GEW: Capital Innovation Summit

Growing from Within

Part of Global Entrepreneurship Week Sacramento · Powered by Western Health

​Monday, November 16, 2026 · 9:00 AM–4:00 PM

​Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Sacramento State · University Library, Room 1520

​One day. One room. The people building the Capital Region's next companies.

​Global Entrepreneurship Week is back November 13–22, and Monday is the main stage. The Capital Innovation Summit pulls founders, engineers, researchers, investors, and the people who back them into the Carlsen Center for a day of building, pitching, and straight talk about where AI, biotech, and advanced manufacturing are headed here — then rolls straight into the 8th Annual Sacramento Entrepreneurial State of the Union.

​Who should be here

​Founders and early-stage teams. Engineers and researchers working in AI, robotics, biotech, and manufacturing. Investors. Students who want to build. The partners, economic developers, and civic leaders who make it possible. If you're building something in the Capital Region, or betting on someone who is, this is your day.

​The day

​Morning · How We Use AI to Grow (9:30–11:30 AM)

​Hands-on, laptops open. Build your own AI chief of staff: thirty minutes on where generative AI actually is for founders right now, then ninety minutes building a working agent you leave with. Bring a laptop.

​Noon · Lunch Pitches

​This weekend's Startup Challenge winners and a few Innovation Lab ventures take the mic while you eat.

​Afternoon · What We're Growing (1:00–4:00 PM)

​The three industries the Capital Region is building, back to back, then the investors who fund them. Here are the topics that will be discussed:

• ​AI & Robotics — who's shipping here, and what it takes to turn scattered companies into a cluster
• ​Biomanufacturing & Biotech — getting research out of the lab and into companies that stay here
• ​Advanced Manufacturing — batteries, clean energy, transportation, and what Made in California means for this region
• ​The Capital Conversation — investors on what's getting funded here, what isn't, and what would change that

GEW: Sacramento Entrepreneurial State of the Union & Silent Pitch

Made in California, Grown in Sacramento

​The Capital Region's biggest entrepreneurial night of the year · Part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2026 · Powered by Western Health

​Monday, November 16, 2026 · Doors 4:30 PM · Program 5:30–7:00 PM · Celebration to 7:30

​Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Sacramento State · University Library, Room 1520

​Eight years running, the Sacramento Entrepreneurial State of the Union is where the region's founders, investors, operators, and civic leaders land in the same room to answer one question: what's working, what's next, and what do we build now? This year, we're turning it into a party.

​The Silent Pitch · from 4:30 PM

​Ten of the region's most promising startups — Startup World Cup Sacramento entrants, this weekend's Startup Challenge winners, and Innovation Lab ventures — set up at stations around the room. Walk up, watch the pitch, grill the founder, vote from your phone. Cash and in-kind awards go live at the close of the program.

​The State of the Union · 5:30–7:00 PM

​Hosted by the Sacramento Entrepreneurial Growth Alliance (SEGA). Here are the topics that will be discussed:

• ​What we heard today at the Capital Innovation Summit
• ​Made in California: the state's push to make things here again, and what that opens up for the Capital Region
• ​The State of the Ecosystem: how we keep growing from within — capital, talent, infrastructure, and the connections between founders, funders, and institutions
• ​Silent Pitch awards
• ​Food, drinks, music, and the whole ecosystem in one room.

​Key themes

• ​Made in California: advanced manufacturing, clean tech, and what it takes to build here
• ​Backing the region's homegrown innovators
• ​Opening up early-stage capital and mentorship
• ​Tightening the loop between founders, funders, and institutions
• ​The State of the Union caps the Capital Innovation Summit, a full day at the Carlsen Center for the people building the region's next companies. Want the whole day? Register here: https://luma.com/27jctqex

Founder, investor, policymaker, or partner — this is your front-row seat to Sacramento's entrepreneurial momentum. Speakers announced as they're confirmed. Grab your seat.

​Accessibility: If you need any accommodations, please let us know at least two weeks in advance so we can arrange them.