OC AI Builders: Beyond Frontier Models
What are you building with open and smaller models?
Join Orange County AI builders for an evening of working demos and candid technical discussion. We'll explore applications powered by open-weight models, small language models, and specialized models—and the practical reasons people choose them.
See the application, hear why the builder picked that model, and learn what worked, what failed, and what they would change. Projects can run locally, on your own infrastructure, or through services such as Nebius Token Factory. Early experiments are welcome.
What you might see
Agents and workflow automations using smaller models Local or private AI assistants Document extraction and other focused applications Fine-tuned models for a specific task Systems that choose different models for different jobs
Have something to show
Tell us about it when you register. Include what you've built, the model(s) it uses, and one interesting result or tradeoff. We're planning short demos of about 7 minutes followed by questions; we'll follow up with selected presenters to confirm their slots. A rough working prototype is welcome—you don't need a polished presentation.
You're also welcome to come watch, ask questions, and meet other builders.
Agenda
5:00–5:30 PM Arrival, food, drinks, and conversation
5:30–5:45 PM — Welcome and an introduction to Nebius Token Factory and the new AI Builder Program
5:456:45 PM — Builder demos and Q&A
6:457:00 PM Open discussion: model choices, costs, limitations, and lessons
7:00–8:00 PM Networking, follow-up demos, and conversations
Who should attend
Engineers, founders, researchers, and curious builders interested in practical AI applications and the tradeoffs behind model choices.
Bring a laptop if you'd like to share your project or explore alongside other builders. Food and drinks will be provided.
This event is presented by Vivek Haldar, a proud Nebius Fellow, with support from Nebius. Interested in joining the Nebius Fellows community or partnering on future events? Learn more: https://nebius.com/fellows
Explore the new AI Builder Program: https://dev.nebius.com/builders