C3 Davos of Healthcare™ to Convene Global Leaders in Silicon Valley with Keynote by Secretary Leon Panetta

Global Strategic Partnership with King Faisal Specialist Hospital Anchors April 27 Summit at Plug and Play

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The C3 Davos of Healthcare™ Silicon Valley Summit will convene global leaders across healthcare, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, academia, and institutional capital for a high-level strategic dialogue on the intersection of medical innovation, economic competitiveness, and national security.

The Summit will feature a keynote address from former U.S. Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta, whose leadership across defense, intelligence, and economic policy underscores the growing role of healthcare and biotechnology as pillars of geopolitical stability.

Held in collaboration with C3 Global Strategic Partner King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH), the Summit reflects a deepening international partnership advancing innovation, commercialization, and cross-border healthcare collaboration. As part of the program, Dr. Björn Zoëga, CEO of King Faisal Specialist Hospital – Riyadh, will present the hospital's experience and approach to innovation, offering a firsthand perspective on how leading global institutions are operationalizing next-generation healthcare technologies.

"C3 has always been about moving beyond conversation to execution," said Ransel Potter, Founder and Managing Partner of C3 International. "What we are seeing with this level of global participation, from over 25 countries, and the quality of companies building at the intersection of AI and healthcare is extraordinary. In partnership with King Faisal Specialist Hospital, we are not just identifying innovation—we are creating a direct pathway for these technologies to be validated, deployed, and scaled within real hospital systems."

Hosted at Plug and Play, one of the world's most active venture capitalists and global innovation platform, the Summit will convene more than 300 senior leaders, including representation from:

• Mayo Clinic Platform
  
  
• Cleveland Clinic
  
  
• UT Austin Dell Medical School
  
  
• MD Anderson Cancer Center
  
  
• Innovaccer
  
  
• Scale AI
  
  
• HSBC

Additional participants include Fortune 500 executives, leading global hospital systems, venture capital and private equity firms, and emerging biotech and AI-health companies.

The 2026 theme, "HEALTHTECH FRONTIERS: BUILDING THE HEALTH ECOSYSTEM OF TOMORROW" reflects a shift toward execution-focused collaboration across:

• AI-driven diagnostics and predictive medicine
  
  
• Advanced oncology, genomics, and next-generation therapeutics
  
  
• Capital formation and biotech commercialization
  
  
• Healthcare infrastructure resilience and security
  
  
• Cross-border regulatory alignment
  
  
• Data-driven hospital performance frameworks

As a central execution component of the Summit, C3 will host a highly selective global pitch competition in partnership with King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Plug and Play, spotlighting high-growth healthcare and AI startups aligned with its Centers of Excellence.

The competition has attracted 125+ applications from across more than 25 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, India, and Singapore—underscoring C3's growing role as a global sourcing platform for next-generation healthcare innovation.

Applicants span key clinical priority areas, with the strongest representation across Medical, Oncology, Pediatric & Women's Health, Neuroscience, and Surgical innovation—reflecting alignment with real-world hospital demand and deployment pathways.

The cohort is notably execution-ready: 57% of companies have already secured angel or venture funding, while over 85% are actively raising capital—creating a highly investable pipeline for participating institutions and investors.

Finalists will present live at the C3 Davos of Healthcare™ Summit in Silicon Valley before a panel of global healthcare leaders, investors, and hospital executives.

Positioned as an execution-oriented forum, C3 Davos of Healthcare™ is designed to move beyond dialogue and catalyze partnerships, capital deployment, and real-world implementation.

Register for the event here.

Media Contact:
Ransel Potter
9177429941
[email protected]

SOURCE C3 International Davos of Healthcare™