March 13 & 14, 2026 @ The Belmont in Austin, Texas DURING SXSW
LIGHT HOUSE 2026 IS ON ITS WAY!
WATCH THE LIGHT HOUSE 2025 RECAP
WHAT IS
THE LIGHT HOUSE 2026 will bring together technologists, funders, artists, activists and dreamers to explore how love – as practice, as infrastructure, as resistance – can reshape our digital future.
We're Back!
The Tech We Want returns to Austin for our fourth annual gathering in March 2026, and this time, we’re leading with what matters most: love as our operating system.
While the tech world obsesses over large language models, we’re investing in more powerful invisible forces: human connection, collective care, and the relationships that hold us together when systems fall apart.
What to Expect...
Two days of panels and deep conversation exploring:
Community as Infrastructure
Building systems, spaces, and funding models rooted in care and community control
Convening TO BUILD COLLECTIVE POWER
Designing gatherings that create conditions for trust, coalition, and collective power
Rewriting the Code
Challenging the stories and metrics that shape our relationship to technology
Technology that Strengthens Bonds
Creating digital futures where connection, not engagement, is what matters
Our signature Lightning Talks, hands-on activations from community partners, and the kind of joyful, generative gathering that reminds us why we're in this fight.
Schedule
Day 1
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Equitech Welcome to THE LIGHT HOUSE!
1:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Opening Remarks: Why We’re Here
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Fishbowl Discussion 1 | What’s Tech Got To Do With It? Building the Future From Wherever You Are
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Library Session | Black Innovation Alliance: Source Code Entrepreneurs Workshop
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Lightning Talks: The Tech We Want Mix
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Fishbowl Discussion 2 | Am I the Drama? The Sweet and the Sour of Movement Building
5:45 PM
Venue Closed for a Private Event
Day 2
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Welcome to THE LIGHT HOUSE – Opening Remarks
1:45 PM – 2:30 PM
Lightning Talks: Responsible Innovation Roundup
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Library Session 1 | Co-Creating Tomorrow – A Workshop With the Dream Machine Academy
2:45 PM – 4:15 PM
Fishbowl Discussion 1 | Can AI Be Ethical? An Audience-Led Fishbowl Dialogue
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Fishbowl Discussion 2 | Expanding the Capital Stack: Alternative Finance for Alternative Futures
6:30 PM
Venue Closed - Rejoin us Later Tonight!
9:00 PM – 12:30 AM
Lights Out! THE LIGHT HOUSE Wrap Party
JOIN THE TECH WE WANT IN AUSTIN
March 13 & 14, 2026
The Belmont | Austin, TX
during SXSW 2026
This isn’t just another tech conference. It’s a homecoming for everyone building the future we actually want to live in.
MARCH 13 & 14, 2026
AUSTIN, TX @ THE BELMONT
#TeamHuman | #TheLightHouse2026 | #LoveIsOurLLM
Mark your calendars.
Gather your people.
Let's build together
Follow @thetechwewant on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Substack for updates.
The Light House is presented by The Tech We Want, a project of Omidyar Network