Keynotes on AI agents, state machines and software that behaves
I give talks that change how engineers think about logic, with live demos that (usually) work. Your audience leaves with one new mental model and a reason to delete some code.
Available worldwide. On-site or remote. Travel and lodging are billed on top of the fee.
Which talks can I give at your event?
Each one is tailored to your audience at no extra cost. A brand-new talk written for one event is +$5,000.
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Goodbye Slop; Welcome Determinism
Agent rules hidden inside a long prompt become harder to inspect, test and trust. Explicit state machines make agent behavior observable while leaving room for models to handle the flexible work.
AI engineering, product & platform teams
Watch it (97.1K views) -
Goodbye, useEffect
From fetching data to fighting imperative APIs, side effects are one of the biggest sources of frustration in React. A better mental model for effects, and where they really belong.
React & frontend teams
Watch it (516.1K views) -
Goodbye, useState
useState is fine for simple component state, until it isn’t. Patterns for state management that scale with your app instead of against it.
React & full-stack teams
Watch it (50.8K views) -
Stop Drawing Pointless Arrows: Taming Complexity with Diagrams
Diagrams that actually mean something: using statecharts to make complex behavior visible, reviewable and executable.
Architects, staff engineers, product
Watch it (4.3K views) -
Making State Management Intelligent
Managing state is complicated, and humans are even more complicated. Adaptive, intelligent interfaces built on explicit models of behavior.
Frontend & UX engineering
Watch it (2.2K views)
What are your speaking fees?
Starting prices in USD, before VAT. Travel and lodging are always covered on top of the fee. If a bureau is involved, its commission is added on top too.
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Corporate keynote, in person
Company all-hands, engineering summits, customer events. Includes a 30-minute prep call.
from $15,000+ travel
Request a date -
Corporate keynote, virtual
Live, with Q&A.
from $7,500
Request a date -
Conference keynote, in person
Commercial conferences. Opening/closing keynote slot.
from $10,000+ travel
Request a date -
Conference keynote, virtual
Live or pre-recorded.
from $5,000
Request a date -
Conference session (non-keynote)
Virtual or pre-recorded: from $2,500.
from $5,000in person + travel
Request a date -
Panel, fireside chat or MC
MC: from $5,000 per day.
from $2,500per appearance
Request a date -
Conference workshop (ticketed)
Whichever is greater: $7,500 or 40% of gross ticket revenue (or 60% of net). Suggested ticket: $500–$800 per person per day. Cancelled if fewer than 10 tickets sold 2 weeks out.
from $7,500guarantee, or 40% of gross
Request a date -
Vendor or sponsored event
When the event promotes a company’s product.
from $15,000corporate rate
Request a date
What do I need from you?
- Travel on top of the fee for any in-person event: actual cost, or a flat $2,500 (continental) or $5,000 (intercontinental).
- Business class for flights over four hours, a hotel at or near the venue, and ground transport.
- Arrival the day before. For intercontinental trips, a day to recover from jet lag.
- A 50% non-refundable deposit to hold the date; the balance is due 30 days before the event.
- A keynote or early slot, promotion of the talk, and a code of conduct.
- Free public recordings are welcome. Paywalled distribution is +50%.
Bio for your program
David Khourshid is the creator of XState, the most popular state machine and statecharts library for JavaScript, and the founder of Stately (stately.ai). He speaks and teaches on event-driven modeling, visual diagramming and state machines as the foundation for reliable UIs and AI agents. When he’s not at a computer keyboard, he’s at a piano keyboard.
Longer bio
David Khourshid is a software engineer, the creator of XState and the founder of Stately, a platform of tools and services for visual software modeling. XState has over 30,000 stars on GitHub and roughly 3 million npm downloads per week. Before founding Stately in 2021, David was a software engineer at Microsoft working on Visual Studio Live Share. He has taught five courses on Frontend Masters, watched for 37,790 hours, and has spoken at conferences including JSConf, React Advanced London, React Summit, ReactiveConf, YOW! and Agent Conf. A trained pianist, he lives in Orlando, Florida.
Headshot, bios and talk abstracts: speaker one-sheet.
Engineers at these companies ship with XState
Where have I spoken?
JSConf Iceland (2016, 2018), CSSconf EU 2017, CSSConf Budapest 2019, CSSConf Australia, dotCSS 2019, React Rally (2017, 2019, 2023), ReactiveConf (2018, 2019), React Finland (2018–2022), ReactNext (2019, 2021, 2022), React Summit Remote 2021, React Advanced London 2022, Reactathon (2022, 2023), RenderATL 2022, React Miami 2024, React Conf AU 2020, React Alicante (2019, 2022–2024), React fwdays 2021, Nordic.js (2017, 2019), HolyJS, Uphill Conf 2019, Craft Conference (2019, 2024), Øredev 2022, JSHeroes 2023, Infobip Shift 2021, RxJS Live (2019), DevFest Florida (2017, 2019), FEDC Taiwan 2018, JSDC Taiwan, Effect Days 2024, YOW! Australia 2024, Agent Conf (2020, 2023, 2026), Algolia DevBit 2025, Beyond the Prompt 2026.
Coming up
- CityJS Athens
Oct 22, 2026. Workshop: Graph Engineering: Making State-Machine Powered Agents - React Summit US & AI Coding Summit NYC
Nov 16–19, 2026. Cloning Full-Stack Apps with AI: What It Really Takes - React Day Berlin
2026. Goodbye Slop; Welcome Determinism
Questions people ask before booking
How much does David Khourshid charge for a keynote?
Corporate keynotes start at $15,000 in person or $7,500 virtual. Commercial conference keynotes start at $10,000 in person or $5,000 virtual. Travel is always covered on top of the fee.
Do you speak at community events for free?
A small number of community slots each year (3–4) are reserved, at my discretion, for genuinely free or nonprofit meetups. The fee is waived, but travel is still covered (or the talk is remote). For-profit conferences are not eligible, regardless of size.
Can you give a custom talk for our event?
Yes. Existing talks are tailored to your audience at no extra cost; a net-new talk created for a single event is +$5,000.
Can the talk be recorded?
Free, public recordings of conference talks are welcome, with a copy and the right to repost. Paywalled or commercial distribution is +50% of the fee; internal corporate recordings are +30% (12 months) or +60% (perpetual).
Can we combine a keynote and a workshop?
Yes. A talk or keynote plus a workshop on the same trip is 10% off the combined fee.
What topics do you speak about?
State machines and statecharts, deterministic AI agents, React state management (useEffect/useState), the actor model, visual modeling and model-based testing.
Bring me to your stage
Send the event, date, audience size and budget. Corporate keynotes start at $15,000; conference keynotes at $10,000.