TechFest NW Returns to Portland in April, This Time With the Creator of Siri

TechfestNW 2020 announces dates and first round of speakers.

VR display at TechfestNW (Sam Gehrke)

TechfestNW, Portland's annual gathering of technology and business leaders, innovators, students, startups and investors, is happening April 2 and 3, 2020 at the Viking Pavilion at Portland State University.

The two-day event showcases innovative, impactful tech, talks from leaders across industries, experience workshops, live tech demos and gobs of networking opportunities.

While TFNW only announced a few speakers for its 2020 program, it is a mixture of local and global business leaders, including:

  • Roger McNamee, one of Silicon Valley’s most successful investors who has become one of the industry’s most scalding critics.
  • Monica Enand, co-founder and CEO of Zapproved,an Oregon breakout startup success stories, and one of the few female tech founders in Oregon or anywhere else.
  • Tom Gruber, a leading thinker on the implications of artificial intelligence and the creator of a little thing called Siri.
  • Marguerite Dibble, founder of GameTheoryCo, whose passion for diversity in games and has made her one of the game industry’s most sought-after speakers.

During the two-day event, entrepreneurs, investors and industry executives from around the globe will network, pitch startup ideas in a competition called PitchfestNW, attend sessions on everything from doing business with government to using AI for good, and for the first time at TFNW, participate in a startup tradeshow where startups have access to the best business resources in our region.

Says TFNW director Shelley Midthun: "TFNW 2020 will be a global gathering that celebrates Portland and the Pacific Northwest as hub for creativity, innovation and community-minded collaboration."

Tickets for TechfestNW 2020 go on sale in January. Sign up on TFNW's website to receive news and updates, and be notified when tickets are available.

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