Start fall off right with these 6 DMV events

Fellow Virgos, rejoice. It’s our time to shine.

For everyone else, September is the month of back to school, the final days of summer and the beginning of crunchy, spicy leaf season. It’s also a good time to get back to events. From event pre-celebrations to quantum gatherings to a shout-out to the creatives, here’s your guide to this month’s events (and don’t forget to check the DC Startup events calendar for even more).

Voice & AI (Tuesday-Thursday, Sept. 5-7)

This three-day event features natural language and generative AI experts together with speakers and exhibitors. Attendees can check out custom assistants, digital humans, conversation design products, prompt engineering and more. Location: Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW. Tickets are $59-$1495 depending on tier, with discounts available to select groups. Learn more here. 

AWS Community Day DMV Pre-Game (Wednesday, Sept. 13, 5-9 p.m.)

Technologists interested in the second annual AWS community day next month can get started early with a pre-game event. The “mega meetup bash happy hour” is for technologists and is hosted by DevOpsDC. Location: Spider Kelly’s, 3181 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia. Admission is free. Register here.

202Creates Month/Creative Entrepreneur Capital Summit (All month long/Thursday, Sept. 14, 9 a.m.)

September is 202Creates Month in DC, presented by Mayor Muriel Bowser. The city and other sponsors will host events all month long for the creative folks of the area, including the city’s entrepreneurs.

On Thursday, Sept. 14, locals can attend a limited-admission Creative Entrepreneur Capital Summit to bounce ideas, network and learn about funding avenues. Location: Busboys and Poets, 450 K Street NW. Admission is $99 plus fees. Register here. 

DC Startup Week Summer Happy Hour Series (Thursday, Sept. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m.)

The AWS folks aren’t the only ones celebrating early. DC Startup Week is hosting its final summer happy hour before October’s big event to help founders get a headstart on networking. Drinks and light fare will be provided for attendees. Location: Studio by Tishman Speyer, 900 19th St. NW, 6th floor. Admission is free. Register here. 

HBCU Entrepreneurship Conference (Wednesday, Sept. 27, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.)

Bowie State University is hosting this hybrid event, which aims to inspire new ways to help aspiring student entrepreneurs. Attendees can check out networking activities, breakout sessions and keynote speakers on research, teaching, STEAM, programming and student innovations. Location: Bowie State University, 14000 Jericho Park Road, Bowie, Maryland. Attendance is free with registration. Register here. 

Quantum World Conference (Tuesday-Thursday, Sept. 26-28)

The second annual event is back with multiple days of programming for those interested in the new world of quantum computing. The event is open to researchers, technologists, innovators, legislators and other industry professionals. Location: Capital One Hall, 7750 Capital One Tower Rd., Tysons, Virginia. Tickets cost between $399 and $1,199, depending on tier. Register here. 

Do you know of any other must-see events for local technologists and entrepreneurs in the DC area? Let us know by emailing dc@technical.ly.