Utah’s expanding tech and culture scenes will join forces to host over 30,000 attendees at the 10th annual Silicon Slopes Summit conference — reminding a global audience that Utah remains a great place to start, grow and scale a company.
Silicon Slopes partnered with Visit Salt Lake for an expanded edition of the event, with the shared goal of showcasing how Utah is no longer an emerging player — but a serious, world-class one — in tech, entertainment and culture, said Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts.
“Summit isn’t just a tech conference anymore. It’s a festival that celebrates the full range of human creativity. That’s intentional. The tech economy is bigger than code and capital. It’s culture,” Betts said.
“Tech doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The most interesting founders and leaders I know are shaped by art, music, sport, and storytelling. They’re not just building products; they’re building culture. And the best companies understand that.”
The lineup for the four-day event has attracted top-notch speakers across entertainment, arts, culture and technology — lanes with increasing crossover.
This year’s lineup includes international voices, and half the speakers are women. Here is a look:
- Kenny Ortega, the Emmy-winning director and choreographer known for “Dirty Dancing,” “Hocus Pocus,” “High School Musical,” and the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic opening ceremony.
- Dan Reynolds, the Utah-native Imagine Dragons frontman, will join his brother, Mac, to discuss the launch of their new gaming venture, Night Street Games.
- Jared and Jerusha Hess, the Brigham Young University alums and married filmmaking team known for “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Austenland,” “Nacho Libre” and recent blockbuster “A Minecraft Movie.”
- Tech leaders: Amit Bendov, CEO and co-founder of Gong; Sean Desmond, president and CEO of nCino; Jean Oelwang, founding CEO and president of Virgin Unite, and many more.
Attendees should expect presentations that will “challenge the way you think,” Betts said. Speakers will address hot topics, particularly discussions around AI. Between sessions, guests are encouraged to make connections in networking lounges, enjoy live music, participate in a pickleball tournament and get involved in other interactive experiences meant to inspire.
A major goal of the event is to challenge misconceptions about Utah. In the last decade, Utah has grown from an emerging player in tech, entertainment and culture to a serious one, Betts said. There is a lot of action happening in Utah, and Summit will draw continued attention to that.
“A decade ago, people outside Utah weren’t paying attention to what was happening here. Now we’ve had Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Steve Ballmer, Reed Hastings, Tony Robbins, and Shantanu Narayen on our stage. The ecosystem has produced multiple unicorns and successful exits,” Betts said.
He continued, “Utah has produced companies and leaders that compete at the highest levels. We have a business-friendly environment, incredible quality of life, and a culture of collaboration that’s genuinely different from other ecosystems. People here actually want to help each other succeed. That’s not a marketing line; it’s how the community operates.”
This event, Betts said, rivals similar experiences in New York, San Francisco and other major cities. It reestablishes Utah as a leader in tech, food, art, sports and entertainment.
“When people leave Summit, they don’t leave thinking Utah is up and coming. They leave knowing Utah has arrived. The work now is ensuring that trajectory continues,” Betts said.
When is Summit 2026?
Utah’s 10th annual global innovation festival is in downtown Salt Lake City from Wednesday, Feb. 4, through Saturday, Feb. 7.
Tickets for the festival are available now through the Summit site.