Gillian Tans
Former CEO & Chairwoman of Booking.com | Founder of Diversity Hero | Board Member & Investor | Expert in Scaling, Digital Travel & Transformative Leadership
Carlo Ratti
Architect & Engineer | Director of the MIT Senseable City Lab | Founding Partner, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati | Curator of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale
Carlo Ratti is one of the world's foremost authorities on how technology and data are transforming cities. An architect, engineer, MIT professor directing the Senseable City Lab, and curator of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, he works where the digital and physical worlds converge. On stage, he makes the future of cities vivid and optimistic, showing how technology can serve people and the planet.
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Carlo Ratti biography
Carlo Ratti is one of the world’s foremost authorities on how technology, data, and design are transforming the cities we live in. An architect, engineer, and MIT professor, he sits at the frontier where the digital and physical worlds converge, exploring how sensors, artificial intelligence, and human creativity can make urban life more sustainable, responsive, and humane. Few thinkers have done more to shape the global conversation about the future of the built environment.
Futurist speaker Carlo Ratti directs the MIT Senseable City Lab, a pioneering research group with labs on four continents that studies how new technologies are reshaping the way we understand and design cities. He is also a founding partner of the international design and innovation firm CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, and in 2025 he served as curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale, the world’s most prestigious architecture exhibition, on the theme of natural, artificial, and collective intelligence. Named to Fast Company’s list of the most influential designers in America and Wired’s “Smart List,” he has had projects, from a pavilion with walls of water to the Copenhagen Wheel, celebrated by TIME as among the best inventions of the year.
The Senseable City: Where Data Meets the Built Environment
A prolific scholar as well as a designer, Ratti has co-authored more than 500 publications and books including Atlas of the Senseable City and The City of Tomorrow, and holds numerous patents. He graduated from the Politecnico di Torino and the École des Ponts in Paris before earning his PhD at the University of Cambridge, and he advises global institutions as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities and a special adviser on urban innovation to the European Commission. Beyond research and design, he has helped launch an ecosystem of technology startups, translating bold ideas about mobility, sustainability, and construction into real-world ventures. His work has been exhibited everywhere from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to the Venice Biennale.
As a speaker, Carlo Ratti makes the future of cities vivid, optimistic, and deeply relevant to any organization navigating technological change. He speaks on smart cities and the future of urban life, how AI and data are reshaping architecture and design, sustainability and the convergence of the natural and artificial worlds, and innovation at the intersection of technology and human experience. Audiences leave with a bold, inspiring vision of tomorrow, and a richer understanding of how technology can serve people and the planet.
Carlo Ratti Speaking Videos
Carlo Ratti I Architecture Matters 2026
Carlo Ratti: Senseable Cities
Carlo Ratti Keynote Topics
Ratti reveals how sensors, data, and artificial intelligence are transforming cities into responsive, living systems, and what that means for how we move, work, and live. Drawing on his research at MIT, he offers a vivid, optimistic vision of the "senseable city," and shows how technology, thoughtfully applied, can make urban life more sustainable, efficient, and human.
As both a leading architect and a technologist, Ratti explores how artificial intelligence and big data are reshaping the way we design buildings, spaces, and cities. He shares cutting-edge examples from his own work and lab, and helps audiences understand how the convergence of digital intelligence and physical design is opening entirely new possibilities for creativity and innovation.
Ratti's work explores how the natural and artificial worlds can come together, from buildings grown partly from living materials to cities that respond to their environment. He offers a compelling perspective on how technology and design can address climate change and sustainability, and why the future belongs to solutions that unite human ingenuity with the natural world.
Ratti is a rare figure who spans academia, design, and entrepreneurship, turning frontier research into real-world ventures. He shares how breakthrough innovation happens at the boundaries between disciplines, and how organizations can foster the curiosity, experimentation, and cross-pollination of ideas that turn bold visions into tangible impact.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Carlo Ratti
Why Carlo Ratti?
Booking Carlo Ratti brings audiences one of the most visionary and credible voices on the future of cities, technology, and design. An MIT professor, world-renowned architect, and curator of the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, he combines deep scientific authority with the imagination of a designer and the pragmatism of an entrepreneur. His talks make complex ideas about AI, data, sustainability, and urban life feel vivid, hopeful, and immediately relevant, whether the audience is in real estate, technology, government, or design. Endlessly curious and genuinely inspiring, he helps organizations see the future taking shape and their place within it. He is an ideal speaker for events on innovation, technology, sustainability, and the future. To bring Carlo Ratti to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who is Carlo Ratti?
Carlo Ratti is an Italian architect, engineer, and author who is one of the world's leading experts on smart cities and the future of the built environment. He is a professor at MIT, where he directs the Senseable City Lab, and a founding partner of the international design firm CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati. In 2025 he served as curator of the Venice Architecture Biennale. A graduate of the Politecnico di Torino with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, he has co-authored over 500 publications, holds multiple patents, and has been recognized by TIME, Fast Company, and Wired for his influential work.
What is the MIT Senseable City Lab?
The MIT Senseable City Lab is a research initiative founded and directed by Carlo Ratti at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It studies how digital technologies, sensors, data, and artificial intelligence are changing the way we understand, design, and live in cities. Through data-driven research and experimental projects, the lab explores themes such as mobility, sustainability, urban health, and citizen engagement, and has grown into a global network with labs in cities including Amsterdam, Dubai, Rio de Janeiro, and Seoul. Its work has helped define the modern field of "smart cities."
What topics does futurist speaker Carlo Ratti cover?
Carlo Ratti speaks on smart cities and the future of urban life, how AI and data are reshaping architecture and design, sustainability and the convergence of nature and technology, and innovation at the intersection of technology and human experience. His keynotes suit events on innovation, technology, sustainability, design, and the future. To book Carlo Ratti as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Carlo Ratti as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Carlo Ratti as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Carlo Ratti's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Carlo Ratti or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Carlo Ratti speaking fee?
Carlo Ratti speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Carlo Ratti to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Carlo Ratti.
How can I contact Carlo Ratti?
We only work with Carlo Ratti on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Carlo Ratti and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Carlo Ratti speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Carlo Ratti for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Carlo Ratti for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Carlo Ratti is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Carlo Ratti for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
