It’s not uncommon for the Park City area to host world-renowned athletes or A-list movie stars on its ski slopes, but this week leaders from across the tech industry made the trip because of the state’s Silicon Slopes.
The Brainstorm Tech conference presented by Fortune has traditionally been held in Aspen, Colorado, as well as Half Moon Bay California, which is a wealthy town about 30 miles south of San Francisco. But as organizers looked to reset and reinvent — the theme for the 22nd year — they were drawn to Park City.
“We really wanted to be somewhere where there’s a pre-existing tech community,” said Michal Lev-Ram, the editor-at-large covering technology and entertainment for Fortune. She is also the co-chair of Brainstorm Tech.
Lev-Ram continued, “I think in Utah we’re seeing … the numbers show it, and anecdotally as well, there’s a lot more interest in investing in the state; people are moving to the state, partly as a result of the covid-era. And so having that there: Where it’s growing, where there’s excitement for it, where it’s a community on the ground that cares really deeply about the state — and about growing the community, not just growing their own businesses. Those are all the pieces.”
Aspen has been the primary location for Brainstorm Tech since it started there in 2001. However, this year, organizers were seeking a place that allowed them to combine outdoor experiences and natural beauty with conversations about the future of Artificial Intelligence, the workforce, venture capital, where the tech industry is heading and more.
Park City checked that box in spades, Lev-Ram said. Feedback from participants indicated they felt removed from the hustle of city life surrounded by a beautiful backdrop, but that it was still easy to access town from Salt Lake City.
Brainstorm Tech attendees also participated in a range of activities each morning, ranging from white water rafting on the Weber River, bobsledding at Utah Olympic Park, hiking up to Bloods Lake, UTVing through the Wasatch Mountains, mountain biking on some of the hundreds of miles of trails in Summit County and more.
“It was kind of serendipitous,” Lev-Ram said. “We really wanted to create this interactive, meaningful networking atmosphere.”
She added the experience allows operators, entrepreneurs, innovators and other tech industry influencers to get to know each other organically. This can lead them to exchange ideas and make deals later in the conference; something Lev-Ram said isn’t unusual.
The 2023 event was similar to previous years in that regard. But there was also a renewed focus from organizers to bring new faces to the conference.
There are typically three pillars of Brainstorm Tech attendees, including executives, investors and founders. Lev-Ram said there was a concerted effort to bring new and veteran business creators, who are innovators, to the conference. Larger organizations, such as Meta, Microsoft and The White House, as well as startups, were represented at the conference, which helped to form new connections.
While Fortune is often affiliated with the list of 500 largest corporations in the United States, Lev-Ram said the public doesn’t always realize the focus the publication puts on founders and innovators.
“Those are the future Fortune 500,” she said.
Organizers also tried to pull tech leaders from various regions, including the state of Utah. Discussions were centered around the future of technology, such as AI, and where the industry is heading.
Speakers included controversial WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann, former Vice President and environmental activist Al Gore, Miami Mayor and Republican presidential candidate Francis Suarez, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and others.
Next year’s location for Brainstorm Tech is still to be determined, but Lev-Ram didn’t rule out Park City as a future host.