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Down the AI Rabbit Hole Tech GigaParty @ Temple [Investor Panels, Pitches, Demos, DJs w/ SignalFire, Blackrock, Plug & Play]
TECH SUMMIT (6PM - 10PM) :
GIGAPARTY (10PM - 2AM):
Embark on a one-of-a-kind adventure down the rabbit hole for a Tech Summit + Gigaparty as the official afterparty for the AI Rabbit Hole 2025 conference — a night where reality bends, imagination thrives, and wonder awaits at every turn!
VC Firms Include: Sequoia, SignalFire, Blackrock, LG Technology Ventures, Alumni Ventures, 500 Global, Race Capital, TPG, Plug and Play, Context VC, Boost VC, Founders Bay Ventures, Yes VC, Avestix Group, Bad Bitch Empire, Boost VC, Republic, Pachamama Ventures, Bad Bitch Empire, 7BC Venture Capital, Blackwing VC, Depth Capital Ventures, Silicon Valley Women Founders Fund, Outliers Fund, DraperU Ventures
SCHEDULE
6pm - 9pm: Tech Summit: Panels, Fireside Chats, Demos, Keynotes, Comedy Pitch Roast
10pm - 2am: Gigaparty: Nonstop Music on 4 floors from SF’s best DJs & special guest performances including Justin Kan, Amitt Mahajan, Arielle Zuckerberg, Chris DND and a special robot DJ. Multimedia technology Ada Cyborg is going to supercharge the night with her iconic futurist visuals.
🎭 NEW - Comedy Added!
Get ready for “Money is Funny / Snark Tank”, a tech pitch roast curated by Olympian & Comedian Elizabeth Swaney, featuring:
🔥 Taylor Williamson (America’s Got Talent, Last Comic Standing)) and performing at the SF Punchline all weekend.
🎙️ The Klein Boyz (viral LA comedy duo) flying in from Los Angeles to deliver their signature comedy fun.
🤯 Top-Tier Investors roast with comedians + VCs
This is where tech meets stand-up. You don’t want to miss it.
About
Follow the White Rabbit into FIVE FLOORS of futuristic Wonderland filled with 2,000+ founders, visionary VCs, AI engineers, and tech trailblazers, all converging for a night of innovation, curiosity, and creativity.
Step through the looking glass where technology merges seamlessly with art, immersive installations dazzle the senses, and cutting-edge AI demos blur the lines between magic and machine.
Rub shoulders with the top names in AI and dance beneath a quantum-powered lightscape as the pulsating beats of San Francisco’s finest DJs carry you deeper into the night, punctuated by unforgettable performances and surprise appearances. Who knows—you might even catch a set by your favorite robot DJ!
Our last GigaParty was featured in Vice, SF Gate, Futurism, the New York Post, ABC News, Interesting Engineering, MSN, TechBreak, and more—and this year, we’re taking things to an entirely new level.
Prepare yourself for a night you'll never forget, where curiosity reigns, innovation thrives, and the future comes alive. Are you ready to take the leap?
Sponsored by Nebius, the ultimate cloud for AI innovators!
Agenda
[Startup Lounge] 6:30PM - 7PM - The Future of AI: Trends Shaping What Comes Next
Where is AI actually heading? We’ll break down the real signals behind the noise — from emerging categories to overlooked opportunities. How are enterprise and frontier investors thinking about AI? What bets are being made today that will define the next decade?
David Hefter, AI Strategy For Investing, Blackrock (moderator)
Rish Gupta , Co-founder & CEO, Spot.ai ($31M+ Series B)
Sabareesh Chinta, Gen AI Media Lead, Google
Daniel (Danny) Idźkowski, Partner, LvlUp Ventures
[VIP Room] 7PM - 7:30PM: Breaking In: The Accelerator Playbook
What do top accelerators look for in founders? What makes a startup stand out in a sea of pitch decks? Join investors from the top accelerators in the world to get insider tips on how to get in — and how to make the most of it once you do.
Nicolas Khonaysser, CEO, Vently (StartX Founder)
Leonard Lee, Head of Accelerator, 500 Global
Tessa Osborne, Investor, Plug and Play
Rio Hodges, Associate Partner, Antler
Arisa Chelsea Ueno, Investment, Draper U Ventures
[Main Floor] 7PM - 8PM - "Money is funny / Snark Tank" Tech Pitch Roast hosted by Elizabeth Swaney ((Main Floor)
Get ready for founders pitching real startups… to VCs and comedians.
Smart ideas, sharp comebacks, and some seriously unexpected feedback.
As featured in Forbes & The Washington Post
Judges:
Kristofer Madu, Investor at TPG Capital
Shail Kaveti, Investor at TheFounder.VC
Jenny Lee, LP, How Women Invest
Hale Yildiz, Founder, Lumia Partner
Taylor Williamson, Comedian
Thosekleinboyz, Comedian
Jesse Fernandez, Comedian
Billheil, Comedian
Robert Hudson, Comedian
Julia Purcell, Comedian
APPLY TO PITCH: https://forms.gle/E86Pb59z1Pgj7ATb9
[Startup Lounge] 7:30PM - 8PM: AI Fundraising & Investment Trends
What’s hot, what’s overhyped, and what today’s top investors are actually funding in AI — from seed to scale. Learn what it takes to get funded in 2025 and beyond.
Josh Constine, Venture Partner, SignalFire (Moderator)
Tim Hsia, Partner, Context VC
Julie Liao, Partner, Yes VC
Freddy Dopfel, Principal, LG Technology Ventures
[VIP Room] 7:30PM - 8PM: AI Ethics & Governance
A candid conversation on the moral and societal implications of AI. We’ll explore how to build responsible systems, who should be accountable, and what governance frameworks can help ensure AI serves humanity—not harms it. Designed for investors, founders, and policymakers shaping the future.
De Kai, AI Professor @ HKUST Computer Science and Engineering, Distinguished Research Scholar @ Berkeley ICSI
Anto Patex, Founder, CosmicBrain AI
Ash Shrivastav, Investor, Uma Ventures (Family Office Backed)
Nabila Elassar, Co-president, Stanford Entrepreneurs, AI For Good Institute
[Main Floor] 8PM - 9PM: Bad Bitch Empire Female Founder showcase hosted by Lisa Carmen Wang, GP at Bad Bitch Empire and author of The Bad Bitch Business Bible
8 powerhouse female founders take the stage to pitch their startups — and one will walk away with $25,000 in pre-seed investment live, on the spot.
No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just capital for bold ideas.
Apply to pitch: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdRFFqpq17h1k0qtw7RZtUCSLUv5kbn_ORfDURMnLx2naHAcA/viewform?usp=send_form
Judges:
Lisa Carmen Wang, Founding Partner & GP, Bad Bitch Empire
Karen Sheffield, Managing Partner, Pachamama Ventures
Anna Wang, Investor, GreyMatter Capital
John Majeski, General Partner, Silicon Valley Women Founders Fund
[Startup Lounge] 8PM - 9PM - Startup Demos with Live Feedback
2-minute lightning pitches from the Bay’s boldest founders — followed by real-time 30 seconds feedback from top VCs.
Judges:
Elvie Kamalova, Investor & Founder, BlockStreet Capital
Brian Sparkes, Chief Venture Partner, Silicon Valley Venture
Jeni Chang, Managing Director, Founder Institute
Anastasia Trofimova, CEO and co-founder, YOUR BEET
Gangesh Pathak, Founder, OWOW
Mohak Saxena, Investor at Race Capital
Sena Zorlu, General Partner, ANT Venture Partners
Sara Ahmadian, Founder, Anar Ventures
[VIP Room] 8:30PM - 9PM: Unlocking Family Office Investments - What They Look For and How to Engage
Family offices are deploying more capital into early-stage ventures than ever before — but their approach is different. Learn what actually gets their attention, how to build trust, and how to turn a conversation into a long-term capital partner.
Jasmine Shih, Managing Partner, Avestix Group (Single Family Office)
Brett Horton, CIO, Paris-Roubaix Group (Single Family Office)
Chad Cazel, Managing Partner, Cazel Family Office (Single Family Office)
Mariia (Mariia Eroshin) Eroshin, Operating Partner, Multi-Family Office
Ruan Lindeque, Chief Investment Officer, Avestix Group
[Main Floor] 9PM - 9:10PM - The Great SF Reset with Matt Haney
How city leadership is reimagining SF’s place in California, America and The World
Matt Haney, California AssemblyMember
[Main Floor] 910PM - 9:20PM - Unlocking State Funding for Startups and VCs
A candid conversation with California State Treasurer Fiona Ma on how founders and VCs can access billions in untapped public capital.
Fiona Ma, California State Treasurer
Mariane Bekker, Managing Partner, Founders Bay
[Main Floor] 9:30PM - 10PM: Humanoid Robot DJ will play his tunes
Yep — we’re letting the robot DJ take it from here. You won’t want to miss this one.
SPECIAL GUESTS OF MADHATS AI
Sarah Tavel, General Partner at Benchmark
Vanessa Parli, Director of research at HAI, Stanford
Adam Brown, Stanford
Olga Megosrskaya, CEO, Toloka
Idan Gazit, Head of GitHub Next
Shishir Mehrotre, CEO, Grammarly
Nuno Campos, Founding Engineer at LangChain
Caroline Ingeborn, COO at Luma
Anna Tong, Technology Correspondent, Reuters
Josh Constine, Venture Partner for consumer at SignalFire
Melissa Valentine, Senior fellow at HAI
Teddy Lee, Technical Staff at OpenAI
Anto Patrex, CEO & Co-Founder, CosmicBrain AI
Nick Davidov, Co-founder and Partner at DVC
Eugenio Gonzalez, Plug and Play Ventures
Hosts
Mariane Bekker, Managing Partner at Founders Bay
Kristopher Floyd, Partner at Founders Bay
Founders Bay is a membership community of 45,000 founders and VCs coming together to grow their startups through curated weekly events, expert-led virtual workshops, and educational resources. Proudly women-owned and operated by Mariane Bekker, we are dedicated to empowering a diverse and inclusive startup ecosystem. Subscribe to our newsletter and become a member today.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
🔊 Beats Powered by David Carvalho and Boutique Entertainment 🔊
Boutique DJs and Entertainment specializes in luxury DJ experiences for weddings, corporate events, and private parties. With over 20 years of expertise and thousands of successful events, they deliver seamless music mixing and exceptional service tailored to any occasion.
Visuals (music videos) provided by: Ada Cyborg and adacyb.org creative lab
Adacyb.org is a transhumanist research and creative lab that redefines the artistic boundaries with frontier technologies, human augmentation products and immersive experiences that trailbrazes humans’ transition into the post AGI world.
*** 21 & UP ONLY ***
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