Philadelphia showed up — and then some.
On May 7, 2026, Pennovation Works, along with AgriGates, Code & Coffee, Grayson Sky, Penn Vet, PhilaCon Valley, Philly Tech Council, Philly AI Connect, Philly Tech & AI Alliance, m2i, Philly Builds AI - The Alliance, and Vets in Tech hosted (Co)nnect: Philly's AI Ecosystem Summit, bringing together more than 600 founders, investors, researchers, engineers, and community builders for a full day of conversation, learning, and connection at the heart of Penn's innovation campus. With a 100-person waitlist and a room that buzzed from open to close, the message was hard to miss: Philadelphia's AI ecosystem isn't emerging; it's arrived.
The summit took place during Philly Tech Week—the region's annual celebration of technology and innovation—and served as one of its flagship events, a fitting home for a day built around the question of what this city is building and what comes next.
The morning keynote set an unmistakable tone. Grace Francisco, technologist, ecosystem builder, and founder of m2i, took the stage with The Philadelphia Advantage, a clear-eyed, energizing argument for why Philadelphia isn't catching up in the AI race; it's setting the pace.
The heart of the day unfolded across three tracks — fireside chats, lightning rounds, and hands-on workshops — each designed to meet attendees where they are; whether they're deep in a technical build, navigating early fundraising, or exploring what AI means for their industry.
Fireside chats brought candid, no-fluff conversation to the room. Founders shared the real story of building startups in Philadelphia. Investors and founders dug into the funding landscape, what's available, what's missing, and how to close the gap. And a panel on talent and infrastructure looked at the long game of what it takes to keep great people in Philly and build an ecosystem that sustains itself.
Lightning rounds covered the ground where Philadelphia's edge is sharpest. Sessions on AI in Practice, Philadelphia Robotics, and Pennsylvania Agriculture explored what it actually takes to deploy AI in the real world — from the technical realities of building and scaling to the surprising ways AI is reshaping industries from warehouse floors to farm fields.
Workshops gave attendees something rare at a summit: the chance to actually build something. Michael Bradley of Light Heart Labs ran a local LLM genius bar that turned curiosity into working setups in real time, demystifying the tools that are reshaping how developers and teams think about AI infrastructure. A second workshop took participants from product requirements documents to a working prototype through hands-on vibe coding, a session that left product teams with more than just ideas to carry home.
The day closed with a panel that brought together Chairman Danilo Burgos, Dr. CJ Taylor, and Dean Andy Hoffman for A Call to Build — a forward-looking conversation about what Philadelphia's institutions, leaders, and community owe each other as this moment accelerates. It ended not with a conclusion, but with a challenge: keep going.
Events like (Co)nnect don't happen without the people who believe in them before there's anything to show. Our steering committee brought their communities, their energy, and their commitment to making this day a reality. Our sponsors, Archer & Grenier Law Firm, Hitachi, Kforce, United Effects Ventures, and UPenn's ISC made it possible.
That feeling — motivation, possibility, momentum — was everywhere.
The (Co)nnect summit was not a finish line. It was, as Code & Coffee Philadelphia put it, "a starting block."
We're already building toward what comes next.
If you attended, we'd love to hear from you — take a moment to share your feedback in our post-event survey. And if you're interested in getting more involved — as a speaker, startup mentor, sponsor, partner, or collaborator we want to hear from you.
Philadelphia is building something. Get and stay (Co)nnected. Become a part of it.
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A big THANK YOU to our speakers, moderators, and workshop hosts:
Opening Keynote
Builders’ Journeys: Voices of Startup Leaders and Founders
Tejas Agarwal (Scout Robotics), Vera Hempel (KissUX), Logan Jones (Ticker) Tempest Carter (Phila Commerce Dept).
Capital & Community: Exploring Tech Funding & Investment
Jonathan Hakakian (SoundBoardVentures), Nick Valeriano (Robin Hood Ventures), Martin Fedorko (White Rose Ventures), Emily Foote (Saxbys)
Talent Infrastructure & the Long Game: Policies, Institutions, & Capital
Alex Hillman (Indy Hall), Ben Williams (Exyn), Mike Gadsby (O3XO), Talia Tomarchio (Philly AI Connect)
AI in Practice: What it Actually Takes to Build, Deploy, & Scale
Mark Tripoli (Adyton), Anthony Christi (Power Home Remodeling), Yasmine George (The Trend Lab), Alyssa VandeBunte (ZeroEyes), Andrew Maza (Vets in Tech Philadelphia Chapter)
PA Agriculture: The Economic Keystone for AI
Michael Roth (PA Dept of Agriculture), Dr. Thomas Parsons (Penn Vet), Luke Zerby (CNH)
Light Heart Labs: Dream Server
Michael Bradley (Light Heart Labs)
From PRD to Prototype: Hands-On Vibe Coding for the Product Team
Closing Keynote
Chairman Danilo Burgos (PA House of Representatives); Dr. CJ Taylor (Penn GRASP Lab), Dean Andy Hoffman (Penn Vet)
And the volunteers who gave their time and energy to make 600+ people feel welcomed, directed, and cared for — thank you. As one volunteer put it after the day: "It was the perfect way to wrap up my time in Philly before my next big milestone. I'm feeling very motivated by the conversations I had and the connections made."
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