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.
AUG 04
NYC
Build Your AI Content Engine with Serhant
Build Your AI Content Engine with Serhant for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
NYC
AI Literacy Masterclass №3 — Automation and Practice
AI Literacy Masterclass №3 — Automation and Practice for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
NYC
Brand Design Futures with Notion + Ramp
Brand Design Futures with Notion + Ramp for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
NYC
Sovereign AI: A Fight for the Future of Freedom
Sovereign AI: A Fight for the Future of Freedom for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
AI After Hours
AI After Hours for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
Paper Reading Night by HydraDB: Graph Neural Retrieval for LLM Reasoning
Paper Reading Night by HydraDB: Graph Neural Retrieval for LLM Reasoning for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
Workato AI BuildHERs
Workato AI BuildHERs for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
Built by Agents: How Leading YC Companies are Building AI in Production
Built by Agents: How Leading YC Companies are Building AI in Production for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
Built on Baseten | AI Demo Night
Built on Baseten | AI Demo Night for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
AI & Mobile meet-up by Software Mansion
AI & Mobile meet-up by Software Mansion for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
The Model Question: Routing Models for Production Agents
The Model Question: Routing Models for Production Agents for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 04
SF
Zen & AI: Technology in Service of Human Flourishing
Zen & AI: Technology in Service of Human Flourishing for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
CoClaude & CoWork NYC (Ops Edition)
CoClaude & CoWork NYC (Ops Edition) for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
SF
Agents & Bagels: Weekly breakfast meet up for agent builders
Agents & Bagels: Weekly breakfast meet up for agent builders for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
Empanadas & Exploits: A Founder Security Social
Empanadas & Exploits: A Founder Security Social for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
SF
SF Coffee Club | B2B Founders & Funders | Industry Vet Edition
SF Coffee Club | B2B Founders & Funders | Industry Vet Edition for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
SF
Privy Home: IRL SF
Privy Home: IRL SF for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
Style Around the Block
Style Around the Block for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
Vibe Coding for Designers Meetup
Vibe Coding for Designers Meetup for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
AI TECH & Startup Night — Manhattan, New York
AI TECH & Startup Night — Manhattan, New York for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
Teaching AI as a Tool for Freedom | PubKey NYC
Teaching AI as a Tool for Freedom | PubKey NYC for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
The 3x AE: Selling at AI Speed (NYC)
The 3x AE: Selling at AI Speed (NYC) for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
SF
Causal World Models for Real-World Intelligence
Causal World Models for Real-World Intelligence for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 05
NYC
LongHash Ventures VIP Dinner | New York
LongHash Ventures VIP Dinner | New York 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.