Innovation Night at the Park
Wednesday, May 13 | Covenant Health Park | Knoxville, Tennessee
Join founders, innovators, investors, and the wider Knoxville community for an afternoon and evening celebrating innovation. See a list of the 40 founders pitching.
12:00-2:00 PM
Investor Pitch
Join us for lunch in the Clubhouse and watch 17 founders pitch their startups. Selected founders will have 3 minutes to pitch to local and regional investors and a chance to receive a $100,000 investment from Market Square Ventures.
2:00-4:00 PM
LEEP Demo Day 2026
Experience breakthrough technologies from startups in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP).
Featuring 23 startups from:
Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory (Illinois)
Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (California)
Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Tennessee)
West Gate at National Laboratory of the Rockies (Colorado)
Meet the founders building the next generation of energy and advanced technology companies.
4:00-5:30 PM
Networking at 121 Tech Hub
All are invited to continue conversations and collaboration at 121 Tech Hub, located a block from the stadium at 121 E. Jackson. Co-working at 121 Tech Hub will also be available all day for founders and investors attending the event.
5:30-7:00 PM
Innovation Showcase on the Concourse
Gates open at 5:30pm! Explore the latest technologies from 32 innovative startups.
Live startup demonstrations
Founder meet-and-greets
Emerging technology displays
Meet the people building the future of energy, AI, mobility, advanced manufacturing, and more.
7:00-9:00 PM
One Knoxville SC game ⚽️
Watch the national champion One Knoxville SC soccer team take on Union Omaha at Covenant Health Park, which was named the best ballpark in the country. Get your special discount group rate tickets.
Before the game, celebrate Knoxville’s culture of innovation on the Jumbotron.
At halftime, recognize founders and innovators from the day’s event on the field.
Who should attend
Knoxville brings together entrepreneurial ambition, national laboratory research, and university talent.
Innovation Night welcomes:
Local and regional founders
Venture investors
Corporate innovators
National lab startups
Students
The wider community!
All in one place to celebrate the future being built here.