FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Barrio – Leverage Point, Inc. || 310.869.5311 || michael@leveragepointinc.com
Over the past decade, Albuquerque has steadily and stealthily been establishing itself as a tech hub in the southwest. In the past year alone, the technology industry added 263 New Mexico jobs in 2015, bringing total tech employment in the state to nearly 47,000. According to Cyberstates 2016, New Mexico ranks 32nd in the country for tech sector employment[1].
Earlier this month, the Albuquerque tech community celebrated the recent sale of New Mexico’s own high-tech startup, Intellicyt Corp., to German pharmaceutical firm Sartorius AG, for $90 million in a deal that will allow the company to continue operations in New Mexico, which will continue to fuel the startup economy in Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico.
Add to that the fact that, in just May of this year, the City of Albuquerque was named a US Ignite partner, joining a select group of Smart Gigabit Communities nationwide. The US ignite partnership serves as a complimentary piece to cornerstone technology programs and initiatives planned to be made available through the Innovation District, Route 66 fiber deployment, and many of the Smart City initiatives the City is currently pursuing through the Bloomberg I-team and TechHire programs.
As a result of the recent tech activity, and as a nod to the boom and velocity of the tech sector in Albuquerque, the New Mexico Technology Council with the support of Comcast, has announced that the organizations will be hosting experienceIT NM in late September to celebrate homegrown talent and technology. experienceIT NM is a dynamic conference that gathers the best and brightest entrepreneurs, hackers, technicians, experts, and tech fans in Albuquerque to share stories about and showcase the vibrant state of technology in New Mexico. “We are thrilled to be able to host an event like this for New Mexico,” stated Nyika Allen, Executive Director of the New Mexico Technology Council. “The tech scene has been booming and it’s the perfect time to host an event to showcase all the good things happening here.” The conference will take place at Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque on Friday, September 30.
experienceIT NM will kick-off on Tuesday, September 27, with a series of exciting tech events that begin with LaunchIT, a dinner and networking event co-hosted by Coronado Ventures Forum (CFV) at Yanni’s Nob Hill with three of New Mexico’s most successful entrepreneur CEO’s (Mark Fidel, RiskSense |Chuck Call, Active Clean | Mark Canon, boomtime) where they will discuss what they’ll be launching next, as well as participate in a panel discussion on their stories of success and operation in the Land of Enchantment.
The kick-off continues on Wednesday, September 28 with Yelptropolis, an innovative and supercharged tech celebration at the Historic El Rey Theater in Downtown Albuquerque. The New Mexico Technology Council has partnered with Yelp to bring Yelptropolis back to the Duke City for what promises to be the biggest, most innovative and memorable party of the year. With tasty eats, creative cocktails and incredible STEM organizations, Yelptropolis gives the creative community, innovators, underground techies, startups and futurists an opportunity to connect and mingle. All proceeds from Yelptropolis directly benefit ABQ Girl Develop It, a nonprofit organization that exists to provide affordable and judgment-free opportunities for women interested in learning web and software development.
On Thursday, September 28, Comcast will also be hosting a vipIT Reception for members of the technology, business and economic development community. The event will feature great food, drinks, entertainment by the Tracey Whitney Quartet and a showcase of Comcast’s latest technology developments.
The week of tech events will close on Friday, September 30th with a full day of tech talk and networking at the experienceIT NM conference, which begins with a keynote breakfast with Comcast CIO, Scott Alcott. As the City of Albuquerque cements itself as a booming tech and innovation hub, experienceIT NM and the week of tech events is the space to be to learn about and celebrate the New Mexico tech scene at what promises to be the definitive tech experience of the year.
Press & Media Inquiries, contact:
Michael Barrio
VP, Public Affairs
Leverage Point, Inc.
E: Michael@leveragepointinc.com
O: 505.338.4228 || M: 310.869.5311
[1] Cyberstates 2016: The Definitive State-by-State Analysis of the U.S. Tech Industry published by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
