As organizations race to build private AI infrastructure and creators increasingly embrace self-hosting, open-source software, and locally owned technology, the leaders driving those movements will come together this October at the Fourth Annual Creator Summit. Today, 45Drives announced the first wave of featured speakers for the event, taking place October 20-22 at the Skyline Center in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Designed to bring together enterprise technology leaders, infrastructure architects, creators, engineers, and the open-source community, Creator Summit has become one of North America's premier gatherings exploring the future of private AI, data sovereignty, enterprise storage, automation, and AI-powered creative workflows.
The first confirmed speakers represent some of the technology industry's most respected companies and voices, including leaders from Unraid (Lime Technology), whose recently announced strategic partnership with 45HomeLab is bringing purpose-built server platforms running Unraid OS to the rapidly growing self-hosting and homelab community. Built around a shared philosophy of open infrastructure, user ownership, and freedom from vendor lock-in, the partnership reflects many of the same principles at the heart of Creator Summit.
Leaders from JR Automation, a Hitachi Group company and one of the world's leading providers of advanced manufacturing automation and robotics, will bring firsthand insight into industrial automation and the future of intelligent manufacturing. Wendell Wilson, founder of Level1Techs and one of the technology industry's leading voices on enterprise hardware, Linux, AI infrastructure, and open computing, will also speak.
Jeff Geerling, bestselling author, engineer, and one of YouTube's most influential technology creators covering self-hosting, Raspberry Pi, home infrastructure, open-source technologies, and edge computing, will join the lineup. Tom Lawrence, founder of Lawrence Systems and a recognized expert in networking, cybersecurity, virtualization, enterprise infrastructure, and open-source technologies, rounds out the first wave.
Collectively, the announced speakers educate and influence millions of technologists, developers, IT professionals, creators, and home lab enthusiasts worldwide through enterprise leadership, engineering expertise, and some of the technology community's largest educational platforms. Together, they reflect Creator Summit's unique mission of bringing enterprise infrastructure professionals, open-source developers, creators, and technology enthusiasts together to share ideas, solve common challenges, and shape the future of computing.
"The technologies transforming AI, enterprise infrastructure, and digital creativity aren't being built in isolation," said Dr. Doug Milburn, CEO of 45Drives. "They're emerging from communities that believe in openness, collaboration, and sharing knowledge. Creator Summit exists to bring those communities together under one roof. These first speakers represent exactly that spirit, and we're just getting started."
Now in its fourth year, Creator Summit continues to expand alongside the rapid evolution of AI and enterprise infrastructure. This year's event features dedicated tracks designed for both enterprise technology professionals and creators. The Enterprise Track will explore private AI infrastructure, high-performance storage, cybersecurity, virtualization, high-performance computing, and data sovereignty. The Creative Track will examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping content creation, filmmaking, design, and production workflows.
Attendees can participate in person in Wilmington or virtually through a global livestream featuring keynote presentations, technical sessions, panel discussions, live demonstrations, networking events, and hands-on workshops. Additional keynote speakers, industry executives, and technical sessions will be announced throughout the summer. Registration is now open at 45drives.com/creator-summit.
