The Fifth Elephant is a year-round community of data and AI practitioners who share their work, question assumptions and learn from one another’s experience. The conferences, meet-ups and workshops bring people together to explore ideas, build collaborations and find new directions for their practice.
The Winter Edition 2026 brings this community together around the practice of working with data, connecting analytics, business intelligence and data science with industry, research, journalism and public-interest work.
4–5 December 2026 · TERI, Domlur, Bangalore + online
New tools. Enduring questions. Fresh possibilities with data.
AI is changing what people can do with data and how they do it. The Winter Edition examines what these changes mean for the practice of analytics and data science: how we frame questions, understand where data comes from, test an explanation, evaluate a result and decide what to do next.
Through case studies, showcases and conversations, practitioners will explore new possibilities alongside the judgment that makes their work useful. An insightful analysis, a revealing visualization or a well-examined failure can give someone else a new way to approach their own problem.
The programme is being developed around questions such as:
- Can we trust the data? Understanding how it was collected, whose experience it represents, and what annotation or verification it needs.
- What makes an analysis convincing? Testing assumptions, examining benchmarks, recognizing misleading results and knowing when to revise a claim.
- How does data become useful in an organization? Reconciling competing metrics, understanding why unofficial dashboards emerge and connecting findings to decisions.
- What changes when AI assists the analyst? Examining which tasks can change, what needs human judgment and which foundations remain essential.
- What can we learn from another field’s data work? Exploring research, public datasets, journalism, maps and other applications that open up new questions.
These themes describe the editorial direction. Individual sessions are still being developed.
| Date |
Programme direction |
Planning status |
| 4 December |
Sponsored talks, panels and fireside chats; some workshops; posters in the alleyway |
Evolving; session mix and schedule to be confirmed |
| 5 December |
Deep-dive case study talks, showcases, poster sessions in the alleyways and birds-of-a-feather discussions (BOFs) |
More settled programme direction; final schedule to follow |
Expected in-person turnout: ~100 attendees on 4 December; 150 attendees on 5 December.
Explore the Winter Edition programme and call for proposals
The programme is intended for people who investigate questions with data and those who help put the findings to use. It welcomes practitioners at different career stages, from people sharing an early project to experienced specialists and team leaders.
- Analysts and business intelligence practitioners: investigating business questions, defining metrics and helping teams make sense of results.
- Data scientists and applied statisticians: designing analyses and experiments, assessing models and testing the quality of evidence.
- Product managers and product analysts working closely with data teams: translating questions into analytical work and using findings to shape products and decisions.
- Analytics and data science leaders, consultants and independent practitioners: comparing approaches, learning how practice is changing and finding peers and collaborators.
- Researchers, data journalists, visualization practitioners and people working with public or social-sector data: bringing methods, datasets and perspectives from beyond corporate analytics.
The programme brings together data practitioners from companies, consultancies, research institutions, newsrooms and public-interest organizations. Participants compare approaches to shared problems, find ideas to apply at work and build relationships across fields.
For organizations serving data practitioners, the Winter Edition offers a focused setting to understand the questions people are working through, discuss approaches and build relationships around shared interests.
- Learn from practitioners: hear how analytical work happens in organizations and where people encounter difficulties with data, interpretation and adoption.
- Contribute relevant expertise: develop a sponsored session on 4 December around a concrete problem, experience or useful approach.
- Build professional relationships: meet people doing substantive data work, including potential collaborators, colleagues and customers.
- Support a wider exchange of ideas: help bring together industry, research and public-interest practice through the conference, posters and community activities.
With 250 attendees expected across both days (4 and 5 Dec), the proposed sponsor offer centres on relevant participation and opportunities for conversation.
Selected organizations represented through attendee affiliations and corporate attendance:
The Fifth Elephant’s programmes across 2024, 2025 and 2026 have included contributors affiliated with companies, research institutions and organizations working across data, analytics, AI and software. Selected affiliations included:
Atlan · Atlassian · Capital One · Development Data Lab · Dream11 · Flipkart · GalaxEye Space · Google · IBM Research · Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre · InMobi · Jar · Juspay · Meesho · Microsoft · Myntra · OpenNyAI · PhonePe · Razorpay · Sahaj Software · Sarvam · Straive · Swiggy · Target · Thoughtworks · Uber
| Contributor |
Role and affiliation |
| Shubham Tripathi |
Lead Data Scientist, Target |
| Prerit Khandelwal |
Director — Product Analytics, Razorpay |
| Preethi Srinivasan |
Data Science Solution Consultant, Sahaj Software |
| Bhumika Makwana |
Head — Computer Vision and Analytics, GalaxEye Space |
| Prashant Singh |
Head of Product Management, Jar |
| Pravein Govindan Kannan |
Staff Research Scientist, IBM Research |
| Aryan Srivastava |
Scientist, Development Data Lab |
| Muthukumar Ganesan |
Scientist, Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre |
| S. Anand |
LLM psychologist, Straive |
| Abhijith Neerkaje |
Co-founder, Beyond Vectors AI |
Past sponsors across editions of The Fifth Elephant.
Winter Edition sponsorship should be built around the relevance and quality of participation in a focused gathering. The proposed options below separate support for the conference from sponsored programming and longer-term community activity.
|
Platinum |
Gold |
Bronze |
| Price |
₹3,00,000 |
₹1,45,000 |
₹50,000 |
| Spots available |
2 |
2 |
5 |
| Sponsor space |
6 ft × 6 ft booth/lounge area (36 sq ft) |
6 ft × 2 ft table (12 sq ft tabletop) |
4 ft × 2 ft table (8 sq ft tabletop) |
| Branding |
Logo and link on the event page; prominent recognition on shared on-site sponsor signage |
Logo and link on the event page; shared on-site sponsor acknowledgment |
Logo and link on the event page; shared on-site sponsor acknowledgment |
| Pre-event introduction |
One dedicated sponsor introduction |
One dedicated sponsor introduction |
— |
| Conference passes (entry only) |
6 |
4 |
2 |
| Sponsored session on 4 December |
One talk or fireside chat, scoped with the editorial team |
Available separately |
Available separately |
GST and any applicable taxes additional
A Supporter contribution funds a defined community need. Choose a purpose and agree a contribution against its budget.
Proposed minimum contribution: ₹25,000. Multiple supporters can contribute towards the shared budget. Contributions are allocated against the agreed funding need and do not include conference passes, exhibition space or stage time.
| Proposed support area |
What the contribution enables |
Proposed acknowledgment and reporting |
| Presenter travel and stay |
Travel and accommodation for selected outstation talks, showcases or poster presenters who need support |
Recognition as a Presenter Travel Supporter; an aggregate summary of presenters supported and costs covered |
| Resource-person honoraria |
Honoraria for presenters, workshop instructors and showcases |
Recognition as an Honorarium Supporter; an aggregate account of payments made |
| Poster participation |
Printing and mounting accepted posters, helping researchers, independent practitioners and social-sector contributors share their work |
Recognition alongside the poster area; a summary of posters produced and displayed |
| Participant access through the Diversity Fund |
Tickets and, where needed, travel and accommodation under the fund’s allocation criteria |
Separate Diversity Fund recognition and an aggregate account of support provided |
Supporter recognition includes:
- Organization name/logo and the specific purpose funded on the event page
- Acknowledgment at the relevant activity
- A short post-event account of what the contribution enabled.
Beneficiaries are not obliged to endorse the sponsor or be named publicly.
These opportunities are available independently of Platinum, Gold and Bronze sponsorship. Sponsored talks, fireside chats and panels take place on 4 December 2026. Workshops will be scheduled on 4 and 6 December 2026, with the date and arrangements agreed separately.
| Opportunity |
Working price (INR) |
Scope to agree |
| Sponsored talk — 4 December |
₹75,000 |
30 mins session |
| Fireside chat — 4 December |
₹1,00,000 |
45 mins conversation with topic development & moderator preparation |
| Panel — 4 December |
₹1,25,000 |
45 mins panel discussion with topic development & moderation |
| Workshop — 4 or 6 December |
₹75,000 |
2-4 hours hands-on workshop |
GST and any applicable taxes additional
Engage with The Fifth Elephant practitioners throughout the year through meet-ups, geek-ups and applied workshops. These opportunities are available independently of annual conference sponsorship, with dates and formats agreed separately.
| Opportunity |
Price (INR) |
Details |
| Meet-up |
₹45,000 |
Bring The Fifth Elephant practitioners to your venue. Sponsorship supports community participation. A speaking slot isn’t guaranteed. |
| Geek-up |
₹75,000–₹1,50,000, depending on the guest’s profile and visibility |
A gathering built around a visiting practitioner who is already in the city, hosted for the community to meet. Subject to practitioner availability. |
| Sponsored workshop |
On request |
Topic, format, timing and pricing are scoped together, including workshops on working with data, analytics and AI. |
| Date |
Event |
Location |
| 4–5 December 2026 |
The Fifth Elephant Winter Edition |
TERI, Domlur, Bangalore + online |
| 31 December 2026 |
Enterprise AI in Production meet-up — call for proposals open |
Mumbai |
| February 2027 — dates to be announced |
Special edition — AI in Manufacturing |
Pune |
| 9–10 July 2027 |
The Fifth Elephant Annual Conference |
Bangalore |
Submit a proposal for Enterprise AI in Production, Mumbai
Four voices from The Fifth Elephant 2025:
Links below open local review cuts. Final caption checks and hosted links are pending.
- Atharva Raykar of Nilenso, presenter at The Fifth Elephant 2025 Annual Conference, on why hallway conversations and participants sharing their experiences makes The Fifth Elephant a unique experience.
- Srikanth Sundarrajan — Head of Platforms, InMobi; speaker at The Fifth Elephant 2025: on learning through attendance and the proposal review process.
- Leena SN co-founder at PracticeNow & Fifthel annual member: on meeting peers and understanding developments beyond her own team.
- Anenth Guru, reviewer and attendee at The Fifth Elephant 2025, on selecting and refining talks.
Prasanna Bhogale on talk reviews and audience engagement — recorded as a presenter at Winter 2025; now one of the editors of Fifthel Winter 2026.
Photographs: Issac Solomon, front-end designer at Able.do.
Conversations between sessions at The Fifth Elephant Winter 2025.
Participants at AI and Evals workshop by Karrthik Iyer (Thoughtworks) at The Fifth Elephant Winter 2025.
Workshop by Vikram Nayak (Chartboss) in progress at The Fifth Elephant Winter 2025.
Darshan Adiga and Lakshya Daulani from NetApp presenting on synthetic document generation for data governance, Winter 2025.
Aryan Srivastava presenting at The Fifth Elephant Winter 2025.
Tell us who you want to reach and what you hope to achieve: product feedback, evangelism, hiring or support for the community. We will work with you on developing the right sponsorship package.
Email: sales@hasgeek.com
Phone: +91 7676332020
