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 09
NYC
Checkout - The Travel & Hospitality Hackathon | Powered by Stay22, Rove & Propellic | $100k worth of travel prizes
Checkout - The Travel & Hospitality Hackathon | Powered by Stay22, Rove & Propellic | $100k worth of travel prizes for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
NYC
AI Voice Agent hackathon: Supafone.ai
AI Voice Agent hackathon: Supafone.ai for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
👾 Hack with VoiceOS | $5k in OpenAI Credits
👾 Hack with VoiceOS | $5k in OpenAI Credits for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
NYC
Context Engineering Guild: August Edition
Context Engineering Guild: August Edition for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
San Francisco. AI × Design Creative Picnic
San Francisco. AI × Design Creative Picnic for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
NYC
Informationbanker Fintech & AI networking walk
Informationbanker Fintech & AI networking walk for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
NYC
The Builders' Table
The Builders' Table for the NYC builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
🤖🍨 Sundae Robotics 03: Scaling Touch, Multimodal Perception & Dexterous Manipulation with Flexible Tactile Skin for Robot Learning
🤖🍨 Sundae Robotics 03: Scaling Touch, Multimodal Perception & Dexterous Manipulation with Flexible Tactile Skin for Robot Learning for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
Breaking Models AI Security
Breaking Models AI Security for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
Dinner Salon: AI as a Companion in Parenting
Dinner Salon: AI as a Companion in Parenting for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
Founders - AI — Power Walk
Founders - AI — Power Walk for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
A Community Reading: The Pope’s AI Encyclical, Large Language Mojitos, and Being Human Together
A Community Reading: The Pope’s AI Encyclical, Large Language Mojitos, and Being Human Together for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 09
SF
N of 1: Padel + Personalized Health with YC S26
N of 1: Padel + Personalized Health with YC S26 for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
9Zero x Vectors Capital Community Lunch & Learn: Data Center Power Supply - Fuel Cells
9Zero x Vectors Capital Community Lunch & Learn: Data Center Power Supply - Fuel Cells for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
OpenClaw Workshop: Build Your First GTM AI Agent
OpenClaw Workshop: Build Your First GTM AI Agent for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
Frontier Signals #01: Infrastructure Behind Physical AI — Intelligence Beyond the Screen
Frontier Signals #01: Infrastructure Behind Physical AI — Intelligence Beyond the Screen for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
No Data Centers In My Backyard: a midwest field report on the AI buildout
No Data Centers In My Backyard: a midwest field report on the AI buildout for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
Physical AI Demo Showcase: Hardware/ Physical AI/ Robotics/ Supply Chain/ Manufacturing
Physical AI Demo Showcase: Hardware/ Physical AI/ Robotics/ Supply Chain/ Manufacturing for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
World Labs x BITKRAFT World Model Builders Meetup @ Founders, Inc.
World Labs x BITKRAFT World Model Builders Meetup @ Founders, Inc. for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
Abstract x Grace Gong AI Researcher Poker Night
Abstract x Grace Gong AI Researcher Poker Night for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 10
SF
Post-Labor Economics Reading Salon
Post-Labor Economics Reading Salon for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 11
SF
Fireside Chat with Dan Wright, CEO of Armada AI
Fireside Chat with Dan Wright, CEO of Armada AI for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 11
SF
Claude Code Workshop - San Francisco
Claude Code Workshop - San Francisco for the SF builder network with curated in-person attendance.
AUG 11
SF
Claude Coworkshop - San Francisco
Claude Coworkshop - San Francisco 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.