The first StrictlyVC of 2026 starts in one week in San Francisco

StrictlyVC’s first San Francisco event of the year is just around the corner. With just one week left, now is the time to get your tickets. The venture and founder community will gather at the Centro Philippine Cultural Center on April 30 for an evening packed with doing what StrictlyVC does best: engaging in great speakers and enlightening conversations, with ample opportunities for networking that fuels results.

And we’re excited to announce one more speaker joining our lineup. Eclipse founder and CEO Lior Suzan recently raised $1.3 billion to back only “physical AI” startups. We explore that major investment in more detail in our conversation with him, as he shares his vision for what real-world autonomy will look like as the convergence of AI’s digital world and our physical world evolves.

Susan is familiar with this field, having served in the military and led Flex’s hardware investments. He has seen firsthand the opportunities that lie in the use of new technologies to improve the industrial systems that underpin the modern world and are supported by businesses driven by vision, capital, and innovative new technology. And he will be interviewed by venture reporter Marina Temkin, so no follow-up opportunity will be ignored.

Susan will join other speakers in a series of particularly timely conversations. Amjad Massad, co-founder and CEO of Replit, talks about the AI-driven changes in software development and what the next era of programming will look like as practices and employment within the industry continue to change.

Nicolas Sauvage, president of TDK Ventures (which is also sponsoring the event), will join TechCrunch editor-in-chief and StrictlyVC founder Connie Loizos in a conversation about the ins and outs of corporate venture capital, early-stage investing, and the important lessons founders need to learn about raising capital from strategic backers.

In addition, Campbell Brown, co-founder and CEO of Forum AI, will share his perspective on building more trustworthy AI systems in an environment of increasing skepticism regarding the accuracy of information from various sources. All of this is informed by Meta’s tenure as head of media partnerships and host at CNN. And she’s going to be interviewed by our new senior reporter, Tim Fernholz.

If you’ve never attended a StrictlyVC event before, this is the perfect event to get started. These meetups are more intimate, informal events that allow for candid and particularly informative conversations that founders and VCs can use to get an immediate head start on the competition. In addition to speakers, fellow investors, and founders, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with people who want to learn more about the trends shaping Silicon Valley and beyond.

Be sure to grab one of the few tickets still available. Take Thursday night off and come to San Francisco on April 30th to join the StrictlyVC community.