Arizona Tech Week | Friday Feature Event
Two Venues. One Mission.
Increasing Arizona’s Venture GDP — with a People First Approach.
Tech Talent Summit 5.0 returns and is expected to be the most widely attended event of Arizona Tech Week — convening founders, investors, operators, hiring leaders, and ecosystem builders for one intentional, outcome-driven day.
We’re grateful to Matt Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns organization for their generosity as our venue partner activating both the former WebPT Building and Player 15 Group HQ to bring Tech Talent Summit 5.0 to life across two dynamic spaces.
🔥 What’s New in 5.0
The idea for a startup showcase was seeded by an ecosystem partner who saw the opportunity to elevate founder visibility during Arizona Tech Week.
We moved quickly to activate it.
The result: the Startup Pavilion — a CES-style showcase of Arizona’s most promising startups, underwritten so founders can exhibit for free.
Access shouldn’t be the barrier.
🎤 Featured Speakers
Leaders actively shaping venture, technology, talent, and industry in Arizona:
Jack Selby – Managing Director, Copper Sky Capital
Glenn Lurie – General Partner, Stormbreaker VC
Tim Wenzel – Former Executive, PayPal
Jessica Pacheco – Founder, Spark Angels
Marc Chesley – Former Executive, Paradox AI
Anita Grantham – Phx FWD
More speakers to be announced.
What to Expect
🔹 Two Concurrent Tracks: Talent + Capital
High-signal conversations driving hiring, funding, and deal flow.
🔹 Capital Track
Tier 1 VCs, fireside chats, and a Series A ecosystem velocity panel.
🔹 People & Culture Segment
In partnership with the People People Party — curated HR and People leadership conversations.
🔹 Startup Pitches + Live Prototyping
🔹 Startup Pavilion
Clear signaling for:
• Hiring
• Fundraising
• Partnerships
Each startup can opt into a curated Venture Pod — including an aligned investor, top tech talent, and an industry partner.
Arrive with intention.
Leave with an outcome.
Our previous summits have sold out.
This one will too.
🎟 Grab your tickets. Let’s move Arizona forward.
📣 Share with someone building something meaningful.
Thanks to our friends at Oxy.co to be our design partner on this one.
Talent: Who’s Hiring in Phoenix
Source: PHX FWD Jobs
Why It Matters: Talent is the nucleus. Companies don’t scale without it. Ecosystems don’t grow without retention.
Startup Spotlight # 1
Swarmbotics AI
Roles:
Why it matters: SwarmBotics AI changes the defense paradigm from high-cost platforms to "affordable mass." By deploying swarms of low-cost, autonomous robots, we provide a decisive tactical edge while removing humans from the point of first contact. The ability to overwhelm adversaries with networked systems is the difference between mission failure and operational dominance.
Company notes:
Phoenix-based robotics innovator delivering high-impact swarm intelligence for defense and industry.
Creators of the ANTS system (Attritable, Networked, Tactical Swarm), featuring the FireAnt and HaulAnt modular UGVs.
U.S. Army Partner selected for the "Transformation in Contact" initiative to baseline swarm maneuvers for hundreds of robots.
Elite technical pedigree led by veterans and experts from AWS, NASA, and JPL, focused on low-cost BOM and off-the-shelf optimization.
Company Spotlight # 2
Roles:
Why It Matters:
Fullbay is transforming the heavy-duty repair industry into an AI-powered "system of intelligence." By automating shop workflows, they maximize vehicle uptime and directly improve road safety. They provide the essential digital backbone for the high-stakes logistics and commercial fleet economy.
Company Highlights:
Phoenix-based category leader in heavy-duty repair and fleet maintenance software.
AI-First strategy designed to eliminate operational friction and automate shop efficiencies.
Safety-centric mission focused on protecting families by improving commercial maintenance standards.
Scaling ecosystem evolving from a manual workflow tool into an intelligent data platform.
Explore 300+ open roles across the ecosystem.
Capital: Where Money Is Moving
Capital deployment is signal. It tells us where conviction lives and where long-term belief is compounding.
A big congratulations to AZ-VC on their evolution and rebrand to Copper Sky Capital.
As they work toward closing their second fund of $300m this year, it reflects something bigger: Arizona venture firms scaling alongside the founders they back.
Wishing the Copper Sky team strong momentum and a successful fund close!
Funding Round Highlight #1
Company: Helia Care (Scottsdale, United States)
Stage / Amount: Early VC— $3.0m (announced Feb 2026)
Why it matters:
Helia Care focuses on continued investor confidence in optimizing the healthcare supply chain. Their platform streamlines the procurement process, a critical area for healthcare providers to reduce administrative burden and costs. This recent $3M investment accelerates development efforts.
Company notes:
What they do: Solutions that streamline healthcare procurement for hospitals and suppliers (Scottsdale, AZ HQ).
Market Focus: Modernizing the procurement experience, ensuring a more efficient supply chain.
Momentum: Total capital committed stands at $4.0M, including a recent $3.0M Early VC round in February 2026.
Funding Round Highlight #2
Company: InfiniCell Energy (Chandler, United States)
Stage / Amount: Seed — $1M
Why it matters:
InfiniCell Energy is developing non-lithium rechargeable batteries, aiming to provide a safer and more sustainable alternative to current technologies. Their approach uses abundant materials and promises benefits in fast charging, thermal stability, and non-flammability, positioning them as a promising player in the energy storage sector. This seed capital is positioned to support the early-stage commercialization of their deep tech solution.
Company notes:
What they do: Non-lithium rechargeable batteries using abundant materials (Chandler, AZ HQ).
Product: Their batteries are designed for fast charging, high thermal stability, and non-flammability.
Momentum: Total capital committed to InfiniCell is $1.0m. The company closed a $1.0m Seed round in February 2026. A fundraising note in the provided details indicates an active fundraising effort targeting $1 million.
Explore more investment activity here!
Community: What’s happening around Phoenix
Arizona Tech Week: April 7–12
This is one of the most important weeks of the year for our ecosystem.
Explore the full master event list → Page or Spreadsheet
Upcoming Events
Key moments we’re especially excited about:
🏁 April 7 — Avondale Venture 500 - Pitch Event
Select startups will deliver their business case live to a curated pool of investors from the backseat of a professional pace car.
🌍 April 9 — Silicon Oasis Pitch Event
Global bridges in motion. Founders pitching with international visibility and cross-border capital conversations.
🚀 April 10 — Tech Talent Summit 5.0 + Startup Pavilion
Our biggest activation yet. Talent + Capital tracks. The first Arizona Startup Pavilion. Venture pods.
If you’re building, investing, hiring, or exploring — this is the week to show up.
If you’re interested in joining as a Partner or Finding Talent, lets talk.
Closing thoughts
Our vision is to make Phoenix the national model for sustainable tech ecosystem growth proving that when talent, capital, and community work together, everyone grows.
That work doesn’t happen through headlines or one-off wins. It happens through consistent alignment, shared ownership, and people showing up week after week to build something durable. We’ll keep doing our part to connect the dots, surface what matters, and make the ecosystem more accessible for everyone moving through it.
If you’re building, hiring, investing, or looking for your place in this community, you’re in the right room.
With gratitude,
Your friends at Freeway PHX ❤️
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