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 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
AGI Summit 2026| Starts at 9:00 AM Daily| The Rise of Agentic Intelligence · July 18–19 · Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
AGI Summit 2026| Starts at 9:00 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 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.
JUL 19
SF
Design & Deploy Workshop
Design & Deploy Workshop for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
NYC
AI Cohort Communal Lunch
AI Cohort Communal Lunch for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
SF
Cafe Cursor San Francisco: Startup Edition
Cafe Cursor San Francisco: Startup Edition for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
NYC
NYC Deeptech Meetup #3 ft. Robotics with Intelligence Factory
NYC Deeptech Meetup #3 ft. Robotics with Intelligence Factory for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
NYC
The AI Storefront: How AI Is Changing Discovery and Shopping in Fashion
The AI Storefront: How AI Is Changing Discovery and Shopping in Fashion for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
NYC
Pitch Your Way Into the Hacker House - powered by OnlyExit
Pitch Your Way Into the Hacker House - powered by OnlyExit for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
SF
Honest Feedback: AI Startups
Honest Feedback: AI Startups for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
SF
机器人和数字员工投资创业晚餐会 - 清华经管学院硅谷校友会夏季论坛
机器人和数字员工投资创业晚餐会 - 清华经管学院硅谷校友会夏季论坛 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
SF
Startup Workflows Art Gallery with Portal & Persona
Startup Workflows Art Gallery with Portal & Persona for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
SF
An Evening with OpenMax · The AI That Replaced 80% of Our Team
An Evening with OpenMax · The AI That Replaced 80% of Our Team for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 20
SF
How to prompt like a designer.
How to prompt like a designer. for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 21
NYC
Cafe chat with Rob Mihalko from Spectus Ventures
Cafe chat with Rob Mihalko from Spectus Ventures for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 21
SF
AI Creators Meetup: Build, Experiment & Get Featured
AI Creators Meetup: Build, Experiment & Get Featured for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 21
NYC
AI for Good Meetup
AI for Good Meetup for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 21
NYC
GV x Bessemer: Summer Social
GV x Bessemer: Summer Social for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 21
NYC
AI Founders Supper Club (Hosted by The AI Furnace)
AI Founders Supper Club (Hosted by The AI Furnace) for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 21
NYC
Allow Once: Intro to Claude
Allow Once: Intro to Claude for the NYC 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.