This year marks a major milestone: it’s the first APEX EXPO since IPC rebranded as the Global Electronics Association, reflecting the organization’s broader focus and its role as the voice of the worldwide $6 trillion electronics industry.
The technical program has evolved significantly for 2026 with the rebrand to the Advanced Electronic Packaging Conference 2026, reflecting an end-to-end focus on component-to-system-level integration. This shift underscores the industry’s move toward holistic design—linking materials, interconnects, and architectures through to finished systems—with sessions emphasizing performance, reliability, and cutting-edge research. The result is a deeper, more connected technical conversation across disciplines, featuring 80+ peer-reviewed papers across 25 sessions with real-world, actionable insights from leaders across the ecosystem.
New this year, the conference officially kicks off on Monday with two must-see keynotes that set the tone for the week’s focus on heterogeneous integration and system scaling. Dr. David Lokken-Toyli of IBM will explore how packaging and SMT are enabling next-generation compute platforms—from heterogeneous integration to quantum systems—while Dr. Ravi Mahajan of Intel will highlight advanced packaging as a critical enabler for interconnect scaling and industry–academia collaboration. Together, these sessions frame the technical and strategic imperatives shaping the next wave of electronic systems innovation.
Thursday adds two special sessions that zero-in on sector-specific demands: “Advanced Electronic Packaging for Aerospace & Defense Electronics” and “The Future of EV and Automotive Electronics.” These discussions address how advanced packaging is being engineered for extreme reliability, rugged performance, long life cycles, and stringent thermal/environmental tolerance—bringing aerospace-, defense-, and automotive-grade requirements into sharp focus. This year’s program also showcases a broad slate of industry contributors, with technical presentations from AMD, Collins Aerospace, Hyundai Mobis, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH, The Aerospace Corporation, and Toyota Motor Corporation—underscoring the conference’s breadth and impact.
On the show floor, APEX EXPO expands again as the largest electronics manufacturing event in North America, with hundreds of exhibitors—capital equipment manufacturers, suppliers, and product innovators—demonstrating next-generation equipment, materials, assembly, and test solutions. Two additions elevate the at-show experience: the new Design Village and Technology Theater, a hub spotlighting advances in design and simulation from advanced packaging through system-level integration; and the returning Learning Lounge, which builds on last year’s success to deliver even more practical education, expert insight, and high-value networking.
Together, these elements make 2026 the most comprehensive, integration-focused APEX EXPO yet—and the first under the Global Electronics Association banner. Join us by registering today at www.apexexpo.org.
