South by Southwest (SXSW) is back with another round of featured speakers, including WNBA star Candace Parker, Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones, and a UT-educated lawyer who has become a favorite advice-giver for musicians entering the industry, Donald Passman.

This second round follows the year's first lineup announcement in September, which also detailed featured speakers, and a music announcement in October. It also contains the first information about 2025's first keynote speaker: IBM Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna.

“Exploring the benefits of new advances in technology while addressing their potential challenges represents a core part of the SXSW experience we curate each year,” said co-president and chief programming officer at SXSW Hugh Forrest in a press release. “We are excited to announce Arvind Krishnaas our first Keynote Speaker of the 2025 season. His session on the convergence of AI and quantum computing will cover what this monumental shift in technology will bring to humanity."

Krishna's keynote presentation will be called From Sci-Fi to Society: The Next Era of AI and Quantum Computing.

The decentralized conference and festival, which is hosted by businesses and cultural institutions around Austin, is scheduled Mach 7-15, 2025. This is the 39th edition of the conference, and there are 23 "tracks" organizing topics: Music & Tech and Music Industry, Psychedlics, Transportation, Culture, Climate & Sustainability, Government & Civic Engagement, and more.

A full list of official speakers and their topics is available at sxsw.com. for more information. For easier skimming, we've pared the announcement down to panel names, and speaker names and titles (as they appear in the release).

Second round of featured speakers for 2025:

• 7 Non-Obvious Secrets Of Understanding People To Predict the Future with founder and chief trend curator at The Non-Obvious Company Rohit Bhargava.
• 10 Breakthrough Technologies of 2025 with MIT Technology Review executive editor Niall Firth.
• All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Right Now with innovation and fan experience expert David De Cristofaro and author and music attorney at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman Donald Passman.
• The Art and Science of Organic Trendbuilding For Climate Initiatives with co-anchor of PBS News HourGeoff Bennett and director and social media strategist Alex Haraus.
• Building a Legacy: How Indies Create Long-Term Success with A2IM president and CEO Dr. Richard James Burgess, co-founder of VP Records Patricia 'Miss Pat' Chin, founder and CEO of EMPIRE Ghazi, and US General Manager for Rough Trade Records Melanie Sheehan.
• Cleaning Up Our Atmosphere: Carbon Removal Prepares to Go Mainstream with chief operating officer of Climeworks Douglas Chan and author, chief scientist for The Nature Conservancy, and a Horn Distinguished Professor and endowed professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University Dr. Katharine Hayhoe.
• The Future of Human Connection with Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones and and NBC News anchor Savannah Sellers.
• The Great Rethinking: How to Navigate the Future of Work with author, speaker, teacher, advisor, podcast host, and futurist Rishad Tobaccowala.
• Spill the Tea: A Strategic Guide to Office Gossip with workplace expert, podcast host, author, and Contributing Editor at the Harvard Business ReviewAmy Gallo.
• Today's Athlete is a Brand's Best Megaphone with WNBA Champion, WNBA Finals MVP, two-time WNBA MVP, two-time Gold Medalist, WNBA Rookie of the Year, and broadcaster Candace Parker and Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Stagwell Beth Sidhu.
• Unlock Your Creative Problem Solving Super Powers with Gen AI with head of learning design and strategy at MasterClass at Work Dr. John Scott and author and creative technologist Don Allen Stevenson III.
• Activist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen has an unnamed talk.