Announcing the 2026 PitchIT accelerator finalists

After 16 weeks of intense mentorship, go-to-market refinement, and technical integration, the 2026 PitchIT™ accelerator cohort has officially reached its final phase. From a competitive group of 19 emerging vendors, three finalists have been selected to pitch live at IT Nation Connect™ Global on November 4, 2026, at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando.

This year, the stakes are higher than ever with $195,000 in total cash and prizes, our largest PitchIT prize pool to date, including $105,000 for first place, $55,000 for second place, and $35,000 for third place.

Meet the 2026 PitchIT finalists

• Blacksmith InfoSec: Based in San Francisco, CA, Blacksmith provides a compliance-as-a-service platform built to scale MSP compliance operations. Featuring a certified, bidirectional sync with ConnectWise PSA™, technicians can execute client compliance roadmaps directly inside their primary workflow environment.
• Lemhi: Based in Indianapolis, IN, Lemhi offers a VCAIO platform for Microsoft-centric MSPs to productize AI transformation-as-a-service. With AI readiness assessments, automated Teams and Azure agents, and executive ROI reporting, Lemhi equips MSPs to drive and prove client AI adoption.
• Synthreo: Based in Phoenix, AZ, Synthreo provides a secure, multi-tenant AI workspace and workflow automation engine purpose-built for MSPs. It enables providers to control AI policies, govern data access boundaries, and deploy custom agents across hundreds of customer tenants from a single control plane.

Celebrating the 2026 cohort

While three vendors move to the live stage, PitchIT is designed to elevate every participant. Over the last four months, all 20 companies in the cohort dedicated themselves to sharpening their product positioning, strengthening security standards, and engaging directly with the MSP community through events like the Channel Program Battle Royale.

What’s Next?

Each finalist will now pair with an expert coach to finalize their presentations ahead of the live stage in Orlando. Stay tuned for updates and join us at IT Nation Connect Global to see who takes home top honors!