Visalaw Ai, a Memphis-based artificial intelligence platform for immigration attorneys, won the $100,000 grand prize at the second annual Sloss.Tech/Ideas Southeast Pitch Competition. The company received the competition’s top award during Sloss Tech 2026, one of the Southeast’s leading technology and innovation conferences.
Funded by a grant from the Regions Foundation—a nonprofit backed primarily by Regions Bank—the competition awarded $135,000 in total funding to emerging startups from across the Southeast. The awards included the $100,000 grand prize, three $10,000 category awards and a $5,000 People’s Choice Award. Sixteen startup finalists representing high-growth technology sectors pitched their businesses during the competition.
Judges selected Visalaw Ai as the overall winner for its innovative use of artificial intelligence to streamline immigration law practices. Founded as a legal technology spinoff of immigration law firm Siskind Susser PC, the company combines a proprietary, attorney-validated immigration law database with generative AI. The platform helps attorneys conduct legal research, draft petitions and prepare filings more quickly and accurately. Founder and CEO Josh Waddell leads Visalaw Ai as it advances the use of AI-powered legal technology to meet growing demand for immigration legal services.
“Visalaw Ai exemplifies the kind of breakthrough innovation we’re seeing across the Southeast, and its work represents exactly the type of transformative technology that can change how professionals work while driving economic growth in our region,” TechBirmingham President and CEO Deon Gordon said.
Judges recognized Visalaw Ai for applying artificial intelligence to one of the most complex areas of legal practice. By combining legal expertise with a specialized immigration law knowledge base, the platform helps attorneys reduce administrative burdens, increase productivity and devote more time to client advocacy, according to a TechBirmingham news release.
“As an Alabama native and Samford graduate, this recognition is especially meaningful to me,” Waddell said. “It’s exciting to see Birmingham’s technology ecosystem continue to grow, and we’re grateful to TechBirmingham and the Regions Foundation for investing in startups like ours. This award will help us continue building AI solutions that meet the growing needs of the immigration legal community.”
The second annual Sloss.Tech/Ideas Southeast Pitch Competition attracted applications from startups across Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Eligible companies had to have launched commercially after January 2021 and raised no more than $5 million in total funding.
“Congratulations to Visalaw Ai, which made an impressive pitch for its company that combines specialized immigration law expertise with AI to solve a real-world problem,” Regions Foundation Executive Director Marta Self said. “Josh demonstrated a clear message about a platform that continuously monitors immigration rulings and case outcomes and incorporates the experience of practicing attorneys. The company has already shown promising early traction, and we believe the competition proceeds can help accelerate its growth. The competition was exceptionally strong this year, and hearing from the finalists left me excited about the future of innovation and entrepreneurship across the Southeast.”
Additional award winners
People’s Choice Award—$5,000
SiNON Nano Sciences of Durham, North Carolina, is developing a patented carbon nanoparticle drug-delivery platform designed to transport therapies across the blood-brain barrier and improve treatment options for neurological diseases. Afreen Allam founded the company.
Category award winners—$10,000 each
Agtech and foodtech
ShipShape AgWorks of Birmingham, Alabama, builds modular, AI-driven vertical farming systems—including farms engineered from repurposed shipping containers—designed for climate resilience and space efficiency. Dale and Angela Speetjens founded the company.
Talent and productivity technology
Visalaw Ai of Memphis, Tennessee, is an AI-powered legal research and drafting platform built specifically for immigration law practices.
Emerging technology
Numadx of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, applies compressed-air technology—originally developed for NFL helmet liners and U.S. Army protective gear—to a new generation of pneumatic shoe inserts. CEO Paul Thomas leads the materials science company, which Dr. Jeff Wiggins founded.
Health technology and biotechnology
SiNON Nano Sciences of Durham, North Carolina, is developing a patented Carbon NanoDot drug-delivery platform targeting brain tumors and other neurological diseases.
All 16 finalist startups received comprehensive support, including two complimentary VIP badges to Sloss Tech 2026, a $375 travel stipend, pre-event and on-site pitch coaching and an opportunity to highlight their companies during the conference’s Startup Showcase.
Sloss Tech, held June 24-26, 2026, in Birmingham’s historic theater district, has grown in eight years from a one-day gathering into one of the Southeast’s premier technology and innovation conferences. This year’s event attracted more than 1,400 attendees, including entrepreneurs, investors, founders, corporate leaders and technology professionals from across the region.
Financial support from the Regions Foundation made the Sloss.Tech/Ideas Southeast Pitch Competition possible. The nonprofit, funded primarily by Regions Bank, invests in economic and community development, education and workforce readiness, and financial wellness initiatives across the region.
For more information about Visalaw Ai, visit www.visalaw.ai. For more information about Sloss Tech and the Sloss.Tech/Ideas Southeast Pitch Competition, visit sloss.tech or contact TechBirmingham at [email protected].
