What to Know Google Cloud Next is a growing annual conference about data and artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is how Google thinks companies can make use of their massive stores of data

The conference has grown from a few hundred to over 25,000 people in just four years

Four years ago, it started with a few hundred people at a hotel on Market Street — and now, it's taken over San Francisco's Moscone Center with an attendance of over 25,000.

A much different affair than Google's I/O developer conference, focused on Android and other products aimed at consumers, Google Cloud Next is all about the enterprise and its massive stores of data.

"If you think about putting your cash under a mattress, it is the same thing about the cloud," said Google's Cloud AI marketing lead, Philippe Poutonnet. "The cloud is really making sure that your data is not inside your company, but it is somewhere safe, like a bank."

Artificial intelligence is the next step: How to search through all that data and gain meaningful insights from it — whether it's recognizing a security threat, or figuring out which products customers are likely to want this holiday season.

Through a partnership with the NCAA, Google's AI is also making forays into college sports. Watch the video above to see how!