Seed The South Brings 600+ Founders and Investors to Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHARLOTTE, NC – May 12, 2026 –

Seed The South, the Southeast’s premier capital summit, returns May 18–19, 2026 with its most ambitious event to date, bringing more than 600 founders, investors, and operators to Bank of America Stadium for two days of capital, connection, and company-building at the center of Charlotte’s innovation economy.

Now in its third year, Seed The South has quickly become one of the Southeast’s fastest-growing gatherings for venture-backed founders, active investors, and the operators shaping what’s next. This year’s summit will feature two days of live programming, investor conversations, curated networking, and founder-focused experiences designed to create meaningful access to capital and stronger connectivity across the region’s startup ecosystem.

As momentum continues to build across the Southeast, Seed The South is designed to do more than convene. It is built to create intentional proximity between founders and capital, with programming designed to move beyond surface-level networking and into the kinds of conversations that drive real diligence, real relationships, and real deals. From early-stage builders to growth-stage operators, the summit offers a sharper lens into where innovation in the Southeast is headed and who is building it.

“Seed The South was intentionally designed to feel different than a traditional startup conference,” said Jenny Tacka, Summit Co-Organizer and Executive Director of gWen. “We’ve built this summit with a more elevated, hospitality-driven lens, where every detail is designed to feel thoughtful, highly curated, and worthy of the caliber of founders, investors, and operators in the room.”

“If we are helping to change perceptions about the Southeast as an innovation region and helping companies choose to stay and scale in Charlotte rather than moving to coastal cities, we’ll know we’ve succeeded,” said Juan Garzón, Summit Co-Organizer and Executive Director of Innovate Charlotte.

Attendees will engage with 75+ investors, 175+ founders, and a growing network of operators, ecosystem leaders, and institutional partners from across the Southeast. From curated investor meetings and growth-stage showcases to startup discovery at Startup Alley, the summit is designed to maximize high-value collisions across every stage of company building.

At the center of the agenda is The Big Pitch, Seed The South’s flagship live pitch competition, where 11 startups will take the stage to compete for a transformative $100,000 investment from The Charlotte Fund and the attention of some of the region’s most active investors.

Organizers say capital formation remains the summit’s core metric, with success measured not only by attendance, but by follow-on investor meetings, capital raised, and long-term relationships formed in the months after the event.

Seed The South is where the Southeast comes to raise what’s next. To learn more and secure your spot, visit seedthesouth.com.

About Seed The South Capital Summit

Seed The South is the Southeast’s premier capital summit, bringing together top founders, investors, and operators for two days of curated programming, live pitching, and meaningful deal-making in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hosted annually at Bank of America Stadium, the summit exists to strengthen the connective tissue between startups and capital across the Southeast.

Media Contact:

Jenny Tacka

Summit Co-Organizer and Executive Director, gWen

Email: jenny@joingwen.com

Phone: 305-962-7654