👋 I’m Justin. I run The SF Grind, The LA Grind, and scout for Headline. I live in LA but spend a lot of time in San Francisco meeting founders, hosting gatherings, and enjoying the wonderful city.
Happy Monday! If you missed the big announcement last week, let me tell you… I’m hosting my first summit, Ambition, September 24th, 2026 in Santa Monica! 150 people, curated room, one main day with a VIP dinner the night before.
Our first confirmed speaker is Mehul Nariyawala Co-Founder of Matic (Series C, $60M raised in January). Previously co-founded Flutter, which Google acquired for $40M, and worked on Nest. Matic just earned a 10/10 from WIRED, the reviewer's first 10/10 in over a decade.
Tyler Denk, founder of beehiiv ($50M raised, on pace for $50M ARR in 2026), the platform I use and love, is confirmed for an exclusive Day Zero VIP dinner the night before, on September 23rd. More speakers announced in the coming weeks.
a16z Speedrun: Applications are open for the next cohort (SR007), with an investment up to $1M in your startup and $5M+ in perks. Deadline to apply is the end of day May 17, 2026. Apply now.
Heading to SF this week: I’m in SF this week for Startup Grind Global, Stripe Sessions, and am also hosting my own events. Big shoutout to Sophia at Aspire for the tickets.
Let’s get to it.
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🌁 Upcoming Events We’re Hosting 🌁
🗓️ April 30: Curated Seed+ Founders Dinner. SF. 6:30 - 9 pm. Sponsored by Sprinto, Highland Academy, and Chargebee.
🗓️ May 1: The SF Grind: SF Startup Community Coffee Meetup. Union Square. 9 - 11 am.
🗓️ May 21: Curated Seed+ Founders Dinner. SF. 6:30 - 9 pm.
🗓️ May 22: Curated Seed+ Founders Breakfast. SF. 9 - 11 am.
👋 This Week in SF 👋
🗓️ April 27: Claude for Technical Founders. Financial District. 5 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 27: European Tech Connect: Rooftop Party. South Beach. 5:30 - 11 pm.
🗓️ April 27: Batter Up! Union Square. 6 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 27-29: Innovate, Stay & Connect in Bubbl Houses. Redwood City.
🗓️ April 28: Optimizing Modern AI Systems. Bayside Village. 5 - 7:30 pm.
🗓️ April 28: Global Founder & Investor Happy Hour (Startup Grind Bar Crawl). Redwood City. 5 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 28: Stripe Week Kickoff: Pitch Night & Networking. Mid-Market. 5 - 8 pm.
🗓️ April 28-29: Startup Grind Conference 2026. Redwood City.
🗓️ April 29: Build YC's Next Unicorn - Agent Hack Day. Financial District. 9:30 am - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 29: Fintech x AI Founders Pitch plus Mixer. Financial District. 5 - 8 pm.
🗓️ April 29: All Things Sync. Financial District. 5:30 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 29: Consumer tech living room: Talks & drinks. SoMa. 5:30 - 9:30 pm.
🗓️ April 29: Daytona AI Researchers. Stanford. 5:30 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 29: Reading Group: Olmix: A Framework for Data Mixing Throughout LM Development. SoMa. 5:30 - 8 pm.
🗓️ April 29: AI Champions Dinner. Potrero Hill. 6 - 9 pm.
🗓️ April 29: Claws Out. Hard Problems Night with GMI x WorkOS. SoMa. 6 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 29: Full Context: An exclusive reception for AI leaders, hosted by Modular & AMD. Embarcadero. 6 - 8:15 pm.
🗓️ April 29: The Principal Club | SF Dinner. Marina District. 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
🗓️ April 29: Hardware Founder Dinner with Rho. Dolores Heights. 6:30 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ April 30: CMX x The CC: Community Coffee Meetup. Redwood City. 7:30 - 8:30 am.
🗓️ April 30: AI Infra Meetup with dstack and Crusoe. Financial District. 5 - 8 pm.
🗓️ April 30: Unicorner Presents: SF Seed+ Founders Dinner. SoMa. 6 - 9 pm.
🗓️ April 30: AI & Scientific Researcher Dinner: Autopoiesis Sciences x Rho. Embarcadero. 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
🗓️ April 30: SF Founders Dinner with Verci / Artifex and Rho. Civic Center. 7 - 9 pm.
🗓️ April 30: Weighted Moves: AI & Chess Mixer. Main Post. 7 - 10 pm.
👀 Events Coming Soon 👀
🗓️ May 4: Make Your Own Financial Agent for Investors. Mid-Market. 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
🗓️ May 6: Door 3: April Founder Elevator Pitch. Financial District. 5 - 8 pm.
🗓️ May 7: Ex-Evercore Startup Dinner. 7 - 9:30 pm.
🗓️ May 8: Agentic AI Summit: Advancing Responsible AI. Palo Alto. 12 - 5:30 pm.
🗓️ May 8: AI Executive Dinner. Los Altos. 7 - 9:30 pm.
Reply to this email to submit an event for consideration in the next edition
Top 5 SF Startup Jobs
Founding Design Engineer @ Readily
Senior Product Designer @ Accord
People Partner @ HappyRobot
AI Engineer @ Blee
Founding Account Executive @ JustAI
👋 Hiring? Reply to this email to feature your job in this newsletter.
Other Opportunities
Know a founder or investor in SF who is raising capital or searching for a co-founder? Reply to this email with more details that I could share with the 3,000+ subscribers of this newsletter.
Astor, an AI-native investment advisory platform registered with the SEC, raised a $5M Seed round led by Monashees.
Petual, a provider of an AI-powered platform for audit and compliance, raised a $20M round led by Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Cowboy Ventures, and Elad Gil.
Brev, a provider of an AI-native business performance operating system, raised a $3.3M Pre-Seed round was led by Resolute Ventures.
Omni, a provider of an AI Analytics platform, raised a $120M Series C led by ICONIQ.
Band, a company providing a layer service for multi-agent systems, raised a $17M Seed round backed by Sierra Ventures, Hetz Ventures and Team8.
10x Science, a startup that builds frontier AI for molecular-level protein characterization across the life sciences, raised a $4.8M Seed round led by Initialized Capital.
Afresh, a provider of an AI platform for grocery, raised a $34M round led by Just Climate and High Sage Ventures.
BuildForever, a consumer technology company advancing email functionalities with AI, raised a $9.5M Seed round backed by Felicis Ventures, Abstract VC and more.
Crewline AI, a developer of autonomous technology for existing construction machinery, raised a $7.1M Seed round led by Initialized Capital and Nebular.
Octen, a search infrastructure company for the generative AI era, raised a $10M Seed round led by Square Peg.
C-Infinity, a provider of an AI platform that automates the translation of digital designs into production-ready plans, raised a $16M round led by Canaan Partners.
NeoCognition, a research lab developing self-learning AI agents, raised a $40M Seed round led by Cambium Capital and Walden Catalyst Ventures.
Reliable Robotics, a provider of autonomous aircraft systems, raised a $160M round led by Nimble Partners.
Humble, a provider of autonomous, electric haulers, raised $24M in Seed round led by Eclipse.
Ray Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing differentiated vision restoration therapies for those living with retinal degenerations, raised a $125M Series B led by Janus Henderson Investors.
Sinai.ai, a provider of an AI-native books platform, raised $1.45M in Pre-Seed round led by KAUST Innovation Ventures (KIV) and DisrupTech Ventures.
Giggles, a social app that lets users buy and sell stakes in videos, raised $1M+ in Pre-Seed round led by 1kx.
Sage Haven, a provider of a messaging and voice calling app for kids, raised a $3M Pre-Seed round backed by Hustle Fund, How Women Invest and more.
Eigen, a startup that develops AI enhancing human connection and collaboration, raised a $15M in Seed round backed by Benchmark and more.
Zum, a connected mobility experience (CMX) company, raised $100M from TPG.
Ultralight, an AI-native operating system for preventive and personalized care, raised $9.3M in Seed round led by The General Partnership.
Loop, a provider of an AI platform for logistics and supply chains, raised a $95M in Series C led by Valor Equity Partners and the Valor Atreides AI Fund.
Featured Location
Rooh. A stylish, upscale Indian restaurant that blends traditional flavors with modern techniques. Creative small plates, bold spices, and craft cocktails inspired by Ayurvedic “six tastes.”
Fun Events
See you next week,
Justin