Freeway, the Phoenix-based platform connecting Arizona’s founders, investors and companies, will host its sixth Tech Talent Summit on Friday, Nov. 6 at 625 S. 5th St. in downtown Phoenix. The one-day event brings together founders, employers, investors and job seekers around this year’s theme, The Performance Economy, which focuses on how teams build, hire, scale and lead in the age of AI.
More than 3,500 people have attended Tech Talent Summit over the past three years and rate it 9.1 out of 10, according to Freeway. The spring summit, a flagship event of the inaugural AZ Tech Week in April, drew about 600 attendees. This edition features more than 40 speakers.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Arizona Commerce Authority President and CEO Sandra Watson, and Dan Costello, executive vice president and chief business officer of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury, will open the day. Anita Verma-Lallian, founder and CEO of Arizona Land Consulting, will deliver the keynote in a fireside conversation with Chris Richardson, a Freeway founding advisor and member of the Governor’s AI Steering Committee. Verma-Lallian has closed more than $1.5 billion in land deals tied to the AI data center boom and will speak on why Arizona is where AI gets built. Chamath Palihapitiya, co-host of the All-In podcast and founder and CEO of Social Capital, will join virtually to talk about investing in Arizona.
“Every founder I talk to is asking the same questions right now. When do you hire a person, and when do you bring in a tool? What actually changes on a team when AI shows up?” said Daniela Santangelo, founder of Freeway. “Almost nobody is talking about it honestly, out loud, in the same room. That’s why we built this summit.”
Panels will cover talent, AI agents and the new org chart with Kate King of terramtech, Edward Wu of Side and Chris Ronzio of Trainual, and the AI-native revenue team with Heidi Jannenga of WebPT, Jess Berger of Bundle x Joy and Rob Nicoletti of create human / HALO. Investors Glenn Lurie of Stormbreaker Ventures, Azin Radsan van Alebeek of Emmeline Ventures and Justin Gray of InRevenue Capital will share what they are backing now, and Cognite’s Mayur Patel and Nader Salman, Ph.D., will discuss the industrial jobs physical AI is creating. Executives from Sequoia PeopleLoop will also take the stage, including President Kathy Ross and Chief Marketing Officer Michele Floriani, who will moderate the talent and AI agents panel.
In the afternoon, Talent Match pairs selected candidates with hiring founders and employers for timed, face-to-face speed rounds hosted by The Intersect Group and Brainbox. Startups and companies can also reserve exhibitor tables to meet candidates on the floor.
“If you’re hiring, we want you there. If you’re not hiring yet, you have an even better reason to come,” Santangelo said. “The best hires start as relationships, and this is the room where you build them.”
Player 15 Group is the venue sponsor, and the Arizona Commerce Authority is presenting breakfast. Ecosystem partners include The Intersect Group, Sequoia PeopleLoop, Brainbox, Cognite, Stormbreaker Ventures, Elevest Capital, Center Court Group, Empire Scottsdale, CommLoan, OpenCubby and Coppersmith Brockelman. The cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa are city partners.
Event Details:
Tech Talent Summit 6.0: The Performance Economy
Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
625 S. 5th St., Phoenix, AZ 85004
Tickets: $27 through Oct. 31, $34 Nov. 1 to 5, $49 day of event at luma.com/tts6
Exhibitor inquiries: admin@founderfreeway.com