Charlotte, NC

I moved to Charlotte in 2022 - after a pandemic had made “where you live” feel like an existential question. I’d spent years in New Orleans building Apptitude, and before that, loading trucks in Silicon Valley and shipping software from the Bay to Seattle. Charlotte was supposed to be a pause. It became home.

What kept me here is what keeps a lot of builders here: the city is growing fast enough to have real problems worth solving, but small enough that you can actually know the people solving them. The fintech corridor is real. The healthcare systems are massive. The startup scene isn’t cosplaying San Francisco - it’s building for the industries that are already here.

Charlotte’s Tech Scene

Charlotte’s tech identity is inseparable from its financial roots. Bank of America, Truist, and Ally have created a deep bench of engineering talent, and the ripple effects are everywhere - fintech startups, regtech companies, and a growing AI ecosystem that’s grounded in practical applications rather than hype.

The city punches above its weight in a few areas:

• Fintech and financial services - More bank assets are managed from Charlotte than any US city outside New York. That creates real demand for AI, security, and compliance engineering.
• Healthcare AI - Atrium Health (now Advocate Health) and regional health systems are investing heavily in clinical AI and data infrastructure.
• Enterprise software - LendingTree, AvidXchange, Honeywell’s software division, and a growing cluster of B2B SaaS companies.

What I appreciate most is the pragmatism. Charlotte builders tend to care more about whether something works than whether it’s trendy. That’s the right culture for production AI, where the gap between a demo and a reliable system is where most projects fail.

Community Resources

Charlotte’s tech community is active and welcoming. A few places to start:

• Charlotte Artificial Intelligence - Local AI meetup focused on knowledge sharing, collaboration, and applied AI across healthcare, finance, and education.
• Charlotte AI Learning Circle - Hands-on AI classes and meetups for beginners, professionals, and small business owners.
• Charlotte Data Science, ML & AI - Monthly talks and demos on data science, machine learning, and AI trends.
• Charlotte Regional Business Alliance - Economic development organization connecting businesses with regional resources across a 14-county area.
• Charlotte Business Owners - Networking and professional development for entrepreneurs and business leaders.
• RevTech Labs - Fintech accelerator and community hub connecting startups with Charlotte’s financial institutions.