SUMMIT SPEAKERS 2026

Email info@digsouth.com to sponsor Dig South Tech Summit. A limited number of exclusive partnerships are still available and include year-round benefits. Partner with us today for year-round value!

Dig South will register sponsors for the Dig South Tech Summit, May 1-2, 2025, in the Dig Nation member platform. Follow the instructions from the email sent from our team, which includes a unique link to register you and your guest tickets. Sponsors should complete their company profiles and other information asap to maximize the benefits. Email mellonie@digsouth.com for assistance.

2-day badges to Dig South Tech Summit include: May 1 events: Mentor Matchup, Upload Charleston, Benjamin Wallace Author Event; May events: All sessions on the schedule and the New Frontiers Shindig.

View the schedule at digsummit.com for details.

*For year-round Dig Nation membership events, visit digsouth.com/events

Follow us on LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. We greatly appreciate reposts and tags when you see Dig South and Dig South Tech Summit in your feed. Be sure to use #DigSouth #DigSouthTechSummit #DigNation in your posts. A brand kit is available by request at info@digsouth.com

Dig South Tech Summit will be held in the Simons Center for the Arts at the College of Charleston. Enter on St. Philip Street between Calhoun and George Streets. The newly renovated Simons Center is a cornerstone for the arts, providing dynamic facilities including an elegant theater, recital hall, black box theatre, dance and sculpture studios, classrooms and the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art.

Paid parking for the Summit is available in multiple garages, surface lots, and metered spaces around the Simons Center for the Arts. The nearest locations are the garages at 89 St. Philip Street and 34 St. Philip Street. Dig South also encourages using rideshare to attend the Summit.

Yes, you could. But why would you want to miss out on free benefits? The membership is an excellent year-round benefit to attending Dig South Tech Summit at no additional cost, but, we get it, not everyone wants to be listed in a community. Anyway you roll, we’re thrilled to see you at the Summit.

Heck yeah! Important note: Upload Charleston is included with the full ticket to the Summit. Guests who only want to attend Upload Charleston may buy a separate ticket to the event on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm. Email info@digsouth.com to purchase.

Additional party tickets can be purchased for separate entry to the Upload Shindig for only $50. Email info@digsouth.com. Due to hard costs and capacity, the Summit is unable to accommodate full or single-session passes for guests, including spouses, colleagues, friends or assistants.

Dig Nation members gain access to not only Dig South Tech Summit but also year-round events and a range of excellent benefits, including a curated network, top-shelf content and capital opportunities. Visit dignation.co for benefits and more groovy info about the South’s Tech Tribe.

Badges for Dig South Tech Summit can be picked up on Thursday, May 1, 5:00-7:00pm, at the Upload Charleston Shindig at The College of Charleston President’s House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Or on the day of the Summit, Friday, May 2, 8:00am-5:30pm at the Simons Center of the Arts, located on St. Philip Street between George and Calhoun Streets.

The Dig South “Upload Charleston” event will be held on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, at The College of Charleston President’s House – Bishop Robert Smith House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. 

The oldest building on the College of Charleston campus, the President’s House was the site of the school’s first classes. Today this handsome Georgian mansion with the garden around it serves as the President’s House; it was also the home of the College’s first president over 200 years ago.

The land on which it stands was granted in 1672 to one of the colony’s original settlers, John Coming, whose name is remembered in nearby Coming Street. In 1698, his widow Affra Harleston Coming donated 17 acres of the land to St. Philip’s Anglican Church. The church soon after built a parsonage for its ministers about a block south of this site (approximately where Memminger School stands today).

Around 1770, as this area, known as Harleston Village, was developed, St. Philip’s decided to erect “a new parsonage house” with “a garden, orchard and pasturage,” and received approval and funding from the Royal legislature. A “brick building 48 by 44” with four main rooms on the main floor, two larger ones in the front, smaller ones in the rear, with “Kitchen and other Offices underneath” was agreed upon, with minister Robert Smith and contractor Daniel Cannon empowered to sort out the details. Construction had yet to begin by May of 1774, and although the details are vague, it is likely that the house was finished by 1778. For years, the house was dated  “circa 1770.”

The agenda and session schedule will be available in 3 locations: 

1. Website (limited). Visit the digsouth.com/techsummit website to view a limited, abbreviated agenda. You will not have access to the full Dig Nation member community until you are registered and have a ticket to Dig South Tech Summit. Purchase at dignation.co
2. Dig Nation Community (full access). If you are registered and already in the Dig Nation member community, visit dignation.co to view the full Dig South Tech Summit agenda and connect with attendees, sponsors and speakers, and receive your year-round benefits.
3. Mighty Networks App (mobile). If you are registered and in the Dig Nation network, download the Mighty Networks app to access the Dig South Tech Summit agenda and network mobile view, and stay connected year-round to the Dig Nation community. The Dig Nation member network will be associated with the email you used for registration.

Dig South will record video and audio portions of most of the sessions and events for our Dig Nation member platform and other Summit marketing channels. With 30+ speakers we may not capture every session in its entirety or provide video files to speakers. Speakers are welcome to self-record the session, or we can connect you to a freelance videographer who can record the event for a fee.

Buy tickets today at dignation.co. 

Registering for Dig South Tech Summit is easy and includes a major bonus – year-round membership to Dig Nation: The South’s Tech Tribe. Dig South hosts additional talks, webinars, and happy hours plus event collaborations with Harbor Entrepreneur Center, CRDA and other prominent organizations. The networking is superb. Share your expertise and gain significant knowledge and know-how from fellow members. View benefits and register for Dig South Tech Summit today.

In addition to all Summit sessions on May 2, tickets to the Summit include the following. Additional tickets can be purchased at dignation.co.

> Upload Charleston Shindig, Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, at The College of Charleston President’s House Courtyard at 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. The President’s House is located two blocks from the Summit venue in the Simons Center for the Arts.

>New Frontiers, Friday, May 1, 4:30-5:30pm. This is the Dig South Tech Summit closing bash. Two sponsorships are available.

>Year-round Dig Nation membership events. View at digsouth.com/events.

Follow us on LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. We greatly appreciate reposts and tags when you see Dig South and Dig South Tech Summit in your feed. Be sure to use #DigSouth #DigSouthTechSummit #DigNation in your posts. A brand kit is available by request at info@digsouth.com

Paid parking for the Summit is available in multiple garages, surface lots, and metered spaces around the Simons Center for the Arts. The nearest locations are the garages at 89 St. Philip Street and 34 St. Philip Street. Dig South also encourages using rideshare to attend the Summit.

Dig South Tech Summit will be held in the Simons Center for the Arts at the College of Charleston. Enter on St. Philip Street between Calhoun and George Streets. The newly renovated Simons Center is a cornerstone for the arts, providing dynamic facilities including an elegant theater, recital hall, black box theatre, dance and sculpture studios, classrooms and the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art.

Yes, you could. But why would you want to miss out on free benefits? The membership is an excellent year-round benefit to attending Dig South Tech Summit at no additional cost, but, we get it, not everyone wants to be listed in a community. Anyway you roll, we’re thrilled to see you at the Summit.

Heck yeah! Important note: Upload Charleston is included with the full ticket to the Summit. Guests who only want to attend Upload Charleston may buy a separate ticket to the event on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm. Email info@digsouth.com to purchase.

Additional party tickets can be purchased for separate entry to the Upload Shindig for only $50. Email info@digsouth.com. Due to hard costs and capacity, the Summit is unable to accommodate full or single-session passes for guests, including spouses, colleagues, friends or assistants.

Dig Nation members gain access to not only Dig South Tech Summit but also year-round events and a range of excellent benefits, including a curated network, top-shelf content and capital opportunities. Visit dignation.co for benefits and more groovy info about the South’s Tech Tribe.

Badges for Dig South Tech Summit can be picked up on Thursday, May 1, 5:00-7:00pm, at the Upload Charleston Shindig at The College of Charleston President’s House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Or on the day of the Summit, Friday, May 2, 8:00am-5:30pm at the Simons Center of the Arts, located on St. Philip Street between George and Calhoun Streets.

The Dig South “Upload Charleston” event will be held on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, at The College of Charleston President’s House – Bishop Robert Smith House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. 

The oldest building on the College of Charleston campus, the President’s House was the site of the school’s first classes. Today this handsome Georgian mansion with the garden around it serves as the President’s House; it was also the home of the College’s first president over 200 years ago.

The land on which it stands was granted in 1672 to one of the colony’s original settlers, John Coming, whose name is remembered in nearby Coming Street. In 1698, his widow Affra Harleston Coming donated 17 acres of the land to St. Philip’s Anglican Church. The church soon after built a parsonage for its ministers about a block south of this site (approximately where Memminger School stands today).

Around 1770, as this area, known as Harleston Village, was developed, St. Philip’s decided to erect “a new parsonage house” with “a garden, orchard and pasturage,” and received approval and funding from the Royal legislature. A “brick building 48 by 44” with four main rooms on the main floor, two larger ones in the front, smaller ones in the rear, with “Kitchen and other Offices underneath” was agreed upon, with minister Robert Smith and contractor Daniel Cannon empowered to sort out the details. Construction had yet to begin by May of 1774, and although the details are vague, it is likely that the house was finished by 1778. For years, the house was dated  “circa 1770.”

Please apply here to speak at Dig South Tech Summit. Speakers are selected on a rolling basis through January 31, 2025 or until sessions are full. Apply today, slots fill up quickly. Sponsors and members are given priority consideration.

Speaker amenities include the Speaker Green Room (located behind the Emmett Robinson stage), which speakers may visit anytime during the Summit to use the co-working space outfitted with refreshments and a concierge. Speakers may also attend all events throughout the Summit.

Speaker badges to the Summit include:
> Upload Charleston Shindig, Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, at The College of Charleston President’s House Courtyard at 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. The President’s House is located two blocks from the Summit venue in the Simons Center for the Arts.

>Dig South Tech Summit closing bash: New Frontiers, sponsorship is available.

>Year-round Dig Nation membership events. View at digsouth.com/events

Follow us on LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. We greatly appreciate reposts and tags when you see Dig South and Dig South Tech Summit in your feed. Be sure to use #DigSouth #DigSouthTechSummit #DigNation in your posts. A brand kit is available by request at info@digsouth.com

Paid parking for the Summit is available in multiple garages, surface lots, and metered spaces around the Simons Center for the Arts. The nearest locations are the garages at 89 St. Philip Street and 34 St. Philip Street. Dig South also encourages using rideshare to attend the Summit.

Stages will be equipped with a tech producer, LCD screen, confidence monitor,  lectern and microphones.

Yes, speakers may use Keynote or Powerpoint presentations.  It is not required but if a speaker plans to use a Keynote or Powerpoint deck, it should be created in 16:9 ratio and emailed to the Executive Producer, production@digsouth.com, by EOD Friday, April 25 , 2025. Dig South Tech Summit can also provide a template slide and logo in advance by request.

Speakers can expect 300–350 for mainstage presentations and 40-75 people for breakout sessions. Dig South strongly encourages promoting your session in advance in social media and through the Dig Nation app to increase attendance.

Dig South will register speakers for (1) badge for the Dig South Tech Summit, May 1-2, 2025. Speakers will have full access to the Dig Nation member platform up until one week following the Summit. They will then be able to purchase a year-round membership should they so choose.

Speakers will receive confirmation via email with instructions that will send a link to their self-managed speaker profile within the Dig Nation member platform. Speakers should add their headshots, bios and relevant links asap to encourage attendance for their session and benefit from additional networking.

IMPORTANT: assistants are welcome to manage speaker profiles; however, they must log in using the email address the speaker registered with in the platform. Speaker profiles cannot be managed using more than one email address.

Dig South Tech Summit will be held in the Simons Center for the Arts at the College of Charleston. Enter on St. Philip Street between Calhoun and George Streets. The newly renovated Simons Center is a cornerstone for the arts, providing dynamic facilities including an elegant theater, recital hall, black box theatre, dance and sculpture studios, classrooms and the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art.

No. But you’ll miss out on all of the excellent year-round benefits. Not only do you receive a ticket to Dig South Tech Summit when you join Dig Nation, you will also have access to a fantastic network of innovators, plus meetups and other great benefits. Visit digsouth.com/events for details.

Yes, you could. But why would you want to miss out on free benefits? The membership is an excellent year-round benefit to attending Dig South Tech Summit at no additional cost, but, we get it, not everyone wants to be listed in a community. Anyway you roll, we’re thrilled to see you at the Summit.

Heck yeah! Important note: Upload Charleston is included with the full ticket to the Summit. Guests who only want to attend Upload Charleston may buy a separate ticket to the event on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm. Email info@digsouth.com to purchase.

The Dig South “Upload Charleston” event will be held on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, at The College of Charleston President’s House – Bishop Robert Smith House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. 

——————-

The oldest building on the College of Charleston campus, the President’s House was the site of the school’s first classes. Today this handsome Georgian mansion with the garden around it serves as the President’s House; it was also the home of the College’s first president over 200 years ago.

The land on which it stands was granted in 1672 to one of the colony’s original settlers, John Coming, whose name is remembered in nearby Coming Street. In 1698, his widow Affra Harleston Coming donated 17 acres of the land to St. Philip’s Anglican Church. The church soon after built a parsonage for its ministers about a block south of this site (approximately where Memminger School stands today).

Around 1770, as this area, known as Harleston Village, was developed, St. Philip’s decided to erect “a new parsonage house” with “a garden, orchard and pasturage,” and received approval and funding from the Royal legislature. A “brick building 48 by 44” with four main rooms on the main floor, two larger ones in the front, smaller ones in the rear, with “Kitchen and other Offices underneath” was agreed upon, with minister Robert Smith and contractor Daniel Cannon empowered to sort out the details. Construction had yet to begin by May of 1774, and although the details are vague, it is likely that the house was finished by 1778. For years, the house was dated  “circa 1770.”

Powered by Dig South, Dig Nation is the South’s Tech Tribe. Dig Nation members gain access to not only Charleston AI Summit but also year-round events and a range of excellent benefits, including a curated network, top-shelf content and capital opportunities. Visit dignation.co for benefits and more groovy info.

Badges for Dig South Tech Summit can be picked up on Thursday, May 1, 5:00-7:00pm, at the Upload Charleston Shindig at The College of Charleston President’s House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Or on the day of the Summit, Friday, May 2, 8:00am-5:30pm at the Simons Center of the Arts, located on St. Philip Street between George and Calhoun Streets.

Please apply here to join Wild Pitch at Dig South Tech Summit on May 2, 2025. Companies focused on emerging technologies such as generative AI, sustainable energy, mobility, and SaaS platforms, plus other innovative solutions will be selected and notified by February 1, 2025. Space is limited. Apply today.

Stages will be equipped with a tech producer, LCD screen, confidence monitor,  lectern and microphones on the mainstage. The sidestage does not require a microphone.

Yes, startup pitchers may use Keynote or Powerpoint presentations. It is not required but if a pitcher plans to use a Keynote or Powerpoint deck, it should be created in 16:9 ratio and emailed to the Executive Producer, production@digsouth.com, by EOD Friday, April 25, 2025. Dig South Tech Summit can also provide a template slide and logo in advance by request.

Pitches will be presented tournament style with 16 companies presenting over 4 sessions, four at a time. For the first round of pitches, pitchers can expect 40-60 attendees. The finals will include the 4 winners of the previous rounds and will be held on the mainstage in front of an audience of 300–350 attendees.

There is no cost to pitch at Dig South Tech Summit. Pitch teams will receive two comped tickets to the full Summit. If an individual pitcher is also a speaker or panelist they do not receive an additional comp ticket. Additional tickets can be purchased at dignation.co.

Registering for Dig South Tech Summit is easy and includes a major bonus – year-round membership to Dig Nation: The South’s Tech Tribe. In addition to our marquee event for 2025, Dig South hosts additional talks, webinars, and happy hours plus event collaborations with Harbor Entrepreneur Center, CRDA, and other prominent organizations. The networking is superb. You can share your expertise and gain significant knowledge and know-how from fellow members along the way. To view benefits and register for Dig South Tech Summit, visit dignation.co today.

In addition to all Summit sessions on May 2, tickets to the Summit include the following. Additional tickets can be purchased at dignation.co.

> Upload Charleston Shindig, Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, at The College of Charleston President’s House Courtyard at 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. The President’s House is located two blocks from the Summit venue in the Simons Center for the Arts.

>New Frontiers, Friday, May 1, 4:30-5:30pm. This is the Dig South Tech Summit closing bash. Two sponsorships are available.

>Year-round Dig Nation membership events. View at digsouth.com/events.

Dig South Tech Summit will be held in the Simons Center for the Arts at the College of Charleston. Enter on St. Philip Street between Calhoun and George Streets. The newly renovated Simons Center is a cornerstone for the arts, providing dynamic facilities including an elegant theater, recital hall, black box theatre, dance and sculpture studios, classrooms and the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art.

Dig South will register pitchers for (1) badge for the Dig South Tech Summit, May 1-2, 2025. Speakers will have full access to the Dig Nation member platform up until one week following the Summit. They will then be able to purchase a year-round membership should they so choose.

Speakers will receive confirmation via email with instructions that will send a link to their self-managed speaker profile within the Dig Nation member platform. Speakers should add their headshots, bios and relevant links asap to encourage attendance for their session and benefit from additional networking.

IMPORTANT: assistants are welcome to manage speaker profiles; however, they must log in using the email address the speaker registered with in the platform. Speaker profiles cannot be managed using more than one email address.

Paid parking for the Summit is available in multiple garages, surface lots, and metered spaces around the Simons Center for the Arts. The nearest locations are the garages at 89 St. Philip Street and 34 St. Philip Street. Dig South also encourages using rideshare to attend the Summit.

Yes, additional tickets to the Upload Charleston event on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, can be purchased by emailing info@digsouth.com.

Powered by Dig South, Dig Nation is the South’s Tech Tribe. Dig Nation members gain access to Dig South Tech Summit, year-round events and a range of excellent benefits including a curated network, top-shelf content and capital opportunities. Visit dignation.co for benefits and more groovy info.

Badges for Dig South Tech Summit can be picked up on Thursday, May 1, 5:00-7:00pm, at the Upload Charleston Shindig at The College of Charleston President’s House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Or on the day of the Summit, Friday, May 2, 8:00am-5:30pm at the Simons Center of the Arts, located on St. Philip Street between George and Calhoun Streets.

The Dig South “Upload Charleston” event will be held on Thursday, May 1, 5-7pm, at The College of Charleston President’s House – Bishop Robert Smith House, 6 Glebe Street, Charleston, SC 29401. 

The oldest building on the College of Charleston campus, the President’s House was the site of the school’s first classes. Today this handsome Georgian mansion with the garden around it serves as the President’s House; it was also the home of the College’s first president over 200 years ago.

The land on which it stands was granted in 1672 to one of the colony’s original settlers, John Coming, whose name is remembered in nearby Coming Street. In 1698, his widow Affra Harleston Coming donated 17 acres of the land to St. Philip’s Anglican Church. The church soon after built a parsonage for its ministers about a block south of this site (approximately where Memminger School stands today).

Around 1770, as this area, known as Harleston Village, was developed, St. Philip’s decided to erect “a new parsonage house” with “a garden, orchard and pasturage,” and received approval and funding from the Royal legislature. A “brick building 48 by 44” with four main rooms on the main floor, two larger ones in the front, smaller ones in the rear, with “Kitchen and other Offices underneath” was agreed upon, with minister Robert Smith and contractor Daniel Cannon empowered to sort out the details. Construction had yet to begin by May of 1774, and although the details are vague, it is likely that the house was finished by 1778. For years, the house was dated  “circa 1770.”

The Dig South Tech Summit agenda and session schedule will be available in 3 locations: 

1. Website (limited). Visit the charlestonaisummit.com website to view a limited, abbreviated agenda. You will not have access to the full Dig Nation member community until you are registered and have a ticket to the Charleston AI Summit. Purchase at dignation.co
2. Dig Nation Community (full access). If you are registered and already in the Dig Nation member community, visit dignation.co to view the full Charleston AI Summit agenda and connect with attendees, sponsors and speakers, and receive your year-round benefits.
3. Mighty Networks App (mobile). If you are registered and in the Dig Nation network, download the Mighty Networks app to access the Charleston AI Summit agenda and network mobile view, and stay connected year-round to the Dig Nation community. The Dig Nation member network will be associated with the email you used for registration.

Dig South will record video and audio portions of most of the sessions and events for our member platform and other Summit marketing materials. With 30+ speakers we may not capture every session in its entirety or provide video files to speakers. Speakers are welcome to self-record the session, or we can connect you to a freelance videographer who can record the event for a fee.

Additional party tickets can be purchased for separate entry to the Upload Shindig by emailing info@digsouth.com. Due to hard costs and capacity, the Summit is not able to accommodate full or single-session passes for guests, including spouses, colleagues, friends or assistants.

Speakers, pitchers and session moderators are responsible for all of their costs related to travel, hotel, ground transportation, and incidentals associated with participation in Dig South Tech Summit.

Paid parking for the Summit is available in multiple garages, surface lots, and metered spaces around the Simons Center for the Arts. The nearest locations are the garages at 89 St. Philip Street and 34 St. Philip Street. Dig South also encourages using rideshare to attend the Summit.

Follow us on LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. We greatly appreciate reposts and tags when you see Dig South and Dig South Tech Summit in your feed. Be sure to use #DigSouth #DigSouthTechSummit #DigNation in your posts. A brand kit is available by request at info@digsouth.com

Founded in 2012, Dig South is the South’s Innovation Hub. We connect executives, entrepreneurs, experts, investors and founders through the Dig Nation membership. Dig South focuses on AI and other emerging technologies, business growth, sales and marketing, and innovation culture. Dig South produces Dig South Tech Summit, the Dig Nation member community, and year-round events and programs. Learn more at digsouth.com.

Dig South connects leading global brands to the South’s most scalable startups year-round. We provide the contacts, content, and capital opportunities companies need to succeed through in-person and online experiences, particularly our flagship event: Dig South Tech Summit and monthly “Rise & Grind” meetups at The Harbor Entrepreneur Center.

Dig South Tech Summit will be held in the Simons Center for the Arts at the College of Charleston. Enter on St. Philip Street between Calhoun and George Streets. The newly renovated Simons Center is a cornerstone for the arts, providing dynamic facilities including an elegant theater, recital hall, black box theatre, dance and sculpture studios, classrooms and the Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art.

Paid parking for the Summit is available in multiple garages, surface lots, and metered spaces around the Simons Center for the Arts. The nearest locations are the garages at 89 St. Philip Street and 34 St. Philip Street. Dig South also encourages using rideshare to attend the Summit.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We greatly appreciate reposts and tags when you see Dig South and Dig South Tech Summit in your feed. Be sure to use #DigSouth #DigSouthTechSummit #DigNation in your posts. A brand kit is available at digsouth.com under “About” on the main menu.

Dig South Tech Summit is the South’s Premier Tech Summit. The Summit presents 100+ executive-level speakers from leading global brands, fast-growth startups, and top investors. Since 2012, Dig South Tech Summit has welcomed thousands of attendees to Charleston, a culinary mecca and Condé Nast Traveler’s top destination for over a decade. Visit digsouth.com for details.

For the last 12 years, Dig South has welcomed more than 12,000 attendees and 1000 speakers from the world’s leading brands, including Netflix, Oracle, Hubspot, Facebook, TikTok, Magic Leap, Bonobos, Instagram, Red Hat, CNN, Coca-Cola, Jet, Casper, BuzzFeed, IBM, X/Twitter, Re/Code, WSJ, The New York Times, Forbes, Adobe and many more plus the South’s hottest companies. Notable speakers have included Gary Vaynerhchuck, Vox Chairman and CEO Jim Bankoff, Jet CEO Liza Landsman, Kabbage and Roadie Co-founder Mark Gorlin, Kickstarter CEO Yancy Strickland, Essentialism author Greg McKeown, Atlanta Hawks CMO Melissa Proctor, Bonobos CEO Micky Onvural, VF Brands Innovation Officer and hundreds more.

Dig Nation is the South’s Tech Tribe powered by Dig South. Dig Nation provides the contacts, content and capital opportunities members need to succeed. Visit dignation.co for benefits and details. Join today to grab your ticket to Charleston AI Summit.

Dig South is the nexus of emerging tech and culture in the South. We believe the best way to promote innovation across the region is to invite global brands, execs, founders, investors and experts from beyond the region to connect, collaborate and do business with leading brands and startups based in the South. It’s a global economy and we engage in the global conversation on innovation.

In 2011, Stanfield Gray attended the AdAge Digital Conference in NYC. Connecting with tech executives and experts from Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston and other major tech hubs, he left inspired but frustrated that the same opportunities to work at the highest levels in digital technology and other creative industries were scarce in the South.

Why should the region’s top talent continue to leave the region? If someone chooses to go, good for them. Could be a smart move. But what if the best and brightest could launch, grow and scale global tech companies HQ’d in the South? Michael Dell (Dell Computers), Ted Turner (CNN), Ben Chestnut (Mailchimp) and Tim Sweeney (Epic Games) are proof that it can be done. 

Driven to build a stronger innovation economy for the region and, more specifically, his two young kids, Gray and his wife, Sunny, launched Dig South in 2012 as the first Tech Summit dedicated to elevating the region’s digital economy and building opportunities for the next generation of founders, entrepreneurs and tech talent.

Officially, Dig South was born on July 4, 2012. Bootstrapping, the DIG Team rallied the southeastern community behind the idea and launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise a small fund to launch Dig South. Held April 12–14, 2013, at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, the first Dig South Interactive Festival drew 454 paid attendees with more than a thousand guests passing through the DIG Trade Show, nightly shindigs, Space Walk and other free events. The Summit grew considerably each year, experimenting with NFT galleries, Bitcoin ATM machines, pitch events, hackathons, demo days and other programs.

To date, Dig South has welcomed more than 12,000 attendees and 1000 speakers from the world’s leading brands, including Oracle, Salesforce, IBM, Instagram, Facebook, Jet, Casper, BuzzFeed, Twitter, Re/Code, WSJ, The New York Times, Forbes, Adobe and many more plus the South’s hottest companies, including Red Hat, Roadie, Kabbage, Blackbaud, Terminus, Benefitfocus, CNN, Coca-Cola, BoomTown, Atlanta Hawks and many more. Visit digsouth.com for details.

Stanfield Gray is the founder and CEO of Dig South and a lifelong practitioner of innovation in the South. Gray was named one of Time magazine’s “31 People Changing the South” and one of South Carolina’s “50 Most Influential Business Leaders” by SC Biz magazine. A Liberty Fellow in the Aspen Global Leadership Network, he is a graduate of the University of South Carolina-Honors College and University of Mississippi’s MA program in Southern Studies. Featured on the cover of the issue, Gray was named one of “Charleston’s 50 Most Influential” by Charleston Business magazine in 2017, 2018 and 2019, twice named one of Charlie magazine’s “50 Most Progressive,” and named a “Rock Star” award finalist by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce. Gray has been a featured speaker at the Collision Conference Global Ecosystem Summit in New Orleans, the Southern C Summit, and numerous other events. Also a songwriter and musician, Gray currently performs in the band, The Speed of Sound (S.O.S.). For further details, visit his LinkedIn profile.