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Technical.ly
a day ago
- Business
- Technical.ly
Philly Tech Week 2025: A milestone year for innovation and collaboration
Philly Tech Week 2025 was a celebration to remember! This marked the 15th anniversary of our city's signature tech event, and it exemplified everything that we know and love about Philadelphia's innovation ecosystem. At 1Philadelphia, we were honored to support this long standing tradition and to contribute to the growing momentum that defines Philly's tech community. What stood out most for me wasn't just the scale of the week — it was the energy. New core memories were unlocked for me as I watched crowds from the stairs of the Franklin Institute, seeing connections being made and new ideas being shared. Whether you attended an event with a packed room listening to a founder pitch their startup or at a community-led event in a neighborhood space, I hope you also felt a renewed sense of momentum, of possibility. Now in its 15th year, Philly Tech Week presented by Comcast drew thousands of participants and featured over 50 events curated by more than 80 community partners. But it wasn't just about the number of sessions — it was about the new voices leading them. First-time founders, funders from outside the region, students, policymakers, and ecosystem builders from all backgrounds were not just attendees, but architects of the week. Their presence shifted the tone. Seeing so many individuals and organizations come together under the shared mission of innovation was extraordinarily powerful. And perhaps that's the point. What makes Philly Tech Week so powerful isn't just the focus on technology — it's that we use tech as a lens to talk about building the future we want. This year, we saw more founders take center stage, more conversations about access, ownership, and community-centered innovation. We saw a city that's ready to bet on its own talent. At 1Philadelphia, our commitment is to create the conditions for that talent to grow. We believe deeply in expanding access to tech across the city — especially those who haven't always been centered in these conversations. Philly Tech Week gave us a chance to celebrate that progress, but also to fuel what comes next. Looking ahead From November 13–15, we'll keep that momentum going by hosting our fourth annual Innovation Weekend — a national convening for founders, funders, and ecosystem builders who are serious about creating equitable opportunities in tech. It will build on the spirit of PTW and deepen the conversations that matter most. To everyone who brought their energy, ideas, and creativity to this year's Philly Tech Week — thank you. You reminded us what's possible when a city chooses to lead differently. Stay connected with us and remain part of the movement. Let's keep building.
Technical.ly
07-05-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
15 years in, Philly Tech Week still brings the city's tech scene together
2025 marks 15 years of the Philly tech ecosystem coming together for Philly Tech Week — and a lot has changed since that first scrappy conference was announced in 2010. The 15th annual Philly Tech Week (PTW) started on Monday, kicking off over 40 tech and innovation-themed events throughout the city. Today, the celebration is presented by Comcast and hosted by 1Philadelphia, and has turned into a citywide collaborative effort. But it began under as a way for orgs from different sectors and sizes to get to know each other, cofounder and CEO, Chris Wink said. While it'll continue to change, Wink said, the ethos of community gathering that brought innovators and technologists together from the start should remain at the heart of it. So far, it's met that goal, but what that looks like going forward will have to keep evolving to meet the needs of the participants, according to its leaders. 'Philadelphia needed the last 15 years of Philly Tech Week,' Wink said. 'I'm not sure if Philadelphia needs another 15 years of the same, but Philadelphia absolutely needs a place where its entrepreneurship, tech and innovation community comes together.' People across sectors and throughout the region come out to engage with the ecosystem, and 2025 is no exception. Events like the Department of Commerce's Level Up Your Pitch workshop, Out in Tech Philly's PTW Mixer and Builders Conference are happening throughout the city until May 10. kicked it off, but PTW belongs to the entire ecosystem founders, Wink, Brian James Kirk and Sean Blanda, hosted the first PTW in 2011, taking inspiration from the annual beer festival Philly Beer Week and joining the 2010s trend of cities hosting startup weeks. They found through their early reporting that traditional institutions like the Chamber of Commerce and big corporations were not connected to tech meetup groups and the startup community, Wink said. These groups were all relevant to the ecosystem, but they weren't connected, he said. The idea was that the city would be more powerful as a collective than as individuals. 'It was more about people who liked each other, coming from very different jobs,' Wink said. 'It's not an industry at that point. It's a community.' It wasn't until 2013 that PTW started to hit its stride. Event attendance doubled, people recognized the format, and they started to lean into the 'spectacle' of the week, Wink said. That year, Drexel University professor Frank Lee organized 'Pong on the Cira Center,' setting a world record for the largest architectural video game display. The goal of having many different organizations host a variety of events across the city was coming to fruition and the community calendar of events was keeping existing stakeholders engaged while also bringing in new people, Wink said. 'Philly Tech Week mattered because we established the format,' Wink said. 'The idea of having a week of events related at all to this topic is ours first.' From a wider lens, PTW puts a spotlight on the potential of Philly's tech and innovation community, Danae Mobley, executive director of 1Philadelphia and CEO of Coded By, said. The legacy of PTW is the collaboration among the community and the people who still care about coming together under a shared vision, she said. 'We've seen the evolution of [PTW],' Mobley said. 'While the people may have changed, I don't think the energy or the sentiment behind wanting Philly to succeed as a tech market has changed.' Bringing the city together and catching the mayor's attention Many memorable and impactful tech moments happened at PTW over its first 10 years. Local data project OpenDataPhilly launched at the very first Philly Tech Week's opening event, providing a resource for Philadelphians to access publicly available data. 'It was a great rollout of an open data catalog for and by a community,' Robert Cheetham, founder of software company Azavea, told The following year, Mayor Michael Nutter signed an executive order to establish an Open Data Policy for the City of Philadelphia. The city's open data program went on to see a lot of progress over the last decade, but the project has lost momentum over the last few years. PTW has also broken more than one world record, once again for the largest architectural video game display. Drexel's Lee returned in 2014 to organize games of Tetris on the Cira Center that year. This event is a favorite PTW memory for Mobley. Now that 1Philadelphia runs PTW, the memory feels like a full circle moment, she said. 'I thought that that was just so amazing, that there were people that just had that spirit of ingenuity and playfulness and fun around something that brought the city together,' she said. 1Philadelphia takes over to make PTW part of its mission Last year, began the process of handing PTW off to 1Philadelphia, and the org is fully hosting this year's lineup of events. 1Philadelphia, an initiative of tech education nonprofit Coded by, launched in 2020. Coded by had always participated in PTW and the org saw how it brought the community together, according to Mobley. It made sense to get more involved with Philly Tech Week because of 1Philadelphia's mission to bring stakeholders together and create a more equitable tech ecosystem in Philly, she said. 'Because of the work that we were doing as a convener with some of our signature events,' Mobley said. 'We really wanted to see how we could come in and support and bolster this long-standing tradition of a great innovation festival that happens in Philadelphia.' For 1Philadelphia's takeover made sense, too. Wink said he's been thinking about handing the reins to someone else since 2019, but the pivot to online celebrations for its 10th anniversary stalled the process of searching for the next leader. Last year was a transition period. 1Philadelphia cohosted Philly Tech Week alongside helping to organize the community calendar, contributing to the marketing and hosting its own events. This year, the org is ready to fully take over coordinating PTW. As for what's next, it's up to the community that rallies around PTW each year. 'Philly Tech Week is for everyone,' Mobley said. 'It is not the ownership of one entity.' Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism.
Technical.ly
29-04-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
This Week in Jobs: It's gonna be May (and one of these 24 open roles is gonna be your next job)
This week marks the beginning of May, believe it or not! Whether you like to spend a warm afternoon at a nearby waterfront or your favorite picturesque park, it's getting to be outside time, so grab yourself a spot and scroll through this week's job listings. And don't forget the Builders Conference is next week, where we'll welcome 250+ attendees from more than 20 states. It's part of the 15th annual Philly Tech Week — check out more of those events below. The News Philly Tech Week 2025 presented by Comcast is coming up fast — check out the full schedule of events happening May 5-10. And a special shout out to a few PTW25 events TWIJ readers might be interested in: The Developers Conference on May 7 — the registration deadline is April 30, so be sure to get your tickets ASAP! Learn more about the sessions and speakers here and register here. The Builders Conference on May 8-9 — day one will be focused on Ecosystem Storytelling, and day two will feature discussions around Economic Mobility. Find more info and register for one or both days here. 1Philadelphia's PTW25 Kickoff Party and Spring Exchange on May 5, and Future Forward: Startups on May 6. A Philly student has designed a simple site for SEPTA riders, making it easy to contact officials about proposed cuts. Some state-run immigration services are in limbo in the Mid-Atlantic as federal policies and partisan divides slow the establishment of Offices of New Americans. A new social app out of DC makes connections based on hobbies and events. Industry 4.0, aka the 'AI industrial revolution,' is taking over pharma, infrastructure analysis and logistics, but data security remains a concern. Client Spotlight 1Philadelphia is launching a new event series during Philly Tech Week. Future Forward: Startups is dedicated to celebrating innovation and empowering startups in Philadelphia's thriving tech ecosystem. Bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders, the event will delve into emerging trends, share valuable insights and foster meaningful collaboration. Attendees can look forward to engaging panel discussions, inspiring talks and ample networking opportunities designed to connect innovators and catalyze new ventures. The Jobs Greater Philly Susquehanna International Group is looking for an Experienced Team Lead, a Technology Purchasing Associate and a DevOps Engineer. Software company Certara is seeking a Senior Software Developer and Senior DevOps Engineer. Dental technology company Kleer and Membersy needs an Integration Engineer. The Philadelphia Phillies are looking for a Senior Full Stack Software Engineer. JPMorgan Chase has a job listing for a Software Engineer. DC + Baltimore DataAnnotation is looking for Data Engineers to help train AI models. General Dynamics Information Technology in Annapolis is hiring a Software Developer Associate. Cybersecurity firm Enlighten needs hybrid Software Engineers. Stansberry Research in Baltimore has an opening for a Software Engineer. Pittsburgh Bayer has a listing for a Software Engineer I. Latitude AI is hiring a Software Services Engineer. Proofpoint is looking for a Software Engineer. Google is seeking a Senior Software Engineer, Full Stack, Guided Support Experience in Pittsburgh. The End See you next week at PTW!
Technical.ly
22-04-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
Don't miss 1Philadelphia's events during Philly Tech Week 2025 presented by Comcast
It's almost time for Philly Tech Week 2025 presented by Comcast, and 1Philadelphia is not only hosting the week — the org is also holding three events of its own that you won't want to miss. 1Philadelphia is a coalition of stakeholders working to build a tech community where everyone can thrive, and these events are a manifestation of that mission. Everyone is welcome, and there will be opportunities to meet new friends, reconnect with peers, learn about the latest developments in the Philly tech scene and discuss the future of the city and the region. Check out the info below and register for the events, and we'll see you in May! PTW25 Kickoff Party When: Monday, May 5, 2025 — 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM Where: The Franklin Institute What: 'Join us for an unforgettable evening of connection and collaboration in the iconic Franklin Institute rotunda. This free happy hour is the perfect opportunity to meet local innovators, exchange ideas, and build meaningful professional relationships. Whether you're a startup founder, tech enthusiast, or industry veteran, you'll find this vibrant gathering to be an inspiring start to an incredible week. Don't miss out on the chance to engage with Philadelphia's dynamic tech ecosystem in one of the city's most stunning venues! DJ Diamond Kuts will be back to help us bring the energy to this year's Kickoff Party.' 1PHL Spring 2025 Exchange When: Monday, May 5, 2025 — 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM Where: The Franklin Institute What: 'The Spring 2025 Exchange is a gathering of leaders focused on shaping the future of digital access, education and entrepreneurship in Philadelphia. Hosted at the historic Franklin Institute, this event will showcase current research, highlight impactful policies, and explore the latest developments in Philly's innovation ecosystem. The day will culminate in a vibrant reception to officially kick off Philly Tech Week, providing an ideal space to connect, celebrate, and envision what's next for Philadelphia's tech community.' Speakers and sessions include: Welcome from Danae Mobley, Executive Director, 1Philadelphia Opening remarks from Bret Perkins, Senior Vice President of External and Government Affairs, Comcast Corporation Opportunity Begins with (Digital) Access Mobility Beyond the 2026 Moment Innovative Investment Fueling Tech Ecosystems Register for the 1PHL Spring 2025 Exchange Future Forward: Startups When: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 — 1:30 PM – 7:30 PM Where: Billy Penn Studios What: 'Future Forward: Startups is a dynamic half-day event dedicated to celebrating innovation and empowering startups in Philadelphia's thriving tech ecosystem. This summit brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends, share insights, and foster collaboration. Attendees will enjoy engaging panel discussions, inspiring talks, and ample networking opportunities designed to connect innovators and catalyze new ventures.' Speakers and sessions include: From Pilot to Partnership: Scaling Innovation Together Growth Strategy and Successful Exits for Tech Founders Smart Moves: Leveraging AI for Strategic Growth Innovation for a Safer World Pulse Check: Health Tech Trends Shaping the Next Decade 1Philadelphia isn't alone in working to make this a Philly Tech Week to remember — dozens of orgs are hosting and participating in this annual celebration of tech and innovation. Take a look at the full PTW25 event calendar here to find what interests you most, then make your plan, get your tickets and prepare for an amazing week!
Technical.ly
17-04-2025
- Business
- Technical.ly
PTW25 Kickoff Party
Event Description Get ready to kick off the 15th annual Philly Tech Week presented by Comcast! Join us for an unforgettable evening of connection and collaboration in the iconic Franklin Institute rotunda. This free happy hour is the perfect opportunity to meet local innovators, exchange ideas, and build meaningful professional relationships. Whether you're a startup founder, tech enthusiast, or industry veteran, you'll find this vibrant gathering to be an inspiring start to an incredible week. Don't miss out on the chance to engage with Philadelphia's dynamic tech ecosystem in one of the city's most stunning venues! This event is presented by 1Philadelphia.
