Southern California is the spine of the American industrial renaissance: the aerospace corridor from El Segundo to Long Beach, the manufacturing belt of Orange County, the nuclear and energy programs drawing primes and startups back to the coast. SDTW brings this ecosystem into one room for one week each September.
We program across four pillars — Aerospace & Maritime, Energy & Nuclear, Advanced Manufacturing & AI, and Policy & Capital — with named flagship summits, invite-only founder dinners, and a district of public satellite events open by application.
SDTW 2026 will take place in Long Beach — across the waterfront, the aerospace corridor, and the downtown core. Specific venues for the flagship summits, founder tables, and receptions are being finalized and will lock closer to the Week.
Cohort badges unlock venue details ahead of kickoff.
Long Beach (LGB) is a short ride from the downtown core; LAX sits about 40 minutes up the 405. Hotel block and transit details open alongside final venue confirmations in the months ahead.
“SDTW was the most concentrated group of deep-tech builders and program office leads I’ve been in a room with all year. We walked out with two new primes at the table.” — Partner, deep-tech fund · 2025 attendee
Working journalists and accredited outlets covering deep-tech, defense, energy, and American manufacturing.
Apply →Logos, wordmarks, event illustrations, approved photography and the boilerplate statement.
Download →Our thesis, editorial boundaries, code of conduct, and the facts we’re comfortable being quoted on.
Read →Three ways to get on the 2026 program: apply for the cohort, request the sponsorship prospectus, or host a side event under the SDTW banner.
Invite-only. Founders and operators building critical technology, general partners at deep-tech and defense funds, program leads at DIU / AFRL / ONR / DARPA, and executives from the industrial primes. The cohort is curated; applications are reviewed rolling.
SDTW runs as a hybrid. The flagship summits and founder dinners are invite-only. District-wide satellite forums, lab tours, and the opening and closing receptions are open by application. Roughly a third of the week is open-access.
Applications open in spring 2026 and are reviewed on a rolling basis through August. We prioritize operators with shipping products, funds actively deploying into deep-tech, and program leads at federal customers.
Yes. Sponsorship is gated behind the 2026 prospectus — request the deck here. Tiers range from event partner through title sponsor; we respond within five business days.
Yes. Funds, primes, labs, and community builders can host satellite events under the SDTW banner. Apply to host — the host council reviews weekly through August 2026.
SDTW operates under the Chatham House Rule unless otherwise noted. No press at founder dinners; no phones at the policy briefings. Full code of conduct is distributed on acceptance.
Yes. A limited number of cohort spots each year are reserved at founder rate for pre-Series-B operators. The 2026 founder cohort opens in May.
Summit headliners roll out April–June 2026. Forum hosts and the full operator roster land in July. The final schedule locks Labor Day.
Monthly dispatches from the SDTW team — partner news, program drops, and the occasional memo from the ecosystem. Built for people who'd rather read than tweet.
We'll email you when applications open, plus the monthly program dispatch.