and drinks, along with the opportunity to chat with other attendees, organizers and speakers.
Thought-Leading Speakers
Speakers at previous Platform Summits have included Alibaba’s head of strategy, Google’s head of ecosystem partners, Airbnb’s chief economist and Duolingo’s founder. This year, in addition to the co-chairs and Fireside Chat speakers listed above, the Summit will feature numerous thought-leading panelists. Among them:
Vanessa Chan, Vice Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Penn Engineering. She’s an accomplished entrepreneur, angel investor, speaker and educator renowned for her expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship at the intersection of technology and business.
Jack Jia, Principal Sourcing Engineer at Microsoft. Jia, who joined Microsoft in 2013, specializes in circular cloud sourcing and operations. He’s played a key role in launching and managing Microsoft’s Circular Centers, which extend the lifespan of cloud hardware and support the company’s sustainability goals.
David Leckstein, Senior Managing Director of Technology for the Americas, Accenture. A technology visionary with over 25 years of tech experience, Leckstein oversees multiple portfolios, empowering technology leaders to design with agility and innovation.
Sean Miles, CEO and Co-Founder of Recycle Global Exchange (RGX), a clean-tech company that offers sustainable e-waste management and IT asset disposition. He co-founded RGX to create an innovative digital marketplace that connects businesses with certified recyclers, optimizing resource recovery and reducing environmental impact through circular-economy solutions.
Vivek Mohindra, Dell Technologies’ Senior VP of Corporate Strategy. He works closely with Dell’s offices of the CEO and COO to develop and drive market-leading strategies.
Rudina Seseri, Founder and Managing Partner of Glasswing Ventures. Her early-stage venture capital firm invests in next-generation AI and frontier-technology companies.
Explore More:
· Read the MIT Platform Summit Strategy report from 2023, Five Trends Shaping the Future of Platforms.
· Catch up on some of the latest platform research and thinking from the Summit co-chairs:
o How to Structure a B2B Marketplace Venture (Geoffrey Parker)
o Are You Missing Growth Opportunities for Your Platform? (Marshall Van Alstyne)
o Digital Platforms and Critical Material Markets (Peter C. Evans)
· Learn about the MIT IDE.
Peter Krass is a contributing editor and writer with the MIT IDE.