IMPACT 250 Convenes Leaders in Technology, Capital and Government in Washington, D.C., To Help Shape American's Next 250 Years

Four-day New Frontier gathering explored the technology and infrastructure shaping America's future.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Internet Marketing Association (IMA) concluded IMPACT 250, presented by Type One Ventures. The four-day gathering in Washington, D.C., held September 20–23 at The Hay-Adams and landmark locations throughout the nation's capital.

Created around the theme "250 Years of Freedom. 250 Years Forward.," IMPACT 250 convened leaders from technology, venture capital, industry, academia and government for a series of executive roundtables, technology discussions, congressional engagements and curated experiences focused on the industries shaping the decades ahead.

The gathering brought together leaders working in artificial intelligence, sovereign compute, defense, space, quantum technology, biotechnology, energy, autonomy, advanced manufacturing and critical infrastructure.

"IMPACT 250 was built as America reflects on 250 years of history, and at the same time, we should also be asking what we intend to build for the next 250," said Sinan Kanatsiz, Chairman and Founder of the IMA and host of IMPACT 250. "For four days, we brought builders, investors, policymakers and industry leaders together in Washington to have that conversation, not only about where technology is going, but about the capital, infrastructure, policy and leadership required to turn the next generation of ideas into reality."

IMPACT 250 opened Sunday evening at The Hay-Adams with a Welcome Celebration honoring America's 250th anniversary, presented by DCVC. Opening remarks were delivered by Kanatsiz, Ryan Kriser of Type One Ventures, Stephen Rodriguez of DCVC and Isaiah Taylor of Valar Atomics, setting the stage for the conversations to follow.

On Monday, participants gathered at Top of the Hay at The Hay-Adams for the IMPACT 250 Executive Roundtable, a closed-door dialogue centered on six strategic areas shaping America's future.

Featured participants and remarks including Keith Strier of AMD, Taylor Stockton of the U.S. Department of Labor, Pedram Sheraf of Dream Ventures, Jamie Jacobs of GigTalent, Debra Miller of CureDuchenne, Palmer Luckey of Anduril Industries, Scott Boatwright of Chipotle, Rep. Bryan Steil, Rep. Darrell Issa, Kevin Roberts of The Heritage Foundation and California governor candidate Steve Hilton.

The roundtable examined six central themes:

The Age of Operational AI and the Race for Sovereign Compute, facilitated by Keith Strier; Financing the Frontier, facilitated by Charles Beyrouthy of Forma Prime; Critical Infrastructure for the Contested Century, facilitated by MC Sungaila of CALG; The Augmented American and the Race for Biological Advantage, facilitated by Jin Hyung Lee of LVIS; The Autonomous Arsenal, facilitated by Peter Belk of Nixon Peabody; and The Off-World Industrial Base, facilitated by Omar Pimentel of Type One Ventures.

Emerging companies including Singularity Compute, Gradient, Trendline, Flying Wire, Azure Homes, REACH Defense and Phantom Photonics also presented during the program. The Executive Roundtable Luncheon was hosted by Playground Global.

Monday concluded with the New Frontier Dinner at Top of the Hay, featuring conversations with Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School on Longevity, joined by Yasith Weerasuriya of Edverum; NASA Administrator Isaacman; Casey Swails of NASA, joined by Ryan Kriser of Type One Ventures; JetZero CEO Tom O'Leary, in conversation with Sinan Kanatsiz; Nico Roe and VETS on fighting for those who fought for us; and Nick Shirley, along with a special unveiling by Assembly member David Tangipa of the California's high speed rail issue.

Tuesday, September 22, extended IMPACT 250 beyond the conference room and into institutions central to American history and government. Participants took part in curated experiences at the National Archives, Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery, U.S. Capitol, and The White House.

At Arlington National Cemetery, veteran leaders of the IMA joined chairman Sinan Kanatsiz for a wreath laying ceremony honoring America's service members. Capitol experiences included a partner-exclusive nighttime tour led by Rep. Bryan Steil, including visits to the House floor and Speaker's Balcony, as well as a private daytime Capitol tour led by the office of Rep. Ken Calvert.

Participants later gathered for a private cocktail reception at Butterworth's.

That evening, the Infleqtion Congressional Dinner, presented by Infleqtion, brought IMPACT 250 participants together at the Capitol Hill Club with congressional and technology leaders.

Government participants included Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Kevin Cramer, Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Ken Calvert, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D., Rep. Warren Davidson, Rep. Bryan Steil, Rep. Darrell Issa and Rep. Vince Fong, alongside Matthew Kinsella of Infleqtion and leaders from the IMPACT 250 community.

The evening concluded with a nighttime West Wing tour of the White House and oval office for IMPACT 250 participants.

The final day began with a congressional breakfast conversation with Rep. Lance Gooden, followed by the Armada Sovereign AI Summit at The Hay-Adams. Presented by Armada, the summit brought together government and industry leaders for discussions focused on artificial intelligence, national security, energy, defense, infrastructure and American technological leadership.

Opening remarks were delivered by Kanatsiz, and Dan Wright, Co-Founder and CEO of Armada. Programming included "Building a Strong Open Ecosystem for AI," moderated by Armada's Prag Mishra and featuring Sarah Badawi of AMD, Melika Carroll of Cohere and Bruce Andrews of NVIDIA.

The program also featured the launch of the Waves Innovation Accelerator in a conversation with Pepperdine University President Jim Gash.

Additional sessions included "A New Age of Resilience," featuring Yadin Soffer of Traysar with Dan Wright; and "The Algorithmic Battlefield: AI and the Future of Warfare," moderated by Julie Smith of Clarion Strategies and featuring Bala Selvam of Shield AI, John Garrett of Dell Technologies and Leigh Madden of Microsoft.

Energy and AI infrastructure were addressed in "Powering America's AI Future: Energy Dominance & the AI Arms Race," featuring John Reiten of the National Energy Dominance Council in conversation with Wright.

Additional conversations included Deputy Under Secretary Bill Guidera on capital, commerce and America's AI advantage; Assistant Secretary of War Mike Dodd on building critical technology at wartime speed; and Sen. Kevin Cramer on power, policy and America's AI future.

Wright and Kanatsiz delivered closing remarks to conclude the four-day gathering and announced that IMPACT 27 will be hosted at Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota.

Across its four days, IMPACT 250 brought together members of Congress and public-sector leaders alongside founders, CEOs, investors, scientists, technologists and executives working across emerging industries.

Congressional participants included Speaker Mike Johnson, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Kevin Cramer, Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Ken Calvert, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D., Rep. Warren Davidson, Rep. Bryan Steil, Rep. Darrell Issa, Rep. Vince Fong and Rep. Lance Gooden.

Public-sector participants included Bill Guidera, Mike Dodd, John Reiten, Casey Swails of NASA, Taylor Stockton of the U.S. Department of Labor and Julie Smith, among others.

The gathering reflected the central premise behind IMPACT 250: that many of the defining challenges and opportunities of the coming decades will require sustained dialogue among the people building new technologies, those financing their development, and the institutions responsible for public policy and national priorities.

IMPACT 250 was supported by partners spanning the technology and investment communities, with Type One Ventures serving as the title sponsor. DCVC presented the Welcome Celebration honoring America's 250th anniversary; Playground Global presented the Executive Roundtable Luncheon; Dream Ventures presented the Deal Balcony; Infleqtion presented the Congressional Dinner at the Capitol Hill Club; and Armada presented the Sovereign AI Summit.

Happy Dad Seltzers and Chilly Willy Desserts were featured at the Executive Roundtable closing cocktail reception.

ABOUT IMPACT 250
IMPACT 250 is a private New Frontier event convening leaders from technology, capital, industry and government to explore the ideas, technologies and strategic priorities shaping the future. Held Sept. 20–23, 2026, in Washington, D.C., the gathering was created around America's 250th anniversary and the theme: 250 Years of Freedom. 250 Years Forward.

For more information, visit IMPACT250.live.

MEDIA CONTACT
Alma Alvarez
[email protected] | 619.227.9740
Internet Marketing Association / IMPACT 250
Media & Communications
https://impact250.live/

SOURCE Internet Marketing Association