This article was written by Adam Henry, CEcD, EDP, Senior Business Development Manager for Arlington Economic Development.
This November, Arlington Economic Development will be sponsoring the third annual Accelerate Investor Conference at George Mason University’s Arlington Campus.
First launched in 2021, the Accelerate Investor Conference spurs the region’s innovation and entrepreneurship engagement to a new level and showcases the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. region as a destination for business development, venture investment and job creation. The conference features a pitch competition for DMV startups, a student competition and great networking opportunities to connect with investors from around the country.
Since the announcement of Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters, Arlington and its business community have made great progress in advancing our innovation ecosystem, including:
- Creation of the $1 million Arlington Innovation Fund
- $1.6 billion in venture capital raised by Arlington-based companies
- $2 billion investment in Virginia’s talent pipeline
- Virginia Tech Innovation Campus and FUSE at Mason Square investments in Northern Virginia
- Ranked as the third-best tech talent market in the U.S. (CBRE, 2023) and the best city for women in tech (Smartasset.com, 2022)
- Establishment of Unstuck Labs and ZEBOX accelerators
- Over 20 coworking providers located in Arlington, Virginia
The Accelerate Investor Conference will take place at George Mason University’s Van Metre Hall in Arlington, November 1-2, 2023. For more information about the conference and to register, please visit acceleratedeals.org.
Arlington Economic Development is excited to be sponsoring the Accelerate Investor Conference in Arlington and sees this as an important component of supporting entrepreneurship in the community and building one of the most dynamic innovation ecosystems in the United States.