Applications are officially closed for this cycle of Onward FX, the summit we built to match founders with the investors who actually fund the physical economy. Nearly 1,000 startups applied, ~40 VCs are confirmed, and more will be announced soon.
This cycle, we’re leaning into the strengths of central Arkansas, a region quickly making its case as the New New Energy Capital of the South. The Smackover lithium play is ramping toward production two hours from the venue and the corporate buyers of energy, freight, and automation are running their empires from this state. The room we’re convening matches that: the firm behind a $1.3B physical AI fund, In-Q-Tel, the venture arms of Chevron, ExxonMobil, Equinor, and Booz Allen, and the founders of the country’s top deep tech companies. The people who fund, build, buy, and regulate the physical economy, in one place.
And you can be in the room too. The Exchange, our open-to-all event, is now open for registration. The format: two hours of small-group conversations across the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts campus, each one a moderated discussion of a single question shaping the future of the physical economy, led by the investors and partners attending FX. No stage, no audience. Everyone’s in the conversation.
💰 Advisar closes a $750K pre-seed for its retail media measurement layer
🔧 Gumption lands a spot in Fuel Accelerator’s 2026 AI/ML Cohort
🎯 Crisp named Arkansas’s fastest-growing company on the Inc. 5000, second year running
🔗 LyraConnect is hiring across engineering, ops, and sales
🚀 Overroute launches AI dispatch agents built inside J.B. Hunt’s freight network
🎓 Apprenticely and the NWA Council are closing the region’s tech talent gap
🧑💼 Erin McMunn joins 11x as Head of Go-to-Market Strategy
Do you have a milestone to celebrate? Email us to be featured. We want to celebrate with you!
OCTOBER 27
THE EXCHANGE AT ONWARD FX FALL 2026
Onward FX returns October 26 and 27 to Little Rock, and the 27th opens to everyone with The Exchange, a small-group discussion series at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts where rooms of 25 dig into the questions shaping the physical economy, under the Chatham House Rule. Seats are limited to keep the rooms small, so register now.
SEPTEMBER 29
HEALTHCATALYST NWA INNOVATION SHOWCASE
HealthCatalyst NWA’s Innovation Showcase lands at the Heartland Whole Health Institute in Bentonville. A health tech cohort presents pilot projects alongside NWA community partners, and Startup NWA is co-hosting, including helping fill that morning’s VC speed pitch sessions with health tech and impact investors. Space is limited.
Also this month from StartupNWA
THE WEEKLY GRIND: NWA TECH MEETUP
Coffee meetup every Friday morning at Onward HQ, open to anyone who wants to trade ideas and meet other founders in the ecosystem.
Startup NWA is part of the Northwest Arkansas Council—a private, nonprofit organization working to advance job opportunities, talent recruitment, physical infrastructure, health care, and quality of life.
