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.
JUL 17
SF
GTLC Bay Area Chinese Tech Leaders Summit
GTLC Bay Area Chinese Tech Leaders Summit for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Loop Engineering Hackathon
Loop Engineering Hackathon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Friday Build & Bluff: Co-working + Poker at AGI, Inc.
Friday Build & Bluff: Co-working + Poker at AGI, Inc. for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
NYC
GTM Happy Hour
GTM Happy Hour for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
NYC
What Is an AI-Native Legal Team?
What Is an AI-Native Legal Team? for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Embodied Metal Hackathon
Embodied Metal Hackathon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Agent-Native Founders Open Mic @ Stanford
Agent-Native Founders Open Mic @ Stanford for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Gemini vs Claude Fable
Gemini vs Claude Fable for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Personal Branding Workshop in AI Era (SF location)
Personal Branding Workshop in AI Era (SF location) for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Bouncer 2.0: Take back your feed
Bouncer 2.0: Take back your feed for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Dimensional Open House
Dimensional Open House for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Ra's Circle Of 6 · Edition I
Ra's Circle Of 6 · Edition I for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
OpenAI Build Week Community Meetup - San Francisco
OpenAI Build Week Community Meetup - San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Rooftop Agent Mixer - Voice, Video & Reliability
Rooftop Agent Mixer - Voice, Video & Reliability for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
AI 2040: Plan A with Thomas Larsen
AI 2040: Plan A with Thomas Larsen for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Open House / Open Build / Open Repair Projects Workshop
Open House / Open Build / Open Repair Projects Workshop for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Magenta RealTime Show & Tell: Crafting New Tools to Craft New Sounds
Magenta RealTime Show & Tell: Crafting New Tools to Craft New Sounds for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 17
SF
Sweet Talk: A Dessert Night for YC & Accelerator Founders
Sweet Talk: A Dessert Night for YC & Accelerator Founders for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
NYC
Hack Your Way Into the Hacker House - powered by OnlyExit
Hack Your Way Into the Hacker House - powered by OnlyExit for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
NYC
Style Around the Block ☕👕
Style Around the Block ☕👕 for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
AGI Summit 2026 | The Rise of Agentic Intelligence · July 18–19 · Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
AGI Summit 2026 | The Rise of Agentic Intelligence · July 18–19 · Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
DeepLearning.AI Voice AI Hackathon: The Complete Trip, powered by Sabre and Vocal Bridge
DeepLearning.AI Voice AI Hackathon: The Complete Trip, powered by Sabre and Vocal Bridge for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
San Francisco Hub - Hacknation Global AI Hackathon
San Francisco Hub - Hacknation Global AI Hackathon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
Stanford Hub - Hacknation Global AI Hackathon
Stanford Hub - Hacknation Global AI Hackathon 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.