Trailblazing Tech 2026

What Awaits You at TT26? 

We will be exploring what the region’s strategic status means for businesses and communities. Highlighting Manchester’s growing strength in investment, tech, and fintech, and framing the opportunities ahead. We will hear from founders, professionals and innovators sharing real-world success stories, offering practical insight into how funding, technology, automation, and AI are being used to drive meaningful business growth within the local ecosystem.

We look ahead to future growth and the role of data in enabling transformation, with discussions focusing on how businesses can unlock potential through better decision-making and emerging tech. Attendees will hear from trailblazing companies at the forefront of innovation, we have a dedicated “Hour of AI” designed to cut through the hype and provide clear, practical understanding of how AI can be applied across organisations of all sizes.

We will bring a fresh conversational take on the future of business, and we will be exploring how companies are using technology to scale effectively without increasing headcount, demonstrating how AI and automation can enhance, rather than replace, human capability.

Continue the conversation after at Venture Café Manchester’s Thursday Gathering: Liveable Cities: Critiquing the Urban Renaissance. Bringing together voices from across innovation, tech, urbanism and the built environment, the evening will explore what makes cities truly liveable  - alongside the high-energy networking and cross-sector connections that Thursday Gatherings are known for.