INMerge Innovation Summit

The summit was first held in Baku in 2021 and has taken place annually at the Baku Convention Center.^[4] The 2024 edition was held on 10–11 October 2024, followed by the 2025 event on 29–30 September 2025.^[5][6] The event is organized by PASHA Holding and supported by local and regional partners.^[7]

The summit takes place over two days and includes keynote speeches, panel discussions, and workshops.^[8] Sessions cover themes such as fintech, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, marketing, e-commerce, investment, and industry 4.0.^[9] The program also features INBattle, a startup pitch competition involving around 40 companies.^[9]

The 2025 edition hosted more than 5,000 participants, 150 speakers, 100 startups, and over 80 venture funds.^[3] Participants include startup founders, investors, corporate representatives, and policymakers from Azerbaijan and neighboring countries.^[2][10]

Speakers at the 2025 summit included Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and former president of Walt Disney Animation Studios; Marc Randolph, co-founder and first chief executive officer of Netflix; and Zack Kass, former head of go to market at OpenAI.^[11][2] Academic participants included Hal Gregersen of the MIT Leadership Center and Tarun Khanna of Harvard Business School.^[12]

In addition to the main event in Baku, INMerge holds regional roadshows and startup events in countries such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.^[13] These side events include pitch competitions and networking sessions with local innovation centers such as in Georgia.^[14][7]