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 12
SF
Humanity & AGI Summit 2026：Robotics for Future Civilization @ Stanford Faculty Club
Humanity & AGI Summit 2026：Robotics for Future Civilization @ Stanford Faculty Club for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
NYC
NYC Walk&Jam: Animate the Whitney
NYC Walk&Jam: Animate the Whitney for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
SF
AI, Startups & Ideas Coffee Meetup ☕
AI, Startups & Ideas Coffee Meetup ☕ for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
SF
hahahack | a hackathon for absurd + fun things w/ Codex
hahahack | a hackathon for absurd + fun things w/ Codex for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
NYC
Context Engineering Guild: July Edition
Context Engineering Guild: July Edition for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
NYC
Informationbanker Fintech & AI networking walk
Informationbanker Fintech & AI networking walk for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
SF
Coffee with Founders: Help Your Business Sell More with AI
Coffee with Founders: Help Your Business Sell More with AI for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
NYC
Creationship Sundays: AI for Creative Good
Creationship Sundays: AI for Creative Good for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
NYC
Founders Rooftop Series, AI/Tech (Final event) — Reverse Network Meet
Founders Rooftop Series, AI/Tech (Final event) — Reverse Network Meet for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
SF
Breaking Models AI Security
Breaking Models AI Security for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
NYC
AI Voice Agent hackathon: Supafone.ai
AI Voice Agent hackathon: Supafone.ai for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
SF
Mixture of Models: Biotech & Drug Discovery
Mixture of Models: Biotech & Drug Discovery for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 12
SF
Off Season II × Canopy Party!
Off Season II × Canopy Party! for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
SF
Bay Builders Hackathon
Bay Builders Hackathon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
SF
AI Workshop: Getting Started with OpenClaw
AI Workshop: Getting Started with OpenClaw for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
NYC
Happy Hour with Lovable @ The Lighthouse
Happy Hour with Lovable @ The Lighthouse for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
NYC
Learn to Build with AI
Learn to Build with AI for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
NYC
AI Beyond the Screen
AI Beyond the Screen for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
SF
Builders' Night with support from OpenAI
Builders' Night with support from OpenAI for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
SF
Post-Labor Research Deep Dive!
Post-Labor Research Deep Dive! for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
SF
AXGO (AX Global Olympiad) Seoul International 2026
AXGO (AX Global Olympiad) Seoul International 2026 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
SF
Holo AI Night w/ NVIDIA & Black Forest Labs
Holo AI Night w/ NVIDIA & Black Forest Labs for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 13
SF
9030 club reading "Qwen Agent World": #60 - ML Paper Reading Group
9030 club reading "Qwen Agent World": #60 - ML Paper Reading Group for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
JUL 14
SF
VB Transform 2026
VB Transform 2026 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.