The PennZone

IRVINE, Calif. - PennZone -- OC Tech Week hosted by Tech Coast Venture Network drew an estimated 3,000 attendees from 12 countries to 59 events across Orange County, organizers said, and produced a regional champion who will compete for a $1 million investment prize at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco.

The six-day event, organized by Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) under the theme "Innovation in Paradise," ran Oct. 19-24. Instead of a single conference, it was built as a radically inclusive, decentralized series of community driven events hosted by companies, universities, investor groups and community organizations across the county. Organizers said the goal is a single regional identity for Orange County's innovation economy. OC Tech Week will return Sept. 20-25, 2027.

"Orange County has all the ingredients to become one of the world's leading innovation economies: exceptional talent, investment capital, research institutions and entrepreneurial ambition," said Farrah N. Khan, former Mayor of Irvine, co-chair of OC Tech Week. "Our vision is to connect those strengths and make Orange County a place where the next generation of transformative companies can thrive."

"Founders don't succeed in isolation. They need relationships, resources, visibility and a community that believes in them…before there is traction," said Tony Crisp, president of Tech Coast Venture Network, co-chair of OC Tech Week, and Founder of CRISPx brand marketing. "Farrah had the vision, we created the spark, and the community turned it into a fire. You don't find your community, you build it."

Startup World Cup regional champion

Jim O'Connell, founder and CEO of Vytala, won the Startup World Cup Orange County Regional Qualifier on Oct. 21 at the sold-out Best of the Best Startup Pitch Showcase, organized by the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and TCA Venture Group. Thirteen startups pitched to a panel of five judges.

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Vytala advances to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco, Nov. 4-6, where regional winners from around the world will compete for a $1 million investment prize from Pegasus Tech Ventures. Pegasus also invited the other 12 competing startups to attend the Grand Finale.

"The million-dollar prize is exciting, but the real story is access," said Dave de Csepel, chairman of TCA Venture Group. "When founders get in front of experienced investors and build relationships beyond their own networks, that's how a strong regional ecosystem becomes globally competitive."

Global participation

The Oct. 20 Global Trade Summit, organized by International Impact Connections, featured perspectives from China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Romania, South Korea and Europe's technology sectors. Speakers included Marques McCammon, CEO of Karma Automotive; John Shen, founding partner of Sunstone Management; and Christopher K. Lee, venture partner at GoAhead Ventures.

Week highlights

The week opened Oct. 19 at the Sunstone Courtyard in Irvine with a keynote by Don DiCostanzo, founder of Pedego Electric Bikes and CEO of The Ticket 500, titled "Moonshots: The Future Isn't Predicted. It's Built." Irvine Mayor Larry Agran opened with a warm welcome.

Other events included:

• FOX 11 Los Angeles covered The AI Lab's "The People vs. The AI Lab" debate and The AI Lab is now inviting NVIDIA, Meta, OpenAI, Google and Microsoft to adopt TIP
• Startup Pitch Fest, hosted by Startup Steroid, Sunstone and SGC Angels
• Quantum Security Day, at Microsoft's Innovation Hub with Quantum eMotion
• Gorilla Cars & Coffee, hosted by Adriana's Insurance, which organizers estimated brought together $10 million worth of vehicles, speakers OG Arabian Prince, founding member of Rock n Roll hall of fame rap group N.W.A., and founder of Rezvani Motors, Ferris Rezvani
• Pickleball with investors was a *hit*

"Ten million dollars in cars is impressive, but the real value is the community those cars bring together," said Adriana Gallardo, founder and CEO of Adriana's Insurance. "Gorilla Cars and Coffee give people a reason to connect beyond business cards and formal introductions."

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The week closed Oct. 24 at the CU Center at Concordia University Irvine, in partnership with TiE Los Angeles and SoCal Celebrates Entrepreneurship.

Golden Unicorn Awards

OC Tech Week honored its founding committee with Golden Unicorn Awards, named for the event's orange unicorn mascot. In startup terms, a unicorn is a private company valued at more than $1 billion, and organizers said the award reflects a goal of building the ecosystem that produces them. The honorees are listed below.

All attendance and participation figures are preliminary organizer estimates.

2026 Golden Unicorn Award honorees

• Farrah N. Khan, co-chair, OC Tech Week; board member TCVN, former Mayor, Irvine
• Jennifer Huang, director of marketing, Sunstone Investment Group
• Karl Hoenecke, dean, School of Business and Economics, Concordia University Irvine
• Don DiCostanzo, CEO, The Ticket 500; founder, Pedego Electric Bikes
• Bob Genthert, managing director, EvoNexus Irvine; CEO, GlyTR Therapeutics
• Jerry Heikens, executive director, TiE Los Angeles
• Cynthia West, Ph.D., founder, Rezultant
• Vicente Sarmiento, Orange County supervisor, 2nd District
• Anshuman Sinha, board of trustee, TiE Global
• Dave de Csepel, chairman, TCA Venture Group
• Tedy Fugel, founder and CEO, KICKFLP
• Arabian Prince, founder, iNov8; board member TCVN; founding member, N.W.A.
• Aaron Klein, founder, LYNX Enterprise; executive director, TCVN
• Venkatesh Sankaran, president, TiE Los Angeles; board member, TCVN
• David Ochi, executive director at CSUDH Innovation Incubator
• Chris Weber, CEO, Only on the Rancho Productions
• Gia Ly, managing director, SoCal Celebrates Entrepreneurship
• Lillian Victoria, founder, Awesomeness Lifestyle; board member TCVN
• Tony Crisp, president, TCVN; co-chair, OC Tech Week; founder CRISPx

About OC Tech Week

OC Tech Week is Orange County's community-powered week of events on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology, organized by Tech Coast Venture Network. More information is at octechweek.com. Sponsorship and hosting inquiries go to OCtechweek.com.

About Tech Coast Venture Network

Founded in 1984, Tech Coast Venture Network is an Orange County entrepreneurial support organization that helps founders become fundable through pitch competitions, investor connections, education and community partnerships. Learn more at tcvn.org.