Sumithra Jagannath, founder and president of ZED Digital, was one of the most compelling professionals to present on The Inspiration Stage at INTIX 2026. It helps that her session’s title “No Lines. No Scans. No Chaos: Reimaging AI Crowd Management with the Phone in Your Pocket” detailed everything association members needed to know heading into it. After a few minutes, attendees wanted to know more. They wanted to see more. Jagannath delivered.
Sumithra Jagannath
The Phone in Your Pocket Is Your Ticket
Ohio-based ZED Digital has pioneered Internet of Things sensors for cashless, touchless and queue-less mobile ticketing. Driven by the smartphone, these sensors when implemented at stadiums, arenas and other live event venues enable contactless payment and entry while the phone remains in the fan’s pocket.
Jagannath says, “People can simply enter a concert, a game or other live event with a phone in their pocket. They don’t have to tap or scan or stand in line. They can just free-flow walk in. The inspectors at the gate will know just by using their tablets or scanners whether who is entering has paid or not paid. They are identified by red and green squares. So, if you haven’t paid, that red square doesn’t leave you anywhere you go in the venue.”
She states that the technology she invented for ZED Digital isn’t just about ticketing. It’s about not leaving money on the table due to fraud. It’s also about security. People who sneak into events “can be anywhere inside,” she warns, “even seated. When you see the red squares, the technology then becomes a security tool. The FIFA Games and the Olympics are coming to the U.S., and venues are looking for safety in screening. With our tech, ticketing is extended beyond ticketing to also being a security tool.” A tool that can identify potentially dangerous people.
As expected, Jagannath and her colleagues encountered their fair share of attendee skepticism at INTIX 2026. There was also a certain intimidation factor that had to be overcome where such new and emerging technology is concerned. Fortunately, she says, there was also a lot of genuine open-mindedness, too.
Jagannath says, “People really wanted to see our demos. There was some concern about our technology using facial recognition, but we don’t use facial recognition. We use a sensor-based technology that connects with your smartphone that communicates with a camera system but without using your face. The camera system identifies you because you either have a smartphone with a ticket or you don’t.”
She adds, “We get a lot of positive feedback from ticket inspectors, because we use ‘fast lane’ entry. Our line moves faster than the ones where people bring traditional tickets. The biggest thing for inspectors is our technology reduces the number of scans. And it’s the same thing for visitors. They often look and ask, ‘Why is my lane moving so slow, and that one is moving so fast? How can I get in THAT lane?’”
AI Is A-OK at INTIX 2026
For Jagannath, this was her first time at INTIX 2026. But she vows that it will not be her last. She was very excited when the topic she submitted was accepted for an Inspiration Stage session:
“We had a few takeaways for different audiences. We wanted to speak to the venue organizers, the people who put together the various events. Then, there is the audience itself, the people who come to the events. And, finally, there are the finance people we wanted to speak to, the people who count the money at the venues. We had all of them in mind.”
She continues, “The biggest takeaway for the venue organizers who were there was the reduction in stress and chaos of having an event and seating everybody successfully. We also showed the reduction in time. We were able to show entry could be as much as 10 times faster using AI in ticketing. Some of them were skeptical, but then I invited them to come to our booth to see a live demo, and a lot of them from that session did. Seeing is believing!”
Jagannath is indeed not only the founder of ZED Digital, she’s also the brain behind the technology. She notes, “We’re very proud to be the first to bring the technology to live operation. We’re the only one right now with this type of sensor-based AI that connects with your smartphone, and it’s patented. We’re now in about 30 venues, and it is also being used in public transit. People can just board buses with a phone in their pocket. So, you have a lot fewer late buses!”
The Future
Finally, Jagannath was asked what technology innovation on the near or even far horizon pertaining to ticketing and live events has her most excited and why? She shared, “Ticketing is expanding beyond just buying a ticket. It’s actually becoming about the venue experience. In the past, you used to buy a cup of coffee for 50¢ or a dollar. But then Starbucks made it about the ‘coffee experience,’ and now you pay $7. In ticketing, there are now ‘super wallet venues’ that give you a seamless, line-up-free experience. That’s what we are hoping ticketing will become. In fact, it’s already becoming that.”
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