Practical over performative
Events should provide useful takeaways, not just buzzwords.
Great Lakes Technology Corridor was created to bring together the people helping shape the future of business technology between Milwaukee and Chicago.
Many technology communities are centered in major cities. We believe the professionals, founders, businesses, and communities between those cities deserve their own technology voice.
Our members and attendees include technologists, founders, advisors, business leaders, students, and working professionals who want to better understand emerging technologies and apply them in practical ways.
We are starting with events, panels, roundtables, and community conversations focused on AI, cybersecurity, automation, cloud communications, software, data, and digital transformation. Over time, our goal is to become a trusted regional platform for technology education, professional connection, and innovation across the corridor.
The corridor story
The corridor refers to the region between Milwaukee and Chicago — the communities, businesses, and professionals along and around I-94, including Kenosha, Racine, Pleasant Prairie, Lake County, Waukegan, Gurnee, northern Illinois, and southeast Wisconsin.
This region has manufacturing strength, professional services, healthcare, logistics, higher education, small businesses, startups, and emerging innovation assets. Great Lakes Technology Corridor exists to create a practical, accessible technology community for people who may not regularly travel into Chicago or Milwaukee for technology programming. While the group is launching in partnership with the Kenosha Innovation Center / Kenosha Innovation Neighborhood ecosystem, the long-term vision is regional.
Founding principles
Regional over city-centered
The group exists for the corridor between Milwaukee and Chicago.
Expert-led but accessible
Discussions should be credible without excluding non-technical professionals.
Community before sales
The group is not a vendor pitch forum.
Technology as economic development
The group should help strengthen the region's businesses, talent, and innovation ecosystem.
Where we're headed
Our vision is to build a connected, practical, and forward-looking technology community that helps the Milwaukee–Chicago corridor become a recognized center for innovation, digital fluency, and business technology adoption.