Manifest 2026 round-up: AI makes all the 'noise'

If there are two words to sum up Manifest 2026 in Las Vegas: ‘exhausting’ and ‘exciting’. 

Three days of back-to-back interviews, panel sessions, and booth meetings meant an average of 20,000 steps a day – according to more than one aching smartwatch – before even factoring-in the inevitable after-hours drinks receptions scattered across the Strip. 

Manifest has always prided itself on energy and scale, but this year the feedback from many attendees was that the pace felt relentless, but in a good way.  

By the numbers, it was undeniably impressive. The event boasted 487 speakers, of which 120 were women. A quarter may not be parity, but for a supply chain and logistics tech conference, it represented meaningful progress. 

On the exhibition floor, more than 400 companies showcased their wares. Booth designs were bigger, brighter, and more theatrical than ever. Neon lighting, custom builds, and coffee carts all signalling that venture capital is still being put to work.  

My personal favourite on the shop floor was the returning Manifest staple, the Rose All Day stand, sponsored this year by Softeon.  

Yet behind all the gloss, a quieter sentiment emerged in conversations with forwarders and shippers, so that much of it felt like “noise”. 

Several executives, speaking candidly between sessions, said they were struggling to differentiate between dozens of AI-enabled visibility platforms, orchestration tools, and workflow start-ups. More than one suggested that a significant portion of this year’s exhibitors would not be around by Manifest 2028, particularly if funding markets tighten and customers become more selective. 

And customers are becoming more selective. If they do not build in-house, one major forwarder candidly chuckled “very carefully” when asked by The Loadstar how they would go about choosing a partner.  

Due diligence, they explained, now extended beyond purely the financial returns, into data security and long-term viability. 

One dominant theme across panels was the changing face of SaaS. The era of static, seat-based subscriptions is being challenged by agentic AI and outcome-based expectations.  

Debate centred on how those pricing models would evolve – from credits and “actions” pricing to outcome-based contracts – and on how agentic AI is reshaping workflows entirely. Instead of optimising individual tasks, vendors are being asked to automate end-to-end processes, and technology providers are, subsequently, shifting from marketing themselves as software vendors to operational partners. 

As for the social side, the closing party perhaps summed up the week’s contradictions. Taio Cruz headlined, but the performance – largely lip-synced – felt underwhelming after days of high-intensity networking and big claims about the future of logistics.  

Manifest 2026 was bigger, louder, and more AI-saturated than ever. Whether all those promises (and exhibitors) will endure is another question entirely.