will.i.am

will.i.am is an internationally recognised musician, technology entrepreneur and futurist keynote speaker, best known as the founder of FYI.AI and frontman of The Black Eyed Peas. A seven-time Grammy Award winner, he has built a career that spans chart-topping music, award-winning production and pioneering work in artificial intelligence, making him one of the most distinctive creative voices of his generation.

Born William James Adams Jr. in Los Angeles, will.i.am was raised in the Estrada Courts housing projects in Boyle Heights. His mother encouraged him to seek opportunity beyond his immediate environment, sending him to schools across the city where he developed a wider outlook. As a teenager, he formed the group that would become The Black Eyed Peas, performing across Los Angeles before signing a record deal. Early exposure to hip hop, rave culture and emerging digital production tools shaped will.i.am’s instinct for innovation. He began producing and writing not only for his own projects but for other artists, steadily building a reputation as a forward-thinking creative with commercial instincts.

Global success followed with The Black Eyed Peas’ breakthrough albums ‘Elephunk’, ‘Monkey Business’, ‘The E.N.D.’ and ‘The Beginning’, delivering era-defining singles such as ‘Where Is the Love?’, ‘I Gotta Feeling’ and ‘Boom Boom Pow’. Across his career, will.i.am has earned seven Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award and a Daytime Emmy Award for ‘Yes We Can’. Alongside his music achievements, he was appointed Director of Creative Innovation at Intel in 2011 and later became Chief Creative Officer at 3D Systems in 2014. He founded i.am+, acquiring the smart home platform Wink in 2017, and launched FYI.AI, an AI-powered collaboration platform focused on reshaping digital creativity. In 2024, he delivered a widely noted address at MIT’s Stata Center on inclusive artificial intelligence, reinforcing his role as a credible voice in ethical technology.

As a speaker or host, will.i.am offers rare insight into the intersection of creativity, commerce and responsibility. He speaks on AI-driven innovation, ethical and inclusive artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship and the future of music and media. Drawing on experiences that range from streaming a song from Mars with NASA to mentoring entrepreneurs on ‘Planet of the Apps’ and serving as a long-standing coach on ‘The Voice UK’, he connects cultural relevance with technical ambition. Organisations hire him for perspective that is imaginative yet grounded, commercial yet principled, leaving audiences with a clearer understanding of how technology can expand human potential when guided by purpose.