The BlueThread Co-Sell Summit in San Francisco on September 9th, 2026 was one of those rooms that makes you feel the market moving in real time. Hosted by BlueThread and led by Rob Moyer, Tim Acker, Evelyn Hsia and Brandon Sizemore, the room brought together PartnerTech leaders, PartnerOps operators, Chief Partner Officers, partner marketers and partner revops leaders (too many to name!) who are doing the hard work on the front lines.

There was a lot of goodness in that room. Leaders were sharing agentic AI use cases, success stories from the stage, honest challenges off stage and practical methodologies that are starting to become new best practices. What I especially appreciated was seeing experienced partnership leaders leaning all the way into AI, data, testing, learning and helping the broader community get smarter together.

There are still big questions ahead. SaaS-driven PRMs, CRMs, TCMA platforms and custom-built agents are all colliding. Co-sell stacks may become more unified, or they may require smart mashups. Hyperscaler marketplaces may create real leverage for emerging agentic and SaaS apps, or those companies may still need to fight hard to find the right partners.

The strongest signal for me was the room’s conversation and growing awareness that high-quality partner data matters. Deal registration, transaction data and attribution are important, but also that partner organizations need deeper foundational intelligence, discovery tools and strategic content guidance on partners to recruit, invest in and lean into for specific opportunities (for both net new and existing partners).

That gap is still very real – the room confirmed that still only 5% to 15% of partners are actively driving value. 

Partner discovery, segmentation and alignment cannot stay a black hole. Why spend all the effort recruiting partners, building programs and hosting amazing engagement events while inviting the wrong companies? That’s insane when tools now exist to find the right companies to invite.

At PartnerOptimizer, this is exactly why we believe foundational partner data layers and IPP search algorithms need to be woven into every serious partner growth plan. When the right partner meets the right “better together” reason to engage, we have seen more than 50% respond – quickly. Partner growth accelerates and becomes much more powerful. 

Being in that BlueThread Co-Sell Summit Room felt like something way bigger than meets the eye is happening in our sector. I was honored to be a part of it, mingle with the “Partnerati”, and get a glimpse into what’s bubbling beneath the surface. Thanks again to BlueThread for building a great community!