1. SXSW | March 10-19, Austin, Texas | sxsw.com

South by Southwest (popularly abbreviated as SXSW) was first hosted in 1987 – that makes it one of the oldest events in this space. SXSW has seen many startup launches and is also responsible for amplifying the growth of many.

Did you know that after Twitter launched in 2006, it ran an activation at SXSW in 2007? Twitter’s presence at this event helped it gather momentum and its first burst of users too.

This year, SXSW will be hosted for 10 days and it will witness everything from films, interactive media, music festivals, and conferences.

2. Launch Festival | April 3-7, San Francisco, California | launchfestival.com

With 12,000 entrepreneurs from around the globe, LAUNCH festival is one of the biggest startup events with lots of speakers. Some of the most well-known names from the business world have been at this event as speakers and judges.

Every year, 50 startups are selected for their ‘launch’ at this event. These winning startups stand a chance to get investment from the LAUNCH Fund. The event is supported by IBM and Microsoft.

3. Tech Day | April 18, New York | techdayhq.com/new-york

Tech Day gets over 35,000 attendees, making it one of the biggest startup events in the US. They are soon planning to announce their LA and London chapters too. This year,

TechDay will host, what they are calling, ACCESS conference for mid-stage founders where they can be part of an ask-me-anything session with late-stage founders. Early-stage founders will have a chance to meet some of the most powerful accelerators in the world at TechDay NY.

Apart from all the shop-talk, the official New York casting call for Shark Tank is slated to happen at NY TechDay. And for that reason, you must go!

4. Collision | May 2-4, New Orleans | collisionconf.com

One of the fastest growing tech conferences in the US, Collision has grown to over 20,000 attendees from over 100 countries in just two years since it first launched. Startups can expect to meet CEOs of growth-stage startups, big corporate conglomerates, investors and media.

This year, the event is slated between two weekends of Jazz Fest. It’s worth noting that Collision is one of the many events hosted by Web Summit all over the world.

5. Tech In Asia | May 17-18, Singapore | techinasia.com/events/singapore

The event is definitely one of the largest tech events in Asia. It’s a great place to connect with leaders in the technology space and over 5,000 potential customers looking for partnerships, investments, and business leads.

The event promises to send attending startups’ profiles to the investors who would be present at the event. If you are lucky, you will get quality face time opportunity with over 60 potential investors.

6. The Next Web Conference | May 18 – 19, Amsterdam | thenextweb.com/conference/

A festival for founders, marketing managers, developers and coders in the truest sense, The Next Web is a vibrant tech fest and one of the biggest in Europe. Last year, as many as 10, 000 tech leaders and startup founders attended the event and it only seems to get bigger with each year.

This year, The Next Web or TNW is expected to host 15, 000 people from all over the world. The conference is a great place to grow your network and expose your startup to a huge audience.

7. RISE | July 11-13, Hong Kong | riseconf.com

Another iconic event by the Web Summit team, RISE boasts of attracting 53,000 attendees from 136 countries last year. This year, the event is expected to be joined by major global media, a huge number of investors, attendees, and startups.

RISE promises ‘legendary’ networking opportunities for anyone looking to grow their global network of contacts.

8. TechCrunch Disrupt | Sept 18-20, San Francisco | techcrunch.com/events/disrupt-sf-2017/

Filled with a multitude of startup-focused events, TechCrunch Disrupt is easily one of the most coveted names in the technology and innovation space. It attracts some of the smartest entrepreneurs, hackers, techies, and investors.

Startups can participate in an on-stage interview, high-stake competitions and a lot more. All in all, a great place for any startup looking to flock with the high and mighty of the startup eco-system.

9. Web Summit | November, Lisbon, Portugal | websummit.net

The biggest from the Web Summit family, this event gathered over 53,000 attendees of which 15,000 were startups. The rest included techies, investors, and political leaders.

With over 2000 key people from leading media from around the world, this event is definitely one that provides a big platform to startups looking to grow their network with industry leaders and influencers.

10. World Startup Expo | November, Bangalore | worldstartupexpo.com

One the largest technology expos in Asia, this event promises to empower the startup ecosystem by bringing together the key players of the startup community such as VC funds, banks, incubators, investors, relevant government agencies, big corporates, HNIs, students and technology companies from all over the world.

Previous year’s event saw over 3000 startups, over 500 investors and more than 7000 visitors. Startups can expect to get connected with industry thought leaders at this expo.

11. Slush | November 30 – Dec 1, Helsinki | slush.org

Slush promises to bring together the leading actors of the global tech scene. Last year it was attended by 17,500 people and was live streamed by over 1 million viewers.

With over 2,300 startups, 1,100 venture capitalists and 600 key journalists from over 120 countries, Slush is all about what it takes to be the most vibrant tech fest.