DURHAM, N.C. — The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) on Thursday announced 18 “showcase companies” that will be featured on the main stage at this year’s CED Tech Venture Conference next month in Raleigh.

The selected showcase companies are given six minutes to tell their story in front of 600 attendees at a conference that has become a “Who’s Who” of the nation’s technology industry — from the most exciting emerging tech companies to the most influential investors and tech leaders.

This year’s event will be held Sept. 16-17 at the Raleigh Convention Center.

“For the last few years, the buzz in the tech world has been about cities outside Silicon Valley that are leading the next wave of innovation in the tech sector,” said Jay Bigelow, CED’s director of entrepreneurship.

“This phenomenon has been dubbed the ‘Rise of the Rest,”’ he continued. “This year’s showcase companies from Raleigh-Durham and across North Carolina are proof-positive that the ‘Rise of the Rest’ is not just a catchphrase, but a trend that is gaining incredible force.”

This year’s showcase companies are:

• Adzerk (Durham)

• AnyCloud, Inc. (Durham)

• CrowdTunes (Durham)

• EyeScribes, Inc. (Durham)

• FilterEasy.com (Raleigh)

• Guerilla RF (Greensboro)

• inMotionNow, Inc. (Morrisville)

• KnowledgeTree, Inc. (Raleigh)

• LIKECHARITY (Raleigh)

• nCino, Inc. (Wilmington)

• Next Glass (Wilmington)

• Royalty Exchange (Raleigh)

• Stealz, Inc. (Raleigh)

• Tethis, Inc. (Raleigh)

• The Produce Box (Raleigh)

• Valencell, Inc. (Raleigh)

• WedPics (Raleigh)

• Windsor Circle (Durham)

In addition to the 18 showcase companies presenting on stage, more than 50 of the most exciting early-stage companies have been invited to demonstrate their products and technologies in a Demo Room at the conference.

The conference attracts a broad sweep of representatives from North Carolina’s top universities, companies from across the state, local and national venture capital firms, angel investors, corporate and strategic investors, and entrepreneurial support groups.

“If you’re looking for the one place where you can see the best of the best of North Carolina’s emerging tech companies – and the entire network of people who support them – this is it,” said Joan Siefert Rose, president of CED. “This conference is unrivaled as a one- stop shop for getting the full picture of what North Carolina has to offer.”

According to CED’s 2013 Innovators Report, last year nearly 230 entrepreneurial companies in North Carolina raised in excess of $460 million through equity investments, grants and awards from 108 unique funders – and 75 percent of these funders were from other states or other countries. Of the money raised for entrepreneurial companies in North Carolina, 80 percent was invested in companies in the Triangle (Wake, Durham and Orange counties).

The showcase companies represent five sectors that will be highlighted at this year’s conference: ecommerce and marketing, digital health, new media, mobile and data, and advanced materials/manufacturing.