Save the Date: AI Tennessee Summit, January 28-29, 2026 in Nashville
November 10, 2025– At last week’s “From Earning to Learning” event hosted by the Tennessee Board of Regents, TEAM TN announced a new partnership with AI Tennessee, a statewide initiative led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The collaboration marks the next phase in TEAM TN’s mission to strengthen Tennessee’s innovation economy and prepare its workforce for emerging technologies.
Since its founding, TEAM TN has united more than 200 organizations — universities, industries, entrepreneurs, and community groups — to position Tennessee as a leader in the innovation economy. TEAM TN was created through the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engine program. Although its proposal did not advance this year, the effort established a strong model for statewide collaboration.
“Over the past several years, our coalition has built the architecture of collaboration,” said Marc Gibson, Interim CEO of TEAM TN and Associate Vice Chancellor of Partnerships and Economic Development at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “We’ve aligned research, industry, and workforce development to make Tennessee more competitive in the modern economy. This partnership ensures that momentum continues, and expands into new frontiers.”
TEAM TN’s work has helped catalyze more than $150 million in innovation and R&D investments across the state, supported by initiatives such as TN-GO, the IRIS Grant Program, and the creation of the Office of Innovation within the Department of Economic and Community Development.
AI Tennessee, led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is a statewide initiative launched three years ago to position Tennessee as a leader in artificial intelligence. It grew from state leaders’ recognition that AI would be a driving force in economic growth. The initiative brings together universities, industry, and communities to develop real-world AI solutions, expand education and training, and prepare Tennessee’s workforce for the AI-driven economy.
TEAM TN will continue as a standing network supporting innovation and workforce initiatives across multiple sectors — from advanced mobility to artificial intelligence and beyond.
“TEAM TN will live on,” said Gibson. “It represents our coalition of leaders, thinkers, and doers ready to drive innovation across every sector. Together, through AI Tennessee and whatever comes next, we’ll ensure Tennessee’s place as a global leader in innovation. I invite all TEAM TN partners to engage with AI Tennessee and work together to harness one of the most transformative forces shaping our economy.”
To learn more about AI Tennessee, save the date for the AI Tennessee Summit, January 28-29, 2026 in Nashville.
