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We’re thrilled to announce that our NYC Tech Week event was overwhelmingly successful. Not only did we announce startup pitch winners, but we also enjoyed panel discussions with investors, operators and industry experts, and a quality audience. We list the winning startups, here, too.

Of course, there’s another big announcement. Emerald Summit is LIVE 🌎 Our themes for Wallet Max's Annual Emerald Summit and Bold World Awards Competition 2026 will be “Fundraising Community” and “AI Sustainability”, with a special emphasis on “Enterprise Transformation”.

We hope you will join us in September as a speaker, sponsor, startup, or volunteer. Share with someone you think would be a great fit!

In this newsletter, we’ll discuss Emerald Summit and NYC Tech Week further, as well as dive into some timely climate and AI news.

On September 18, the Wallet Max Emerald Summit & Awards brings together the boldest minds in climate fintech, sustainable finance, and impact innovation – all in one electrifying day in New York City during NYC Climate Week 2026.

Expect 50+ speakers, fireside chats, panels on circular economy and renewable energy, a live pitch competition, and Startup Awards recognizing the ventures building tomorrow's solutions today. Whether you're a founder, investor, executive, or policymaker, this is the ecosystem event you can't afford to miss.

🎟️ Three Ways to Attend:

👉 Save Your Seat: luma.com/EmeraldSummitWM26

🎤 Looking to Pitch?
We’re inviting founders to pitch their startup for a chance to tap into funding and non-monetary prizes. If you are developing a bold, innovative solution, we want to hear from you:

➡️ Deep tech
➡️ AI-enabled fintech / climate fintech
➡️ Climate tech
➡️ Sustainability
➡️ Clean energy
➡️ Social and environmental justice

Don’t wait! Our roster fills up fast 👉 Submit your interest here to pitch.

It was amazing to host the Deep Tech/AI Startup Pitch Competition on June 1st. We had 11 startups pitch with 6 investors, operators, and ecosystem leaders serving as judges and speakers.

We appreciate the amazing lineup of startups, investors, and executives confirmed, including:

And, I’m thrilled to share our winning startups from NYC Tech Week event:

🥇 Sly – Diego Garcia
🥈 WombWatch – Vinesh Kavassery
🥉 PlusZero – Manuel Der

Many Congratulations 🎉 These winning startups will automatically be entered into Wallet Max’s Annual Emerald Summit and Bold World Awards Competition alongside April’s NYC FinTech event winners:

🥇Inncivio – Ghassen Benhadjsalah
🥈Merble – Shivam Goyal
🥉Quantuma – Adnan Haider

We are thrilled to hear from and celebrate all six winners on September 18th.

II had the privilege of attending Grace Institute's second annual Moving Women Forward Mini-Conference during NYC Tech Week, and left genuinely energized.

The theme – AI and Equity in the Workplace – couldn't have felt more timely. The day opened with a keynote from Leigh-Ann Russell, Chief Information Officer and Global Head of Engineering at Bank of New York (BNY), who set a powerful tone about the intersection of technology leadership and gender equity.

It was a focused, well-curated half-day that felt less like a conference and more like a room of people who genuinely wanted to solve ethical AI and gender in the workplace.

It’s no secret that Earth’s climate is drastically out of sync. The last decade has been the hottest on record, with no sign of cooling down.

There is no single threat. Pollution, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts and floods reduce livable areas. According to the UN, 1.1 billion children suffer from climate hazards affecting their health, education, and survival. And the next El Nino will only intensify these existing issues.

It’s an immediate problem with no one solution. But that doesn’t mean global communities have given up hope. From rethickening the Arctic through geoengineering to carbon sequestration, there are dozens of solutions that can positively impact the planet.

This is where events like NYC Climate Week and Emerald Summit matter more than we realize. Founders, investors, and policy makers attend these events to discuss solutions and case studies. It is an ecosystem of positive change.

Not every solution to global warming requires technical and complex scientific approaches. Increasing energy efficiency, supporting inclusion, and lowering sustainability costs all contribute to cooling the Earth while achieving a more equitable future.

Sabrina Bainbridge is Associate Director of Investments at Spring Point Partners (SPP), an independent organization that invests in a portfolio that is responsive to high-growth and high-impact opportunities in the U.S. venture marketplace. She works closely with fund managers and direct investments to drive value creation in private markets.

​Prior to SPP, Sabrina played a key role in shaping Plan International’s investment strategy, where she developed innovative financial vehicles to support business growth in emerging markets and led a pilot initiative in Nairobi, Kenya to improve capital access and scalability for enterprises. She holds an MBA from the University of Oxford and a BS from Oklahoma State University.

And in this episode, Sabrina shares how investors can leverage inclusion and impact without compromising growth of investments. She shares how she shifted from Teach for America to finance, creating value for diverse stakeholders, securely leveraging AI, and more.

“My mom is a banker. She's always worked in banking. As a kid, I thought that sounded so boring,” notes Sabrina. “But she used to say, this is how you can help people make their dreams come true. And if money is in the hands of the right people with a problem solving perspective, it can do a lot of good.”

In her current work, Sabrina strives to show that diversity drives innovation. Learn how she makes that possible. Get the full story in the replay below 👇

The podcast is hosted by Wallet Max Founder & CEO Bhuva Shakti, and is for anyone interested in learning from investors and founders shaping thoughtful, practical solutions.

Want more than advice from investors? Check out our full podcast library, updated at the end of the month, every month.

Artificial Intelligence is often easier discussed than documented. Across the world, governments and industries are attempting to balance efficiency, scale, and impact with AI – and the results are hardly consistent.

In a UNESCO-sponsored regional policy dialogue held in Kathmandu in May, South Asian leaders met to discuss the importance of preparing the higher education workforce for an AI-enabled future. There is a clear understanding that AI will be a key player in the workforce. But there are significant hurdles, from training students on ethical AI use to ensuring algorithms support gender-equity in a region plagued by stark gender discrimination.

Environmental concerns are also at the forefront, with companies like Microsoft studying how to make AI more efficient and reduce carbon outputs. A positive outlook lies in their recent report that scaling AI might unlock 8 to 20x more efficiency within the system itself.

That said, what we do with this new efficiency matters. Poor governance and understanding of AI technology has led to mass layoffs, such as in the journalism industry. This lack of structure can also cause lackluster or confusing implementations, lessening investment in much needed workforce training, as seen in the marketing sphere.

And while it’s a rare occurrence, sometimes the technology itself goes rogue, usually due to poor prompts or internal safeguards. It may seem harmless, until you realize that AI is driving cars and operating dangerous machinery. The room for error should be razor thin.

AI governance cannot be left to an afterthought. It must be baked-in. As a professional who has helped startups and enterprise companies leverage AI, it’s easy to see how chaotic implementing a new technology can be. But with planning, risk-management, and policy, it’s possible to integrate these workflows safely and efficiently for both people and the planet.

Reflecting on my career, some of my most pivotal decisions were made long before I felt ready. I did not wait until every skill was perfected or every credential was in hand. I said yes first and then figured out how to rise to the challenge.

One of the earliest examples was when I chose computer science. I did not know a single role model who had studied it in my vicinity at the time. I had no idea what my future career would be with a computer degree. I said yes to a field I barely understood.

Years later, I followed the same curiosity on Wall Street. I was a young immigrant with a background in technology, not finance. I had no idea how trading floors worked or how financial markets moved. I could have rejected the opportunity to grow due to a lack of qualifications or confidence. Instead, I focused on the skills I did have and worked hard to learn those I didn’t.

Readiness is often an illusion. If we wait until we feel completely prepared, we will wait forever. Growth lives on the other side of discomfort. This is not about taking reckless risks. It’s about trusting your transferable skills.

One small yes can create momentum – and momentum creates readiness.

Delve deeper into the philosophy of saying yes and my key action steps for lesson in a free preview. Get all the insights and frameworks on my website 👇

In my upcoming book on risk, Everyday Risk Wisdom: Your Risk Management Guide to Thrive in a Complex World as an Overlooked Business Leader, I cover a variety of lessons from my career.

Explore my book website below and get notified when this lesson is available for free!

Learning to say yes requires learning what’s holding you back. What subconscious process have you experienced from the list below? It may be holding you back.

Read the lesson for my “Say Yes Before You Feel Ready” action steps. Explore my book website below and get notified when this framework is available for free!

Wallet Max is enthusiastic to be at the intersection of ethical AI implementation, grassroots climate solutions, and profitable communities. Emerald Summit is our flagship event that recognizes the hard work of our startups, investors, policymakers, executives, and all community members.

But we need your help. Considering “saying yes” to being a sponsor, volunteer, speaker, or startup at our upcoming Summit in September. Simply respond to this email or message us at [email protected].

For the Wallet Max team, myself included, Emerald Summit isn't just another pitch event. It really is a celebration of the risk-takers and planet-conscious changemakers working towards a better future. It offers volunteers, startups, investors, and all attendees a like-minded ecosystem to learn and grow together.

That community – I think – is one of the greatest benefits of our events. And I sincerely hope to see you there.

It takes a village to build a better world. And we’re grateful to have you as a part of our village at Wallet Max.

Thanks for supporting us to build a better world!

Bhuva Shakti, Founder of Wallet Max and Bhuva’s Impact Global.