Tech Weekend Nov 19–20 | Founder-VC Matchmaking & Pitch Competitions

2026-11-19 · 09:00:00 · Menlo Park

Allied Arts Guild - 75 Arbor Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025

75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025

Hosted at Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park, this two-day gathering links pre-seed through Series B founders directly with venture capital investors via curated meetings and pitch sessions.

A 48-hour fundraising sprint where pre-seed to Series A founders meet investors in back to back meetings. VIEW THE FULL EVENT SCHEDULE HERE

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What is Tech Weekend? A 48-hour fundraising sprint by Founders Village where pre-seed to Series B founders meet dozens of investors in back-to-back meetings.

Who should attend?

Pre-seed to Series B Tech Startups.

Looking at the investors joining us in November, here's where their attention seems to be for this cohort

▪️ Physical AI — robotics, sensors, industrial automation, and the machines reshaping manufacturing, construction, and mobility.

▪️ Semiconductors and AI chips — the silicon underneath all of it.

▪️ Deep tech, defense, space tech and dual-use, alongside cybersecurity and enterprise infrastructure.

▪️ Fintech and financial services — banking technology, financial infrastructure, and the security that protects it.

▪️ Health tech and biotech — health and wellness, digital health care solutions, pharma production, oncology, and medical devices.

▪️ Climate and energy — adaptation and resilience, clean energy, electrification, batteries, and transportation.

▪️ AI, across the whole stack — infrastructure, enterprise, application layer, AI-ready data, and the work of making it safe and interpretable.

▪️ And a good number of the investors are sector agnostic, backing exceptional founders building in any industry.

If you

Founder brief

Who should attend

Pre-seed, seed, Series A, and Series B tech entrepreneurs actively fundraising or preparing rounds will get the most value here. While investors span sector-agnostic funds, areas of focus include physical AI, semiconductors, deep tech, defense, enterprise infrastructure, fintech, health tech, biotech, and clean energy.

What happens

Both mornings start at 9:00 AM with breakfast networking, followed by panel discussions on deep tech funding, seed raising, and AI-native startups. Parallel fifteen to twenty-minute VC office hours run from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM for pass holders, alongside an afternoon deep tech pitch competition and evening mixer on Day 1.

Who's in the room

Founders Village brings together venture capitalists, pitch competition judges, panel experts, and fellow tech founders ranging from early discovery to growth stages. You will find venture partners evaluating physical automation and frontier tech alongside generalist investors hunting for exceptional teams across diverse industries.

How to prepare

Keep your pitch concise and focused on commercial validation to make the most of the fast 15-to-20-minute meeting slots. Have your traction metrics, round dynamics, and follow-up data room readily accessible, and prepare targeted questions for VC office hours and informal panel Q&A breaks.

Organizer: Founders Village

Register

At a glance

Tickets
135.23 – 2134.92 USD
Refunds
Refunds up to 7 days before event
Stage
Pre seed, Seed, Series a, Series b plus
Sectors
Ai ml, Fintech, Healthtech, Biotech, Climate energy, Agnostic

Agenda

  1. 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM · Opening & Breakfast Networking — Light breakfast, coffee and networking to kick off Day 1.
  2. 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM · VC Office Hours (Cohort Pass) — 1:1 founder-investor meetings, 15–20 min, matched by industry and stage. Runs all day in parallel.
  3. 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM · Panel: Funding Hard Problems — How Investors Weigh Risk, Timing and Team — How investors evaluate deep tech and AI companies, and how founders fund the path from research to revenue.
  4. 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Networking Break & Informal Q&A with Panelists — Coffee and off-the-record time with panelists.
  5. 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM · Panel: The Seed Raise Playbook — Pipeline, Pitch and Board — Running a disciplined raise: target lists and intros, pitch, follow-up pipeline, advisors and board.
  6. 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM · Lunch + Open Networking — Complimentary lunch (vegetarian, halal, vegan and gluten-free options).
  7. 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM · Deep Tech Pitch Competition — Deep tech and frontier tech startups pitch live to VC judges.
  8. 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM · Founder & Investor Mixer — Drinks and relaxed evening networking.
  9. 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM · Breakfast & Networking — Light breakfast and coffee to kick off Day 2.
  10. 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM · VC Office Hours (Cohort Pass) — 1:1 founder-investor meetings, runs all day in parallel.
  11. 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM · Panel: One Founder, Many Agents — Raising in 2028 — Where capital is heading and how investors judge AI-native and solo-founder teams.
  12. 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM · Networking Break & Informal Q&A with Panelists — Coffee and off-the-record time with panelists.
  13. 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM · Panel: Seed to Scale — How Fast AI Companies Build, Raise and Get Acquired — With Adam Menges and Giorgi Gulabyan (Crusoe).
  14. 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM · Lunch + Networking — Complimentary lunch with dietary options.
  15. 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM · AI Pitch Competition + Crowdfunding Showcase — AI startups pitch to VC judges, followed by live audience crowdfunding voting.
  16. 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM · Founder & Investor Mixer — Closing drinks and final networking.

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