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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.
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
MACC has ‘25 hours a day', free to probe into KDN officers
PUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has voiced his full support for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in carrying out its duties following the arrest of two Home Ministry (KDN) officers in an anti-graft operation, dubbed Op Outlander, recently. Saifuddin even said he would refrain from further comment, stressing his trust in the integrity of the investigation process. 'MACC has '25 hours a day' to go in and investigate. Let them do their job according to their responsibilities,' he told a press conference after the KDN monthly assembly here today. Saifuddin reiterated that this stance has been a consistent principle of his since the beginning of his tenure. On May 8, MACC confirmed the arrest of two KDN officers and one civilian in an operation conducted in Putrajaya. The arrests were linked to an investigation into alleged corruption involving the fast-tracking of citizenship status confirmation (PTW) applications. On another development, Saifuddin emphasised that legal action against individuals facing criminal charges, including foreigners, will be carried out in accordance with Malaysian law. Referring to former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Leissner from the United States, Saifuddin noted that legal proceedings have already begun under the Financial Monetary Act, and an Interpol Red Notice has been issued. 'If there is an allegation against someone, we act in accordance with the rule of law. We are a sovereign nation. Since he (Leissner) is a foreign national, we will use the appropriate legal channels like we always did,' he said. On May 7, The Wall Street Journal reported that Malaysia had filed an extradition request for Leissner in connection with his role in the 1MDB scandal. The Malaysian Government submitted the request to the United States Department of Justice in August 2024. Interpol placed Leissner on its Red Notice list last November, effectively alerting member countries to detain him if located.
The Sun
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Saifuddin: MACC free to probe KDN officers anytime
PUTRAJAYA: Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has voiced his full support for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in carrying out its duties following the arrest of two Home Ministry (KDN) officers in an anti-graft operation, dubbed Op Outlander, recently. Saifuddin even said he would refrain from further comment, stressing his trust in the integrity of the investigation process. 'MACC has '25 hours a day' to go in and investigate. Let them do their job according to their responsibilities,' he told a press conference after the KDN monthly assembly here today. Saifuddin reiterated that this stance has been a consistent principle of his since the beginning of his tenure. On May 8, MACC confirmed the arrest of two KDN officers and one civilian in an operation conducted in Putrajaya. The arrests were linked to an investigation into alleged corruption involving the fast-tracking of citizenship status confirmation (PTW) applications. On another development, Saifuddin emphasised that legal action against individuals facing criminal charges, including foreigners, will be carried out in accordance with Malaysian law. Referring to former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Leissner from the United States, Saifuddin noted that legal proceedings have already begun under the Financial Monetary Act, and an Interpol Red Notice has been issued. 'If there is an allegation against someone, we act in accordance with the rule of law. We are a sovereign nation. Since he (Leissner) is a foreign national, we will use the appropriate legal channels like we always did,' he said. On May 7, The Wall Street Journal reported that Malaysia had filed an extradition request for Leissner in connection with his role in the 1MDB scandal. The Malaysian Government submitted the request to the United States Department of Justice in August 2024. Interpol placed Leissner on its Red Notice list last November, effectively alerting member countries to detain him if located.
Barnama
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Barnama
MACC Has '25 Hours A Day', Free To Probe Into KDN Officers
GENERAL PUTRAJAYA, May 13 (Bernama) -- Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has voiced his full support for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in carrying out its duties following the arrest of two Home Ministry (KDN) officers in an anti-graft operation, dubbed Op Outlander, recently. Saifuddin even said he would refrain from further comment, stressing his trust in the integrity of the investigation process. 'MACC has '25 hours a day' to go in and investigate. Let them do their job according to their responsibilities,' he told a press conference after the KDN monthly assembly here today. Saifuddin reiterated that this stance has been a consistent principle of his since the beginning of his tenure. On May 8, MACC confirmed the arrest of two KDN officers and one civilian in an operation conducted in Putrajaya. The arrests were linked to an investigation into alleged corruption involving the fast-tracking of citizenship status confirmation (PTW) applications. On another development, Saifuddin emphasised that legal action against individuals facing criminal charges, including foreigners, will be carried out in accordance with Malaysian law. Referring to former Goldman Sachs partner Tim Leissner from the United States, Saifuddin noted that legal proceedings have already begun under the Financial Monetary Act, and an Interpol Red Notice has been issued. 'If there is an allegation against someone, we act in accordance with the rule of law. We are a sovereign nation. Since he (Leissner) is a foreign national, we will use the appropriate legal channels like we always did,' he said. On May 7, The Wall Street Journal reported that Malaysia had filed an extradition request for Leissner in connection with his role in the 1MDB scandal.
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.
