Sloss Tech, presented by Innovate Alabama and hosted by TechBirmingham, wrapped up its 2026 edition with the strongest turnout in the event’s history, drawing 1,505 attendees to Birmingham. The growth extended across nearly every measure of the conference, from ticket sales and sponsorship dollars to the diversity of speakers and startups on stage.
The event sold 549 paid tickets, more than double the number sold in 2025, representing a 101.8 percent increase. Ticket sales generated $96,389.83 in revenue.
While the conference remains deeply rooted in Birmingham, its reach continues to expand. Among survey respondents, 63 percent lived in the Birmingham metro area, 22 percent traveled from elsewhere in Alabama and 15 percent traveled from outside the state.
More than 160 attendees came from beyond Alabama’s borders, and Sloss Tech drew participants from 32 states, according to data from the event’s networking platform. The strongest out-of-state turnout came from neighboring Southeastern states—Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida—alongside attendees from major innovation hubs including Atlanta, Nashville, Chicago, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Denver, Boston, Charlotte and Philadelphia.
Programming spanned 16 venues across the city, and the conference’s official hotel partner, the Tutwiler, booked 15 nights for visiting guests. Innovate Alabama, the presenting sponsor, hosted Alabama HQ throughout the conference, which the event described in a press release as “a dedicated space showcasing the programs, partnerships and people driving innovation in every corner of the state and connecting attendees with entrepreneurs across Alabama’s innovation ecosystem.”
Programming, speakers and startups
Sloss Tech 2026 featured four keynote speakers, 43 sessions, five workshops and 35 mentor sessions, alongside an artist spotlight performance from Salaam Green, Birmingham’s inaugural poet laureate.
In total, 139 speakers took the stage, with 51.6 percent based in Birmingham and 71 percent from Alabama overall. Nearly 30 percent of speakers traveled from outside the state, representing cities including Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Raleigh, Chicago and San Antonio.
The lineup also included international representation from Vienna, Austria, and Zurich, Switzerland, bringing the total speaker footprint to at least eight U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and two international cities.
The conference’s entrepreneurship programming also grew, with 16 companies competing in the Sloss.Tech/Ideas pitch competition powered by the Regions Foundation, a nonprofit backed primarily by Regions Bank.
Sloss.Tech/Ideas finalists represented six states and 10 cities across the Southeast, with Alabama accounting for nearly 44 percent of finalists, including startups from Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville and Mobile. Birmingham led all cities with four finalists, while North Carolina and Florida each contributed three finalists. The competition awarded $135,000 in prizes.
This year’s Startup Showcase featured 45 companies, including Sloss.Tech/Ideas finalists, providing entrepreneurs with an additional opportunity to connect with investors, mentors and business leaders. Separately, seven students competed in the Innovate Alabama Student Pitch Competition.
Networking and digital engagement
Attendees made extensive use of the event’s Brella matchmaking platform, logging 3,498 total matchmaking selections across networking, mentoring, investment and recruitment categories.
The platform recorded 2,058 networking selections, 1,160 mentoring selections, 184 investment selections and 96 recruitment selections, along with 725 app downloads and 135 scheduled meetings.
Roughly four out of every five app users were based in Alabama, underscoring the event’s role as a statewide technology and innovation gathering even as it draws a growing national and international audience.
Sponsorship support
Sloss Tech credited the conference’s sponsors and partners with helping drive its growth. The event welcomed 62 sponsors this year.
“Sloss Tech 2026 is proof of what happens when a community shows up for innovation,” TechBirmingham President and CEO Deon Gordon said. “From record attendance and ticket sales to the number of states our speakers and startups represented, this year’s event reflects the momentum building in Birmingham’s tech ecosystem. We’re grateful to our sponsors, partners, and every attendee who made this our biggest Sloss Tech yet, and we’re already looking ahead to building on that growth next year.”
