Not Another Fundraising Panel
Not Another Fundraising Panel
Location: San Jose, CA 95134
What it really takes to raise, and survive in 2026
If you’re an early-stage founder gearing up to raise in the new year, or you’ve just raised and are now feeling the pressure to execute, this is a room you actually want to be in.
This isn’t a generic “how to pitch Tier-1 VCs” event.
This is a candid, operator-led conversation about what founders are really dealing with right now: tightening investor bars, higher traction expectations, capital efficiency pressure, and the uncomfortable decisions that come after the check clears.
You’ll hear directly from founders and investors who are in the trenches, building, deploying capital, and scaling companies in AI, robotics, and deep tech, not repeating last cycle’s playbook.
Expect real stories, real mistakes, and real takeaways you can act on immediately.
🗓 Agenda
2:00 – 2:15 PM — Arrival + Curated Networking
Not speed networking.
Meet founders actively raising, recently funded operators, and investors deploying capital in Q1 — intentionally curated, no spray-and-pray.
2:15 – 3:15 PM — Lightning Founder Pitches (📩 Apply to Pitch here)
6 founders · 5 minutes each · unfiltered feedback
This is for founders who want signal, not applause.
Live feedback from operators & investors
What works now vs. what’s outdated
How your story actually lands in today’s market
Especially valuable if you’re raising in January or refining your narrative before serious conversations.
3:15 – 4:15 PM — Fireside Chat: Raising & Scaling When the Bar Is Higher
What founders don’t talk about — but should
Featuring:
Benny Liao — Principal @ Acron Pacific Venture
Wesley Zheng — Founder & CEO @ POSH Robotics
Sanjay Velappan — Investor @ Berkeley Skydeck
Kevin Good — Founder & CEO @ MetaLearner
Moderated by:
Adam Cai, CEO @ Numix
We’ll dig into:
What investors are actually underwriting in Q1 (and what they’re quietly filtering out)
How founders are de-risking before the next raise — product, revenue, and ops
The new expectations around traction, metrics, and storytelling in 2026
Hard decisions founders regret after fundraising — hiring, burn, pricing, focus
How deep-tech, AI, and robotics founders think about capital efficiency differently
No theory. No hype. Just lessons from people who’ve made the calls.
4:15 – 5:00 PM — Open Networking + Food & Drinks
Founder-to-founder and founder-to-investor conversations that go beyond surface-level intros.
Come with questions. Leave with clarity.
Who This Event Is For
✔ Founders building AI, robotics, deep-tech, or technical products
✔ Teams raising soon or adjusting after a recent round
✔ Operators who care about execution, not vanity metrics
🚫 Not for generic pitch-deck tourists or passive listeners
Parking
There will be ample parking available in both the front and back of the building, so parking should not be a concern. If anything changes or the lot reaches capacity, we’ll notify attendees in advance with clear guidance.
About Our Partners
Numix (www.numix.co) is building AI-powered R&D tax credit automation and full-stack accounting for startups — from bookkeeping and tax to fractional CFO support — to make accounting and finance less painful for founders.
ProsGrow AI builds one-click Optimization Agents for enterprise AI inference. Our proprietary optimization system automatically benchmarks, tunes, and deploys AI workloads to improve throughput, reduce latency, and lower infrastructure costs across heterogeneous compute. Learn more at ProsGrow.AI and follow our LinkedIn for the latest updates.
Onelin Capital Corporation is an investment firm with a portfolio that includes companies like Robinhood and Carta, among others with significant exits and growth trajectories. Their track record includes multiple unicorns and IPOs in tech — reflecting deep engagement in venture markets across categories.
UC Berkeley SkyDeck is UC Berkeley’s official startup accelerator and incubator, supporting hundreds of startups across industries. According to PitchBook’s 2025 rankings, UC Berkeley has once again been named the top university globally for producing venture-backed startups founded by undergraduate alumni—surpassing Stanford, Harvard, and MIT—with 1,650 companies and 1,804 founder.