StrictlyVC San Francisco — VC Founder Meetup

TechCrunch’s first StrictlyVC event of 2026 is scheduled for April 30 at Sentro Filipino Cultural Center in San Francisco. (techcrunch.com) The published lineup includes Uber Chief Technology Officer Praveen Neppalli Naga, Replit co-founder and chief executive Amjad Masad, Eclipse founder and chief executive Lior Susan, Forum AI co-founder and chief executive Campbell Brown, and TDK Ventures president Nicolas Sauvage. (techcrunch.com 1) (techcrunch.com 2) TechCrunch’s event page lists check-in, drinks, and networking from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., followed by five back-to-back interviews and a final networking block through 9 p.m. (techcrunch.com) Tickets are listed at $180, attendance is limited, and registrants must be 21 or older, according to the event page. (techcrunch.com) The program is tilted toward artificial intelligence and startup financing. Sessions include “Building the Platform Where AI Writes the Code,” with Masad, and “The $1.3B Bet on Physical AI,” with Susan. (techcrunch.com) Sauvage is scheduled to open with a conversation on how industrial companies are backing startups, and TechCrunch said TDK Ventures is the event’s host and title sponsor. TechCrunch also said TDK Ventures manages $500 million across four funds. (techcrunch.com) TechCrunch’s earlier event preview said the San Francisco stop would be “of particular note for AI innovators and founders” looking for funding insights. That preview also said Sauvage has led TDK into 52 startup investments and three unicorns: Groq, Ascend Elements, and Silicon Box. (techcrunch.com) Brown’s appearance adds a media-and-trust angle to the night. TechCrunch said she previously worked at CNN and Meta and now leads Forum AI, which focuses on making artificial intelligence systems more trustworthy. (techcrunch.com) Naga was added to the roster on April 24, six days before the event. TechCrunch said his session will focus on running complex systems at Uber during the artificial intelligence boom, including work tied to driver and courier earnings systems. (techcrunch.com) The result is a compact, four-hour San Francisco meetup built around five interviews, one sponsor, and a room of founders and investors arriving before May begins. (techcrunch.com)