Program · 2026 Edition · Draft v4 · Tentative

Four days, three summits.

The 2026 programming slate. Three named domain summits under the Pacific Mandate — Global Domain Awareness, Critical Infrastructure, and Industrial Resiliency — opened by a Monday waterfront reception. Each summit day opens with morning corridor tours, runs a single 12–6 PM track, closes with a cohort reception, and ends with a single 20-seat VIP dinner. The entire week is conducted under Chatham House Rule.

Sept 14 – 18, 2026 Long Beach, California 3 summits · ~150 per summit day · ~200 opening reception
Cohort · 150 VIP Dinner · 20 Reception
§ At a Glance

The week, on one screen.

Five days: a Monday waterfront reception, three named summits Tuesday through Thursday, plus the inaugural Maritime Industrial Workshop as a parallel operational track. Each summit day keeps the same rhythm — morning corridor tours, a 12–6 PM track, a cohort reception, and a 20-seat VIP dinner. The full hour-by-hour breakdown follows below.
Day 01Mon
Sept 14
Reception
The Pacific Mandate
6–9 PMOpening Reception · Waterfront · ~200
Day 02Tue
Sept 15
Summit 001
Global Domain Awareness
9–11 AMCorridor Showcase Tours
12–6 PMSummit Program · single track
6 PMClosing Reception
7:30 PMVIP Dinner · 20 seats
Day 03Wed
Sept 16
Summit 002
Critical Infrastructure
9–11 AMCorridor Showcase Tours
12–6 PMSummit Program · single track
6 PMClosing Reception
7:30 PMVIP Dinner · 20 seats
Day 04Thu
Sept 17
Summit 003
Industrial Resiliency
9–11 AMCorridor Showcase Tours
12–6 PMSummit Program · single track
6 PMClosing Reception
7:30 PMVIP Dinner · 20 seats
Parallel Program · Separate from Days 01–04

Maritime Industrial Workshop

New for 2026. Scoped port and maritime problem sets matched to builder teams — a hands-on operational track that runs alongside the summits and culminates in a demo day. Separate application from the summit cohort.

KickoffMon, Sept 14
Build DaysTue–Thu
Demo DayFri, Sept 18
Closing DinnerFri eve · VIP
■ Duration to confirm — current plan runs Mon–Fri (kickoff Sept 14, demos Sept 18) All sessions under Chatham House Rule · no recording
Scroll the calendar sideways to see all four summit days →
§ The Week

Day-by-day, hour-by-hour.

One reception, three summits. Monday opens the whole room on the waterfront. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday each carry a single domain summit — morning corridor tours, lunch and framing, a keynote fireside, two cohort-wide discussions, parallel breakout rooms, a closing synthesis, then a reception and a VIP dinner. Every session runs under Chatham House Rule. No recording.
01
Monday — Opening Reception
The whole room in one place before the work begins.
Sept 14, 2026
Waterfront · ~200
18:00180 min
■ Opening Reception SponsorSDTW 2026 Opening ReceptionWaterfront, 6–9 PM. The full cohort plus partners, primes, allied attachés, capital, and program offices. No keynote, no agenda — the cohort meeting face to face before the summits open.
Waterfront · 200
Reception
02
Tuesday — Global Domain Awareness
Summit 001 · the defense-exclusive day. From the seabed to low Earth orbit, one integrated picture.
Sept 15, 2026
Tours 9–11 AM · 12–6 PM · Cohort 150
Pillars · Sea to Space · Allied Base
09:00120 min
■ Tour Hosts · Cohort CompaniesCorridor Showcase Tours — Defense-Tech FacilitiesDefense-tech cohort companies and startups host morning facility tours at their Long Beach corridor sites — ISR, space platforms, undersea, autonomy. Hosts raise their hand; visiting investors, primes, program offices, and allied attachés RSVP. Transportation provided between sites.
Corridor sites · RSVP
Cohort
12:0060 min
■ Lunch SponsorWelcome Lunch & NetworkingCohort arrival and structured matchmaking. Founders meet program-office leadership from SSC, NRO, and the services over a working lunch.
Working lunch
Cohort
13:0015 min
■ Presenting SponsorOpening Remarks & Day FramingWhy this room, why now, and the principles guiding the day's discussions.
Main stage
Cohort
13:1530 min
■ Keynote Sponsor · Intro by PresentingKeynote Fireside — The State of the PacificWhat the operational picture looks like in 2027: what the Department can see, what it still can't, and what it will need industry to solve.
Main stage
Cohort
13:4560 min
■ Session SponsorDiscussion I — The Sea-to-Space StackHow sensing, fusion, and command across sea, space, and cyber come together. Where the stack is integrated today, where it breaks, and who owns the seams. Circular format.
Circular · 150
Cohort
14:4515 min
Coffee Break & Matchmaking
Cohort
15:0060 min
■ Session SponsorDiscussion II — Contested LogisticsMoving people, platforms, fuel, munitions, and data through a contested Pacific. Sustainment across a distributed force posture — sealift, airlift, on-orbit resupply, undersea cable and seabed infrastructure, forward pre-positioning, and the industrial base that has to feed all of it in time. Circular format.
Circular · 150
Cohort
16:0015 min
Coffee Break
Cohort
16:1560 min
■ Breakout SponsorsBreakout Rooms — Parallel Small GroupsThe cohort splits into 3–4 parallel rooms (~35–40 each) for working-session conversation on sub-topics within the day's theme. Host + initial speakers + facilitated.
3–4 rooms
Cohort
17:1515 min
Closing Synthesis — How to Take This Work ForwardWhat the room landed on, and what the week tests next.
Main stage
Cohort
18:0090 min
■ Reception SponsorClosing Reception — Day OneCohort reception following the GDA program. Founders, operators, allied attachés, and capital in one room before the VIP dinner.
Cohort · 150
Cohort
19:30VIP Dinner
■ VIP Dinner SponsorVIP Dinner — Sensors, Seabed, Orbit & Allied IndustrialFounder-table dinner pairing ISR and contested-logistics founders with program-office and allied-force senior leaders — AUKUS Pillar II and Quad attachés at the table alongside US founders with cross-border platforms. 20 seats.
20 seats
VIP
03
Wednesday — Critical Infrastructure
Summit 002 · commercial + defense. AI compute and the defense base load are the same equation.
Sept 16, 2026
Tours 9–11 AM · 12–6 PM · Cohort 150
Pillars · Build It in Time · Capital Stack
12:0060 min
■ Tour Hosts · Cohort CompaniesCorridor Showcase Tours — Energy & Critical-Infra FacilitiesEnergy and critical-infra cohort companies host morning facility tours — nuclear / SMR sites, hyperscaler data centers, transmission and substation work, grid-software ops. Hosts raise their hand; visiting capital, utility leadership, hyperscaler infra leads, and DOE / DIU program offices RSVP. Transportation provided between sites.
Corridor sites · RSVP
Cohort
12:0060 min
■ Lunch SponsorWelcome Lunch & NetworkingFounders pair with federal energy program leadership (DOE, ARPA-E, EPRI, DIU Energy) and hyperscaler infrastructure leads over a working lunch.
Working lunch
Cohort
13:0015 min
■ Presenting SponsorOpening Remarks & Day FramingWhy this room, why now, and the principles guiding the day's discussions.
Main stage
Cohort
13:1530 min
■ Keynote Sponsor · Intro by PresentingKeynote Fireside — The Power EquationAI is driving the largest jump in US electricity demand in a century. Layer in defense base load and allied energy resilience on the same grid — where does generation come from, who builds the lines, and what keeps infrastructure from being the bottleneck?
Main stage
Cohort
13:4560 min
■ Session SponsorDiscussion I — The Nuclear RenaissanceSMRs, microreactors, fusion. What is deployable inside five years, who anchors the offtake (hyperscaler PPAs, utility ratebase, or DOD on-base reactors), and where first-of-a-kind capital comes from. Circular format.
Circular · 150
Cohort
14:4515 min
Coffee Break & Matchmaking
Cohort
15:0060 min
■ Session SponsorDiscussion II — AI Compute, Data-Center Power & Grid CapacityDemand is running ahead of interconnect timelines. Where new generation, storage, and transmission get built, and how hyperscaler, industrial, and defense load share the same grid without anyone getting starved. Circular format.
Circular · 150
Cohort
16:0015 min
Coffee Break
Cohort
16:1560 min
■ Breakout SponsorsBreakout Rooms — Parallel Small GroupsThe cohort splits into 3–4 parallel rooms (~35–40 each) for working-session conversation on sub-topics within the day's theme. Host + initial speakers + facilitated.
3–4 rooms
Cohort
17:1515 min
Closing Synthesis — How to Take This Work ForwardWhere the energy and capital briefs converged, and what the room tests next.
Main stage
Cohort
18:0090 min
■ Reception SponsorClosing Reception — Day TwoEnergy founders, hyperscalers, utilities, capital, and program offices in one room before the VIP dinner.
Cohort · 150
Cohort
19:30VIP Dinner
■ VIP Dinner SponsorVIP Dinner — Fuel, Fission & the GridNuclear and grid founders at the table with utility CEOs, hyperscaler infrastructure leadership, transmission developers, program-office leadership, and the GPs and energy allocators underwriting them. 20 seats.
20 seats
VIP
04
Thursday — Industrial Resiliency
Summit 003 · commercial + defense. The arsenal of democracy and the next consumer-electronics supply chain run on the same factory floor.
Sept 17, 2026
Tours 9–11 AM · 12–6 PM · Cohort 150
Pillars · Build It in Time · Capital Stack · Allied Base
12:0060 min
■ Tour Hosts · Cohort CompaniesCorridor Showcase Tours — Manufacturing & Robotics FacilitiesIndustrial cohort companies host morning facility tours — defense manufacturing floors, commercial robotics lines, advanced manufacturing, reshoring sites. Hosts raise their hand; visiting OEMs, primes, program offices, and industrial capital RSVP. Transportation provided between sites.
Corridor sites · RSVP
Cohort
12:0060 min
■ Lunch SponsorWelcome Lunch & NetworkingFounders and OEM industrial leaders pair with the program offices most active in dual-use manufacturing (DPA Title III, OSC, DIU, DARPA, DOC) over a working lunch.
Working lunch
Cohort
13:0015 min
■ Presenting SponsorOpening Remarks & Day FramingWhy this room, why now, and the principles guiding the day's discussions.
Main stage
Cohort
13:1530 min
■ Keynote Sponsor · Intro by PresentingKeynote Fireside — The Factory RebuiltWhat industrial resiliency demands across the dual-use base: how many factories, how many workers, how much robotics and automation, on what timeline — for both the commercial supply chain and the defense magazine.
Main stage
Cohort
13:4560 min
■ Session SponsorDiscussion I — What It Takes to Build in TimePrototype to sustained production. Workforce gaps, supply-chain fragility, facility investment — what production at scale demands from commercial OEMs and from primes filling defense magazines. Circular format.
Circular · 150
Cohort
14:4515 min
Coffee Break & Matchmaking
Cohort
15:0060 min
■ Session SponsorDiscussion II — Robotics, Automation & the Future of WorkRobotics is reshaping commercial OEM lines, defense primes, and the industrial workforce at once. Where the technology is real today, what the labor transformation looks like, and how to make manufacturing a calling again. Circular format.
Circular · 150
Cohort
16:0015 min
Coffee Break
Cohort
16:1560 min
■ Breakout SponsorsBreakout Rooms — Parallel Small GroupsThe cohort splits into 3–4 parallel rooms (~35–40 each) for working-session conversation on sub-topics within the day's theme. Host + initial speakers + facilitated.
3–4 rooms
Cohort
17:1515 min
Closing Synthesis — How to Take This Work ForwardWhat the three summits landed on, and what the cohort commits to before the next convening.
Main stage
Cohort
18:0090 min
■ Reception SponsorClosing Reception — Day ThreeThe final cohort reception of the week. Industrial founders, primes, OEMs, capital, and allied partners in one room before the VIP dinner.
Cohort · 150
Cohort
19:30VIP Dinner
■ VIP Dinner SponsorVIP Dinner — Primes, Founders & Industrial CapitalSenior dinner pairing defense primes and program-office leadership with growth-stage industrial founders, industrial capital, allied attachés, and OEMs building cross-border manufacturing. 20 seats.
20 seats
VIP
05
Friday — Demo Day & Closing
Maritime Industrial Workshop read-outs by day, and the invite-only VIP Closing Dinner by night.
Sept 18, 2026
Workshop demos · daytime
VIP Closing Dinner · evening
10:00Demos
■ Maritime Industrial WorkshopDemo Day & Team Read-OutsBuilder teams present against their scoped port and maritime problem sets to host operators, program offices, and industrial capital. Closing remarks and awards follow.
Corridor · workshop cohort
Workshop
19:30VIP Dinner
■ Closing Dinner SponsorVIP Closing Dinner — The Last TableTime: 7:30–10:30 PM. Location: Long Beach waterfront — private room; exact venue confirmed with attendees on RSVP.
At the table: a cross-section of the full week — critical-tech founders, defense primes, program-office and allied-force leadership, industrial and venture capital, and the Maritime Industrial Workshop finalists. ~24 seats.
RSVP: invite-only, by written confirmation. Requests and dietary needs to partnerships@socaldeeptech.com by Sept 4, 2026.
~24 seats · waterfront
VIP
■ Draft v4 · Tentative — speakers, timing, and venues subject to change. Final lock: Labor Day 2026. Conducted under Chatham House Rule · no recording
§ Parallel Offerings

Office hours, alongside the agenda.

Corridor showcase tours now open each summit day inside the main agenda (9–11 AM). Alongside the 12–6 PM track, two by-appointment advisory offerings run for the cohort — reserved during registration.
By appointment

OTA Clinic

Small-group OTA strategy sessions with OSC, DIU, and counsel for founders navigating Other Transaction Authority and the fastest contracting vehicles.

1-hour slots
By appointment

Commercial Finance Hours

Project finance, growth equity, and venture-debt counsel for industrial founders raising against hard assets and long build cycles.

1-hour slots
§ House Rule

No recording. Press & media — TBD.

■ Chatham House
all week

Every plenary, fireside, discussion, breakout, tour, reception, and dinner is conducted under Chatham House Rule. No sessions are recorded — no podcasts, no transcripts, no clip reels tied to named speakers.

That said, we are exploring some form of press and media coverage for 2026 — format and scope TBD. The intent is for the room's substance to travel beyond the cohort without breaking attribution inside the room. The decision lands before the final program.

This is a change from prior years: the in-session editorial production track does not run in 2026. Sponsors get session-level activation through brand presence and curated invitations.

§ Get on the Program

Build with us.

Three ways onto the 2026 program: apply for the cohort, request the sponsor prospectus, or host a side event under the SDTW banner.
Apply to Attend → Request Sponsor Deck → Host a Side Event →