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 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| Starts at 8:30 AM Daily| The Rise of Agentic Intelligence · July 18–19 · Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
AGI Summit 2026| Starts at 8:30 AM Daily| 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.
JUL 18
SF
AGI Summit 2026 Hackathon
AGI Summit 2026 Hackathon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
Agents Hack Day at Bright Data
Agents Hack Day at Bright Data for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
Part 1: Breaking Barriers to AI Safety Hackathon
Part 1: Breaking Barriers to AI Safety Hackathon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
NYC
Allow Always: Permission to Build
Allow Always: Permission to Build for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
VCN #42: The Sandbox
VCN #42: The Sandbox for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
NYC
Max AI Private Practice Advisory Board (Happy Hour)
Max AI Private Practice Advisory Board (Happy Hour) for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
NYC
AI Voice Agent hackathon: Supafone.ai
AI Voice Agent hackathon: Supafone.ai for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
Robotics & World Models Reading Club 18: Is Latent All You Need for World Action Models? & Causal World Models. SF 07/18
Robotics & World Models Reading Club 18: Is Latent All You Need for World Action Models? & Causal World Models. SF 07/18 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
Ha7ch | AI-Native Builder Meetup @ Palo Alto
Ha7ch | AI-Native Builder Meetup @ Palo Alto for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
NYC
Max AI Private Practice Advisory Board (Dinner)
Max AI Private Practice Advisory Board (Dinner) for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
Build Beautifully: Beginner Claude Code Workshop 1 for Women
Build Beautifully: Beginner Claude Code Workshop 1 for Women for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 18
SF
Generative Media Happy Hour — AGI Summit SF 2026
Generative Media Happy Hour — AGI Summit SF 2026 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 19
NYC
Chinatown ARcade Invitation-only Pop Up
Chinatown ARcade Invitation-only Pop Up for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 19
NYC
NEAR Legion Build City: A.I. For You
NEAR Legion Build City: A.I. For You for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 19
SF
Stanford x DeepMind Hackathon: Build. Ship. Win up to $5M in Seed Funding*
Stanford x DeepMind Hackathon: Build. Ship. Win up to $5M in Seed Funding* for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 19
NYC
Legal AI Meet-Up @NYC
Legal AI Meet-Up @NYC for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 19
NYC
The Builders' Table
The Builders' Table for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 19
SF
AI时代的写作 —— 与三位作者面对面的读书分享会
AI时代的写作 —— 与三位作者面对面的读书分享会 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.