Upcoming Founder & VC Events Happening This Week

Upcoming Events & The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

Author

Mariane Bekker
April 29, 2024

Women Founders Pitch Night (Hosted by Me) (Link)

Wednesday May 8 6:00pm - 9:00pm

​Hosted by Mariane Bekker, we are featuring 10 extraordinary startups, all women-led, who will take the stage to showcase their groundbreaking companies.

Invention-Con by the US Government (I’ll be speaking) (Link)

Wednesday May 1 11:00am - 4pm

Are you an early-stage founder looking for investments?

Do you have questions about patents and trademarks?

I'll be speaking at Invention-Con for the US Government Patent and Trademark Office next Wednesday in San Jose.

Join me to meet with investors and access government resources to help grow your startup.

Networking events are a great way to meet fellow founders and investors. Here are events happening in San Francisco this week for founders.

🗓️ Monday, Apr 29

📍 Palo Alto

💬 Come and Meet Featured investors

​Featured VC:

​Rohan Puranik

​Partner at WestWave Capital

📍 San Francisco

💬 Join us for an enlightening evening, nestled in the heart of San Francisco, as we delve into the dynamic intersection of Fintech, Artificial Intelligence, and Distributed Ledger Technology. The //Merge Effect// event is set to spark conversations and insights on how these cutting-edge technologies are reshaping the financial landscape. Scheduled for April 29, 2024, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM PDT, this gathering promises to be a melting pot of ideas and innovation.

🗓️ Tuesday, Apr 30

📍 San Francisco

💬 Her Workplace is a career network empowering the next generation of women and non-binary leaders, and we're bringing our energy from NYC to SF for a coworking and networking experience.

👉 Tech in Culture by French (5:30 PM - 8:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 Prepare to be inspired as we delve into the world of Tech in Culture. This event is co-organized with French Tech SF, EDHEC GETT Master's Students, and FACS. We will explore how technology is revolutionizing the cultural landscape through:

Captivating talks on AI-enabled art and its transformative potential.

👉 AGI Builders Meetup SF (5:30 PM - 8:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 👋 We're thrilled to invite you to our monthly AGI Builders meetup on April 30th.

​❤️ It's a gathering where AI builders, researchers, and enthusiasts share ideas, inspire peers, and transform the future.

📍 San Francisco

💬 Dive into the world of tech with our next Women Tech Meetup on April 30th, powered by the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands! 🇳🇱

🗓️ Wednesday, May 1

👉 TiEcon 2024 (7:00 AM - 5:30 PM)

📍 Santa Clara

💬 TiEcon, one of the world’s largest tech conference, is tailored by Silicon Valley leaders for entrepreneurs, corporate executives and investors.

👉 The Innovation Revolution (8:30 AM - 12:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 We are thrilled to extend an exclusive invitation to you for the "Innovation Revolution Conference." This conference is designed for founders, industry leaders, investors, and pioneers in the corporate world who are driving the future of innovation.

📍 San Francisco

💬 fnIRL 2024 brings together seasoned investors and ambitious founders for a one-day conference designed to help attendees navigate the changing tides of fundraising. Whether you're a seasoned investor seeking high-growth opportunities or a founder eager to crack the fundraising code, this conference offers the chance to unlock actionable insights on the latest trends, and forge critical connections with potential partners. The event on May 1, will feature a range of informative talks, engaging panel discussions, and opportunities for networking and collaboration:

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​We're gathering creatives around the SF Bay Area for a fun co-working day at the Beacons HQ!

📍 San Mateo

💬 Join us for a 3 day event filled with startup workshops, innovator thought leadership, and whiteboarding. This event will be hosted in person on our Franklin Templeton San Mateo Campus. When arriving, please navigate your way to building 930 and sign in with the front desk.

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Join us on Wednesday, May 1st for an exclusive Lunch and Learn session at SVB Experience Center: "Let’s Talk About Boards: Why, When, and How to Build Your Ideal Advisory & Governing Boards."

📍 Palo Alto

💬 ​Come and Meet Featured investors

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Imagine transforming a communal garden into a sustainable enterprise without building walls that keep enthusiasts out. Our panelists will unveil strategies that ensure your open-source projects flourish in a competitive landscape.

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Join us on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, for an evening of engaging and inspiring conversations, surrounded by key opinion leaders, industry partners, and enthusiasts. Our panel discussion will delve into the advancements in women's health and their profound implications for research, innovation, and healthcare access. Esteemed panelists will illuminate the significant progress achieved in this dynamic field. Drawing upon their diverse expertise and experiences, they will examine the barriers and opportunities that define women's health today.

📍 Redwood City

💬 Join us at The Hub in Redwood City to network, socialize and connect with other startup founders and entrepreneurs!

📍 Palo Alto

💬 ​Tesla and SpaceX alums have created a unique founder community, born of the high-performance cultures within these generational companies. To support the growth and continued success of the Tesla/SpaceX mafia, Innovation Endeavors is hosting a panel and networking event for alums, current founders, and anyone curious about building a startup.

👉 onRun + WeWork (5:00 PM - 6:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Join us for a simple group run winding through some landmarks of FiDi, San Francisco! We finish the day with happy hours at WeWork, networking about our projects, startups, running, professional needs, or anything in life.

👉 DSPy End-to-End (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​DSPy is a framework that enables you to program and optimize large language model (LLM) systems. DSPy introduces two new concepts: the programming model and compilers. The programming model lets you define each component in an LLM call, such as the task description, examples, and input and output fields. The compilers can then improve the quality and cost of your DSPy program. DSPy has integrations with Cohere’s Command R LLM, Arize Phoenix observability, and the Weaviate vector database.

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​As the most significant paradigm shift of this decade, generative AI has shown an exciting potential to drive truly personalized customer experience and engagement at scale. 2024 is set to be a pivotal time for generative AI B2B marketing, however, the path to implementing a successful generative AI strategy and product still has challenges and unknowns.

👉 AI For Developers #13 (6:00 PM - 9:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 Developers, mark your calendars for May 1! Join us at our monthly AI for Developers event to dive deep into AI development, machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, AI programming, and AI algorithms.

🗓️ Thursday, May 2

👉 AI AMA After Hours w/ BCV Labs (5:00 PM - 7:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Everyone's seen futurist tweets that LLMs and agents are inevitable and will create trillions of dollars of value, but what's actually working in production? Join us for an AMA after hours for a very candid take on where AI is right now and where it's headed.

📍 San Francisco

💬 This special event is designed to inspire, educate, and empower women in the tech industry, focusing on essential skills and strategies for professional growth and personal empowerment

👉 Air Street SF AI meetup (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 Join us for 3-4 AI research and applied AI talks, and the opportunity to hang with the SF AI community. Speakers include:

​Akshay Krishnaswamy, Chief Architect @ Palantir

​​Michele Catasta, VP of AI @ Replit

​Chris Lamb, VP Computing Platforms, Software @ NVIDIA

​+1 mystery speaker :)

👉 SaaS Lander 2024: A Tech Night in SF (5:30 PM - 9:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Join us for SaaS Lander Tech Night, an inspiring evening where innovation, entrepreneurship, and networking converge in the heart of San Francisco. Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of tech on May 2nd, from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM.

📍 San Francisco

💬 We are excited to honor VC industry leaders at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in San Francisco on May 2nd.

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Join us for a Wine & Wisdom fireside chat featuring David Sabow, Head of Innovation Banking at HSBC and Miguel Fernandez, CEO of Capchase, as we discuss the art of non-dilutive financing

🗓️ Friday, May 3

👉 Silicon Valley Bootstrappers Breakfast (9:00 AM - 10:30 AM)

📍 San Jose

💬 Come join entrepreneurs who eat problems for breakfast®. At a Bootstrappers Breakfast® we have serious conversations about growing a business based on internal cashflow and organic profit: this is for founders who are actively bootstrapping a startup.

📍 Pleasanton

💬 As Femigrants expands its reach to the East Bay, we're thrilled to bring together a vibrant community of diverse female immigrants in business and STEM who call East Bay home. Our event will be hosted at a carefully selected venue adorned with a captivating floral theme 🌸 and charming hot-air balloon 🎈decorations.

👉 Open Demo (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 ​Treasury Demos are your way to experience the world of spatial computing, to become a Treasury Builder or Activator, to apply to the Treasury Builder Program, and to meet others exploring and developing in the space.

🗓️ Saturday, May 4

👉 National Security Hackathon (9:00 AM - 9:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 Join us for a weekend of hacking in support of national security, sponsored by Shield Capital, Vannevar Labs, In-Q-Tel, Founders Fund, Anduril, SkyFi and Radiant.

👉 Agent Hackathon @ AGI House (11:00 AM - 10:00 PM)

📍 Hillsborough

💬 Using any OpenAI APIs or Building personal assistants with OpenAI Assistants API v2

👉 AI for Thought Hackathon (11:30 AM - 10:00 PM)

📍 San Francisco

💬 Backed by FoundersX.

The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds

After the slow down last week in fundraising, we are back to 9 figures rounds.

  1. Xaira Therapeutics

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $1B

    • Details: The biggest round this week was really big. Xaira Therapeutics came out of stealth and announced it had secured more than $1 billion of committed capital from lead investors Arch Venture Partners and Foresite Capital — both of which jointly incubated the company — as well as several other big-name investors including Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The San Francisco-based biotech firm is led by founding CEO Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who previously served as president of Stanford University but resigned last year after questions arose concerning his scientific research. Xaira is the latest — although likely best-funded — startup to try to use AI models to find new drugs.

  2. Augment

    • Sector: Artificial Intelligence

    • Funding: $227M

    • Details: AI coding startups made a big splash this week. The biggest round went to another startup emerging from stealth — AI coding assistance startup Augment. The Palo Alto, California-based company locked up a $227 million Series B round at a $977 million post-money valuation. The round included cash from the likes of Sutter Hill Ventures, Index Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Augment helps developers and software teams by giving them AI coding assistance. Founded in 2022, Augment’s total funding now stands at $252 million, per the company, following its $25 million Series A led by Sutter Hill Ventures in January.

  3. Rippling

    • Sector: Human Resources

    • Funding: $200M

    • Details: HR startup Rippling wrapped up a huge $200 million round that valued the San Francisco-based startup at $13.5 billion. The deal also included a $590 million secondary offering for employees to sell their private shares to investors. The new equity round was led by Coatue. The company offers a workforce management platform that combines HR, information technology and finance to help customers streamline operations. The new round represents about a 20% uptick in valuation for Rippling, which was last valued at $11.3 billion in March 2023.

  4. Cognition

    • Sector: Artificial Intelligence

    • Funding: $175M

    • Details: Another nine-figure round for an AI coding startup. This one went to San Francisco-based Cognition, which reportedly locked up a $175 million investment led by Founders Fund at a $2 billion valuation. The six-month-old startup has developed an artificial intelligence–powered coding assistant called Devin. Just last month the startup raised a $21 million Series A at a $350 million valuation.

  5. Endeavor BioMedicines

    • Sector: Biotech

    • Funding: $133M

    • Details: Yet another big biotech raise this week. San Diego-based Endeavor BioMedicines locked up a $132.5 million Series C led by AyurMaya. The company, which focuses on medicines for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, last raised more than two years ago — a $101 million Series B co-led by Ally Bridge Group and Avidity Partners. Founded in 2018, the company has raised nearly $296 million, per Crunchbase.

  6. ThreatLocker

    • Sector: Cybersecurity

    • Funding: $115M

    • Details: Cyber funding has shown some signs of life recently, and this week we have another example. ThreatLocker, a cybersecurity startup offering zero trust endpoint security solutions, raised a $115 million Series D led by existing investor General Atlantic. In the past year, ThreatLocker has doubled its revenue and added 50% to its workforce. Founded in 2017, the company has raised nearly $240 million, per Crunchbase.

  7. Lumeris

    • Sector: Healthcare

    • Funding: $100M

    • Details: St. Louis-based Lumeris, a developer of a healthcare spending platform, raised a $100 million investment led by Deerfield Management and Endeavor Health. Founded in 2000, the company has raised $325 million, per Crunchbase.

  8. Perplexity AI

    • Sector: Artificial Intelligence

    • Funding: $63M

    • Details: It was a busy week for Perplexity AI. The company announced a $62.7 million round on the same day it was reported the AI startup was looking to raise another $250 million-plus at a valuation between $2.5 billion and $3 billion. The newly announced round was first reported last month and was led by Daniel Gross. It also included investors such as Nvidia, IVP, NEA, Jeff Bezos and Garry Tan among others. The new round reportedly values the company at more than $1 billion. However, per the report in TechCrunch, the AI search engine startup is far from done, engaging investors in talks of a megaround that would increase that valuation by at least 150%. IVP and NEA were said to be looking at participating in the new round. It was just in January the company raised a $73.6 million Series B led by IVP that valued it at $520 million.

  9. Midi Health

    • Sector: Healthcare

    • Funding: $60M

    • Details: Los Altos, California-based Midi Health, a virtual care clinic for women, closed a $60 million Series B led by Emerson Collective. Founded in 2021, Midi Health has raised $100 million to date, per the company.

  10. Givebutter

    • Sector: CRM

    • Funding: $50M

    • Details: Austin, Texas-based Givebutter, a platform for nonprofit fundraising and CRM, announced it has closed a $50 million strategic growth investment led by BVP Forge. Founded in 2016, the company has raised $57 million, per Crunchbase.

CEO, Founders Bay

Hi! I'm Mariane Bekker, a tech executive with over a decade of experience building high-performing engineering teams at leading startups such as New Relic and Mindbody. I've led engineering through 5 acquisitions and 1 IPO. 

I recently founded Founders Bay, a venture studio for early-stage founders with a mission of empowering women founders to grow their startups. Learn more: www.foundersbay.com

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