Curated AI events in NYC and SF.
For Students, Developers, and Funded Founders
I run two calibrated tracks: Students / Developers and Funded Founders. We host high-quality hackathons, founder dinners, and premium PMF conversations in NYC and SF.
Design Principles
Built like a real team: curation, context, and execution discipline.
Room Quality First
Attendee quality beats vanity metrics. The right room creates compounding outcomes.
Context by Track
Students/developers and funded founders get separate, purpose-built experiences.
Operator-Led Formats
Events are run with production-level planning, not community chaos.
Real Follow-Through
Dinners, intros, and post-event workflows are built to move relationships forward.
Ecosystem
Trusted by leading organizations
Mission
From discovery to PMF: events that match founder stage and technical depth.
We blend flagship hackathons with intimate founder rooms. Early builders get momentum, while funded teams get high-context peer networks and PMF-level strategy conversations.
See founder dinner formatsAbout James Steinberg
AI researcher, serial entrepreneur, and host of high-signal builder rooms.
Background, operator context, and founder outcomes are documented below. These references explain why these events are run with a tighter standard than generic meetups.
Two Tracks
One network, two intentionally different experiences.
Students / Developers
Execution-heavy programs for technical builders shipping projects and meeting mentors.
- Hackathons with clear build milestones
- Hands-on workshops and technical talks
- Demo-focused events with real feedback loops
Funded Founders
Private founder rooms optimized for tactical growth and high-trust relationship building.
- Curated dinners across NYC and SF
- Operator and investor-adjacent conversation
- Selective PMF conversations and peer exchange
Event Formats
Programmed with card-level precision and strong attendance intent.
SEP 02
SF
AI Builders Breakfast @ Tesla
AI Builders Breakfast @ Tesla for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
SF Coffee Club | Early Stage B2B Non-Technical Founders
SF Coffee Club | Early Stage B2B Non-Technical Founders for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
NYC
AI Meetup
AI Meetup for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Lunch with WDAI - AI World
Lunch with WDAI - AI World for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Co-work at Homebrew Club – Open House Edition!
Co-work at Homebrew Club – Open House Edition! for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
China Quant Investment Delegation × Silicon Valley — NVIDIA, Stanford & UC Berkeley
China Quant Investment Delegation × Silicon Valley — NVIDIA, Stanford & UC Berkeley for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
NYC
Train Custom Models with Fireworks & Microsoft + NYC Happy Hour ⭐
Train Custom Models with Fireworks & Microsoft + NYC Happy Hour ⭐ for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
The Agent Has Entered the Chat
The Agent Has Entered the Chat for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
NYC
Enterprise Security in the Age of AI at SPC NYC
Enterprise Security in the Age of AI at SPC NYC for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
NYC
Grok Bot After Dark | NYC
Grok Bot After Dark | NYC for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
NYC
Builders & Birdies
Builders & Birdies for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
NYC
Frontier Table NYC: AI Founder Dinner
Frontier Table NYC: AI Founder Dinner for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Fireside Chat: Navigating Physical AI
Fireside Chat: Navigating Physical AI for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
From AI Coding to AI Workforce — Build Live, Get Free Credits
From AI Coding to AI Workforce — Build Live, Get Free Credits for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
AI x Hardware Engineering Dinner
AI x Hardware Engineering Dinner for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Bay Area Frontier Research Club #20 | AI X Bio: Turning Biological Systems into New Tools & Therapies (dinner + paper discussion @
Bay Area Frontier Research Club #20 | AI X Bio: Turning Biological Systems into New Tools & Therapies (dinner + paper discussion @ Stanford) for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Beyond Hype, Driven by Data: Next-Gen AI & K-Innovation Showcase
Beyond Hype, Driven by Data: Next-Gen AI & K-Innovation Showcase for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Scaling Globally: A Deep Tech Networking Night
Scaling Globally: A Deep Tech Networking Night for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
AI 101 Series: Be the Answer When AI Gets Asked
AI 101 Series: Be the Answer When AI Gets Asked for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
AI Tech & Startup Night — San Francisco
AI Tech & Startup Night — San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
AI Tech & Startup Night — San Francisco
AI Tech & Startup Night — San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Bots, Bevs & Invests
Bots, Bevs & Invests for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
How Quality Engineering Roles Are Changing - 10th SF Bay Area Meetup
How Quality Engineering Roles Are Changing - 10th SF Bay Area Meetup for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
SEP 02
SF
Replit x Blackbox.ai Community Build Night
Replit x Blackbox.ai Community Build Night for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
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Real rooms. Real builders. Real follow-through.
Founder Dinner Series
Funded Founder Rooms
We host intimate dinners across NYC and SF with founders from ecosystems like Y Combinator, Speedrun, and Techstars.
PMF Track
Product-Market-Fit Dinner
More selective than standard founder dinners, this room is generally reserved for teams that have raised $4M+ and are beginning to show PMF.
Contact
Want your next event room to feel this sharp?
If you are building in AI and care about room quality, we should talk.