“As an entrepreneur scaling a tech company, place matters—and Arizona provides incredible talent, connectivity and resources.”
– Gregg Scoresby, Founder & CEO, CampusLogic
ACCELERATING INNOVATION IN ARIZONA
Arizona is home to a growing entrepreneurial community with strong support from incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, angel investors, business plan competitions and VC-pitching training. Founders benefit from Arizona’s tight-knit, collaborative community. The state is continuously recognized as the best place to test, launch and scale new ideas.
$1.9B
Invested By Arizona Startups in 2021
An All-Time Record
TOP 2
Fastest-Growing Projected Tech Job Growth
CompTIA, 2022
TOP 6
Millennial Magnet Tucson, Arizona
Business Facilities Magazine State Ranking Report, 2021
TOP 9
Tech Talent Pipeline
Business Facilities Magazine State Ranking Report, 2022
UNLOCKING INNOVATION
Arizona is a hotbed for innovators and entrepreneurs to start, expand and thrive, which is why so many early-stage companies find commercialization success. The tight-knit startup ecosystem is supported by a community of incubators, competitions, accelerators, conferences and more.
2,500
applications
since 2011
125 awarded
companies
since 2011
Arizona Innovation Challenge
The Arizona Innovation Challenge, one of the largest business plan competitions in the country, is designed to advance innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by helping early-stage ventures scale. All AIC awardees participate in the Venture Ready Accelerator Program.
$1B Portfolio
17 SUCCESSFUL EXITS
Venture Ready Accelerator
Venture Ready Accelerator helps startups refine their business plans, improve go-to-market execution strategies and increase investor readiness. Awardees partner with an Entrepreneur-in-Residence who provides one-on-one coaching through five mandatory panels focused on key business objectives designed to commercialize innovations.
58
STARTUPS
54
FUNDS
150+
INVESTORS
UNMET Arizona 2021
The Arizona Commerce Authority and Stout Street Capital have partnered to bring high-growth tech startups and investors together twice a year at one of the largest venture capital conferences. The conference draws institutional venture capital investors from around the country. These investors will see potential deals with the fastest-growing tech startups from the central United States seeking to raise seed and series A rounds."
Arizona Technology Council
The Arizona Technology Council, in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, honors technology leaders and innovators from across the state with the annual Governor’s Celebration of Innovation Awards (GCOI). The prestigious gala is attended by hundreds of the state’s top leaders in business, technology and government. The council is also heavily involved in the Arizona SciTech Festival, which is anchored at the ACA. The festival is a statewide celebration of STEM workshops, exhibitions and conversations.
Moonshot at NACET
Moonshot at NACET is an initiative that accepts pitches from entrepreneurs and selects those with the most commercial possibilities. Moonshot’s campus is the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET), a 38,000 square-foot facility in Flagstaff with office, laboratory and manufacturing space as well as conference and meeting rooms. NACET also provides startup assistance through Innovations Incubator in Chandler.
AZBio
AZBio is a nonprofit trade organization with a streamlined mission to promote the growth of Arizona bioscience companies. AZBio's signature Arizona Bioscience Week is the catalyst for tech events such as the White Hat Investors Conference and the AZBio Awards. The investor's conference showcases biotech companies across the southwest and the AZBio Awards celebrates Arizona's leading educators, innovators and companies. In addition, AZBio hosts the AZ Trailblazer Awards, honoring state leaders and officials who have made it possible to achieve significant gains in the bioscience industry.
Flinn Foundation
The Flinn Foundation’s Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program offers funding and support to promising Arizona bioscience startups, growing health care entrepreneurship in Arizona. The foundation also works to strengthen Arizona’s bioscience innovations with the Bioscience Roadmap, a collaborative, strategic effort between the foundation, state universities and research institutions.
DesTechAZ
Arizona’s signature tech event, DesTechAZ, is built around three core pillars of innovation, collaboration and education. Presented by Woz Innovation Foundation and the Arizona Commerce Authority, DesTechAZ is held annually in October and features innovation leaders such as Steve Wozniack, Intel, Ethereum, NASA, Meow Wolf and Atari.
invision AZ CONVERGE Tech Innovation Summit
Held annually on the greens of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Tech Innovation Summit brings together innovators, business executives, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, investors and other thought leaders to network and discuss Arizona’s tech ecosystem.
Startup Tucson
Startup Tucson is a community-oriented nonprofit committed to supporting the dreamers, builders and makers that fuel the future of the city of Tucson. One of Startup Tucson’s signature events is the TENWEST Impact Festival. Through 10 days of exhibitions, talks and interactive experiences, national experts and local leaders explore a wide range of transformative ideas. During the festival, the nonprofit hosts IdeaFunding, one of Arizona’s largest conferences for entrepreneurs. It is a full day of pitch competitions, panels, discussions, speakers and networking around best practices, key lessons and next steps to launch a company.
AZStartup Foundation
AZStartup Foundation hosts Phoenix Startup Week, Arizona’s largest entrepreneurial event full of informative workshops, inspirational speaker sessions, multiple happy hours and limitless networking opportunities for startup founders, teams, investors and supporters. The Startup Collective is StartupAZ’s signature initiative, designed to accelerate the performance of the region’s highest potential startup companies. Emerging tech leaders combine their talents, networks and resources to help each other achieve success in building their companies and creating a lasting impact in the community.
PARTNERS
