Startup Events

Must Attend Startup Events in Seattle, USA

Seattle's founder calendar is busy before the holidays: DevFest on 7 November, a free go-to-market conference on 9 December and the GeekWire Gala on 10 December. For women founders, the date to keep is the Women in Tech Regatta, the week of 22 March 2027, which adds a founders track this year.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Seattle, from November 2026 to the end of 2027. We checked every date on the organiser's own website. We mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only). For other US cities, see the list at the end.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.

🔗 Add an awesome event

Must Attend Startup Events in Seattle 2026–2027: Calendar from November 2026 to June 2027

DatesEventVenueTypeStatus
2 Nov 2026Founders' Build Night: Ship One AI PrototypeThe Cloud RoomAI build sessionConfirmed
3 Nov 2026AI Tinkerers Seattle: AI Dev Tools TrackWashington 1000AI builder demosConfirmed
7 Nov 2026DevFest SeattleSURF IncubatorDeveloper conferenceConfirmed
12 Nov 2026Seattle Angel Conference 30 showcaseOnlineAngel pitch finaleConfirmed
17 Nov 2026Policy Matters SummitK&L Gates, 4th AveTech talent policy summitConfirmed
9 Dec 2026Clarify HorizonsBell Harbor Conference CenterGo-to-market conferenceConfirmed
10 Dec 2026GeekWire GalaThe Shop, 6th Ave STech community galaConfirmed
Week of 22 Mar 2027Women in Tech RegattaSeattle (venues to be announced)Women in tech week with a founders trackConfirmed
5–7 Apr 2027Real World CryptoSeattleApplied cryptography conferenceConfirmed
27 May 2027Dempsey Startup Competition finalUniversity of WashingtonStudent startup competitionConfirmed
6–11 Jun 2027AI Con USAHyatt Regency SeattleAI and ML conferenceConfirmed
20–25 Jun 2027CVPRSeattleComputer vision and AI conferenceConfirmed

Autumn and winter 2026

Founders' Build Night and AI Tinkerers: 2–3 November 2026

📅 Founders' Build Night: Ship One AI PrototypeConfirmed
DatesMonday 2 November 2026, 5–8 PM
WhereThe Cloud Room Coworking Space, 1424 11th Ave, Suite 400, Seattle 98122
TypeAI build session
Who it's forFounders and builders, technical or not
TicketsOn the Eventbrite page
Official siteeventbrite.com
Run by Signal Loop Labs: you work in pods of about four and leave with one working AI prototype.
📅 AI Tinkerers Seattle: AI Dev Tools TrackConfirmed
DatesTuesday 3 November 2026, 6–9 PM
WhereWashington 1000, 1000 Olive Way, Seattle 98101
TypeAI builder demo night
Who it's forAI engineers and technical founders
TicketsNot published
Official siteaitinkerers.org
A monthly session of lightning demos and live code walk-throughs: a good place to meet technical co-founders. More in our AI startup events.
AI House at Pier 70 also runs small "Unfiltered" VC Q&A sessions, on 3 and 17 November (4–6 PM, host approval needed). aihouse.vc

DevFest Seattle: 7 November 2026

📅 DevFest Seattle 2026Confirmed
DatesSaturday 7 November 2026, 9 AM–4 PM
WhereSURF Incubator, 999 3rd Ave, Suite 700, Seattle 98104
TypeDeveloper conference
Who it's forDevelopers and technical founders
TicketsNot published; register on the GDG page
Official sitegdg.community.dev
GDG Seattle's yearly day of talks, workshops and demos on Google and AI tools, at the incubator that also houses The SWELL.

Seattle Angel Conference 30 showcase: 12 November 2026

📅 Seattle Angel Conference 30: Public ShowcaseConfirmed
DatesThursday 12 November 2026
WhereOnline
TypeOnline angel pitch finale
Who it's forFounders and new angel investors
TicketsNot published; applications for this round closed on 18 August
Official sitemeetup.com
Six finalists pitch, and the winner gets a $100K–$200K investment from angels trained during the programme. The conference runs twice a year, so watching this one is good preparation for the next round. More in our pitch competitions.

Policy Matters Summit: 17 November 2026

📅 Policy Matters Summit: Building Washington's Talent AdvantageConfirmed
DatesTuesday 17 November 2026, 8:30 AM–3 PM
WhereK&L Gates LLP, 925 4th Ave, Suite 2900, Seattle
TypeTech talent policy summit
Who it's forBusiness, education and policy leaders
Tickets$75
Official siteluma.com
The Technology Alliance's yearly summit, this time on how Washington trains and keeps tech talent. Useful if you hire.
Global Entrepreneurship Week runs 16–22 November worldwide; we found no Seattle-specific event yet.

Clarify Horizons: 9 December 2026

📅 Clarify Horizons: GTM ConferenceConfirmed
DatesWednesday 9 December 2026, 9 AM to the 5 PM happy hour
WhereBell Harbor Conference Center, 2211 Alaskan Way, Seattle
TypeGo-to-market conference
Who it's forFounders and sales leaders at founder-led B2B software companies
TicketsFree; 150 seats, approved by request
Official siteclarify.ai
Clarify's CEO Patrick Thompson, Jeffrey Zhao of Ordinal and Joe Rhew of The Workflow Company speak, and there's a talk on Yoodli's growth from zero to $30M in two years. Practical sales lessons for bootstrapped B2B founders. See our SaaS startup events.

GeekWire Gala: 10 December 2026

📅 GeekWire Gala 2026Confirmed
DatesThursday 10 December 2026; VIP reception 4:30 PM, Gala 6–10 PM; 21+
WhereThe Shop, 2233 6th Ave S, Seattle
TypeTech community gala with awards
Who it's forFounders, investors and tech leaders
TicketsNot published on the page; group tickets available
Official sitegeekwire.com
Seattle's tech holiday party, with the Uncommon Thinkers awards run with Greater Seattle Partners. It's the densest room of Seattle founders and investors in the year.

Spring and summer 2027

Women in Tech Regatta: week of 22 March 2027

Confirmed for the week of 22 March 2027 in Seattle; days and venues are not published yet. The Regatta joins The SWELL this year and has four tracks, including a new founders track with a showcase, demo day, funding talks and office hours. It's the best-fit event of the year for women founders and for women leaving corporate jobs to start a company. womenintechregatta.com

Real World Crypto: 5–7 April 2027

📅 Real World Crypto 2027Confirmed
Dates5–7 April 2027
WhereSeattle; venue not yet published
TypeApplied cryptography conference
Who it's forSecurity and privacy tech founders and researchers
TicketsNot yet published; visa letter requests by 1 March 2027
Official siteiacr.org
A niche international conference, but very useful for security and privacy tech founders. See our cybersecurity startup events.

Dempsey Startup Competition: final round 27 May 2027

📅 Dempsey Startup Competition 2027Confirmed
DatesApplications due 5 April 2027; screening round 8–13 April; Investment Round 6 May; final round 27 May 2027
WhereUniversity of Washington, Seattle; venue not yet published
TypeStudent startup competition
Who it's forStudent founders; others can judge or mentor
TicketsFree for students
Official sitefoster.uw.edu
The UW Buerk Center's competition for student teams; the 2026 winner took a $25,000 BECU grand prize. Not a student? Volunteer as a judge or mentor to meet young technical talent.

AI Con USA and CVPR: June 2027

📅 AI Con USA 2027Confirmed
Dates6–11 June 2027
WhereHyatt Regency Seattle, and online
TypeHybrid AI and machine learning conference
Who it's forAI, ML and MLOps practitioners
TicketsNot published
Official sitetechwell.com
📅 CVPR 2027Confirmed
Dates20–25 June 2027
WhereSeattle; venue not yet published
TypeComputer vision and AI research conference with an expo
Who it's forAI researchers, engineers, startups and investors
TicketsNot yet published
Official sitethecvf.com
CVPR is the biggest international AI gathering in Seattle in 2027: good for hiring, research partners and AI investors. More in our deep tech startup events.

Dates not announced yet

  • Seattle Tech Week 2027 (Madrona): "dates are TBD"; the 2026 week had about 250 events, and hosts submit their own. seattletechweek.com
  • GeekWire Awards 2027: expected in May; the last one was on 7 May 2026. geekwire.com
  • Seattle Angel Conference 31: the next round of the twice-yearly conference.
  • SCORE Washington Women's Pitch Contest 2027: last time the deadline was 27 February and the final on 6 May; it's for loan financing, not equity. score.org
  • Seattle AI Week 2027 (WTIA): expected in late October; the 2026 week ran 26–30 October. seattleaiweek.com
  • DubHacks 2027 (UW), Seattle Interactive Conference 2027 and GeekGirlCon 2027: all held in October 2026; no 2027 dates yet.

Recurring meetups and communities

  • The SWELL: a hub for women and non-binary founders at SURF Incubator, with a free "Catch the SWELL" drop-in every Thursday, 9:30–11:30 AM. luma.com
  • AI House (Pier 70): coworking, VC Q&As and an incubator, started with the City of Seattle. aihouse.vc
  • Startup425: free coworking days at Eastside city halls (Bellevue 2 November; Kirkland and Bothell 4 November) and an accelerator. startup425.org
  • Alliance of Angels: 180+ accredited investors; founders apply for funding online. allianceofangels.com
  • 9Zero: Seattle's climate tech hub, with founder events. 9zero.com
  • Founders Live Seattle: 99-second pitch nights; the last one was on 29 October.
  • Founder Institute Seattle: a Spring 2027 pre-seed cohort is open for applications. fi.co
Quiet or gone: the GeekWire Summit stopped after 2023, Techstars Seattle closed in 2024, Microsoft Build moved to San Francisco in 2026, and Startup Grind Seattle lists no upcoming events.

Events for women founders in Seattle

  • Women in Tech Regatta (week of 22 March 2027): now with a founders track run with The SWELL.
  • The SWELL: free Thursday drop-ins; members ($200 a month) get a custom accelerator with Founder Institute from January 2027. GeekWire
  • SCORE Washington Women's Pitch Contest: expected again in spring 2027.
  • GeekGirlCon: Seattle's yearly convention for women in tech and games, held in October.
Run an event for women founders in Seattle? Send it to us and we'll add it. See also our female entrepreneurship events and women in tech events for 2027.

Funding and support to know before you go

  • WTIA Founder Cohort: a free four-month programme for pre-seed and seed founders in Washington state, 20 startups twice a year, with no equity taken. washingtontechnology.org
  • Washington business licence: you need one if, among other cases, you'll hire within 90 days, collect sales tax or earn $12,000 a year or more. dor.wa.gov
  • Startup425: free resources, events and an accelerator from the cities of Bellevue, Kirkland, Issaquah, Redmond and Renton. startup425.org
  • Founders from abroad: the International Entrepreneur Parole gives up to 2.5 years (renewable once) to founders who raised at least $311,071 from qualified US investors, or $124,429 in government grants.

How to get the most out of Seattle startup events

  1. Request your Clarify Horizons seat early. It's free, but there are only 150 seats, approved by request.
  2. Use the free weekly events. The SWELL's Thursday drop-ins, Startup425 coworking days and AI Tinkerers cost nothing.
  3. Prepare for the next angel round. Watch the Seattle Angel Conference showcase on 12 November, then apply to the next round.
  4. Host your own event. Seattle Tech Week and Seattle AI Week let anyone submit an event, a cheap way to get in front of founders and investors.
  5. Don't plan around old events. The GeekWire Summit, Techstars Seattle and Microsoft Build in Seattle are gone; check the date before you book.

List your event in this guide

Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Seattle? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.

🔗 Add an awesome event

Startup events in other places

FAQ

What are the main startup events in Seattle?

DevFest Seattle (7 November 2026), the Seattle Angel Conference showcase (12 November), Clarify Horizons (9 December), the GeekWire Gala (10 December), the Women in Tech Regatta (week of 22 March 2027) and CVPR (20–25 June 2027).

Is there a Seattle Tech Week in 2027?

Yes, Madrona runs it every year, but the 2027 dates are not set yet. Hosts can submit their own events once the call opens.

Is the GeekWire Summit still held?

No. The last GeekWire Summit was in 2023. GeekWire's main events now are the GeekWire Gala in December and the GeekWire Awards in May.

Are there events for women founders in Seattle?

Yes: the Women in Tech Regatta (week of 22 March 2027) with its new founders track, The SWELL's free Thursday drop-ins and the SCORE Washington Women's Pitch Contest.

Do I need a business licence in Washington state?

You need one if, among other cases, you'll hire within 90 days, collect sales tax or earn $12,000 a year or more, according to the Washington Department of Revenue.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-10-29 14:29 By city