The Embarcadero Conference 2026 was such a huge success that even the rain came! Trains stopped to watch and participate in the biggest Delphi community event in the world! And “ARMADILLO FOR GOOD” (in portuguese “TATU DO BEM”, internal joke with Carlos “TATU” Agnes)!
After so many years attending the Embarcadero Conference , it’s still possible to be captivated by the event. The Delphi community’s journey reaches its peak right there, on those stages! And for yet another year, it was incredible!
Table of Contents
Delphi lives!
Let’s begin by recalling Delphi’s own journey; after all, it’s been around for 31 years, at least 22 of which were spent dealing with rumors of its “death,” prejudice, and various other derogatory comments. During this period, it underwent a change of ownership and made an enormous effort to remain contemporary and innovative. This is reflected in the large projects that use the technology to this day, modernizing themselves, remaining current, competitive, and prosperous thanks to the speed and performance delivered by the tool. Add to that a community that, even in completely unfavorable weather conditions and public transport anomalies, managed to fill the Amcham-Brazil in São Paulo with an audience from all over Brazil for a full day of exchanging experiences and knowledge aimed at maintaining technological leadership for several more years.
Audience present
That said, the Embarcadero Conference , already traditionally recognized as the largest Delphi developer event in the world, had over 600 attendees .
Stages and trails
This year’s event featured 5 simultaneous stages with presentations on various technological topics related to development, such as Best Practices, Backend, APIs, Cloud, Modernization, Databases, and of course, Artificial Intelligence and Innovation . In addition to the 5 tracks on the main stages, the event included a special track addressing DevOps culture in practice . This track was promoted by DevTrends and organized by Wesley Ribeiro , providing participants with a more intimate environment where they could interact directly with the presenters to clarify doubts about implementing these practices in their daily work.
Me on stage
Surprising the audience, I was once again on stage. I ended up taking the stage that was reserved for my friend Newton, who had some trouble presenting his lecture. The topic was KAI and Agency AI. I had the opportunity to get early access to KAI version 1.1, and obviously I decided to share everything with the audience, including the difficulties I faced during the installation process. But regarding KAI, a pleasant surprise was that version 1.1 includes a package with many new features and improvements.
Presence of the Embarcadero Matrix
The event was attended by Ben Schwenk, general manager of Embarcadero, who was closely following the Delphi community for the first time. Also present was our “almost Brazilian” Ian Barker, Leader of the Embarcadero MVP Program .
Ian took the stage to announce the upcoming release of RAD Studio, version 13.2, which already has a scheduled launch webinar: RAD Studio 13.2 Launch Webinar , taking place on September 22, 2026. Returning to the keynote, Ian spoke about new compilers with significantly optimized performance, new features, and components. But he didn’t just stay on the technical side. In his remarks, the leader of Embarcadero’s MVP program made a point of praising the Brazilian community, the work of the Brazilian MVPs, and, in this regard, he ratified this recognition by naming two new Embarcadero MVPs who will now join the team: Gabriel Baltazar and Leonardo Ercolin Filho .
The Academic Program
My role at Embarcadero is to connect companies with educational institutions, and this time we were able to subsidize the attendance of many students. This was the case with FATECs Itaquera and Mauá, which were represented by more than 30 students, both brought in through Professor Fretz Sievers Junior .
And some of our godchildren from ETEC Carapicuíba were also there, brought by Professor Wesley Castanha .
And also from the UFPR students who participate in CEPAG projects, who, under the leadership of Embarcadero’s now MVP, Professor Leonardo Ercolin , were at the event.
Also attending the Embarcadero Conference for the first time was Professor Rosana Mendes, who, along with her team, represented the Education Department of the Municipality of Paracambi, RJ, in an innovative move seeking partnerships to fulfill the Computer Science component of the BNCC (National Common Core Curriculum).
Humor and tribute
I wanted to take advantage of the Conference to pay tribute to my great friend, mentor, and fellow traveler Carlos “TATU” Agnes. Tatu is one of the great technical references in the Delphi community throughout these many years that I have followed the tool.
“A friendly armadillo” in a scenario that leads us to ask: when will the Embarcadero Conference 2027 be held and what can we expect from it? Leave your comments below!
Font: Original Post in Brazilian Portuguese
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Jealous… we need an Embarcadero Conference in North America with hundreds of attendees!
Absolutely agree, 100%. We’re looking into how we can do that. The biggest issue is choosing somewhere everyone can easily get to. Personally, I prefer Dallas – but then I am biased!
We also invite you to come visit us at the next Darian Miller! It would be a pleasure to have you here!