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.
OCT 18
SF
Sudo Sunday #1: Auto Research
Sudo Sunday #1: Auto Research for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 18
SF
Builder Odyssey: AI Infra, Multimodal & FDE | Founder Demos & AI Film Showcase
Builder Odyssey: AI Infra, Multimodal & FDE | Founder Demos & AI Film Showcase for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 18
SF
Parenting in the AI Age: Raising the Next Generation with Wisdom, Discernment & Purpose
Parenting in the AI Age: Raising the Next Generation with Wisdom, Discernment & Purpose for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 18
SF
Top AI Researchers Roundtable & BBQ Party in Atherton
Top AI Researchers Roundtable & BBQ Party in Atherton for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 18
SF
Bio-Data Hackathon Demos + Prizes at SPC
Bio-Data Hackathon Demos + Prizes at SPC for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 18
SF
InclusionAI Tech Night: Your AI Reality Check
InclusionAI Tech Night: Your AI Reality Check for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 18
SF
Personal Intelligence — A Michelin-Starred Private Dinner for Builders
Personal Intelligence — A Michelin-Starred Private Dinner for Builders for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
PyTorch, Powering the Enterprise
PyTorch, Powering the Enterprise for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Arm Create: Hands-on AI with Google, Renesas & Nota AI
Arm Create: Hands-on AI with Google, Renesas & Nota AI for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Agents hunting Agents: Open Source + AI approaches.
Agents hunting Agents: Open Source + AI approaches. for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Cline, Parallel, & Composio Hackathon
Cline, Parallel, & Composio Hackathon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Claude Code Workshop with Provectus - San Francisco
Claude Code Workshop with Provectus - San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Claude Workshop with Provectus - San Francisco
Claude Workshop with Provectus - San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
StartX Med - Private AI
StartX Med - Private AI for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
NYC
Claude & Chill for Founders & Creators
Claude & Chill for Founders & Creators for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
NYC
AIIA Innovation Night
AIIA Innovation Night for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
NYC
Private Dinner: Navigating International Retail
Private Dinner: Navigating International Retail for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
NYC
AI app founders dinner
AI app founders dinner for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
NYC
AI For NYC Hackathon
AI For NYC Hackathon for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Hands-on training: Agent Observability with Langfuse in Menlo Park
Hands-on training: Agent Observability with Langfuse in Menlo Park for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Open Source AI Week 2026 | Open Weight Debate Night
Open Source AI Week 2026 | Open Weight Debate Night for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
Web Data for Startups #01 — AI Agents & Automation
Web Data for Startups #01 — AI Agents & Automation for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
MCP in the Wild: Agents That Know You
MCP in the Wild: Agents That Know You for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
OCT 19
SF
THE SF DATABASE MEETUP: October
THE SF DATABASE MEETUP: October 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.