Stanford Founders Demo Day | Spring 2026
✨ Stanford Founders Demo Day – Spring 2026 ✨
Join us for Stanford Founders Demo Day, an exciting lineup of startup demos, fresh ideas, and a chance to get an early look at creative projects tackling real problems across diverse sectors.
Last year, the startups we featured went on to collectively raise around 50M and are continuing to scale their impact!
Whether you’re building, investing, or simply curious about what’s emerging out of our Stanford community, this is a great chance to meet the founders behind the ideas and connect with others in the room. Come for the demos, stay for the conversations, and leave with a few new people to know.
🔥 What Makes This Different
(1) REAL TALK IN THE ROOM
This isn’t passive networking. You’ll be in the room with 50 curated founders, with 3 dedicated sessions purely for meaningful, high-signal conversations.
No noise. Just real connections.
(2) A FULL-STACK, HIGH-DENSITY DAY
Keynotes. Panels. Startup pitches. Booths.
Featuring speakers like James Landay (Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, Co-Director Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI)), Shaun Johnson , Gloria Zhang(DCM) and more.
🌲 About the Community
Hosted by Stanford’s largest startup community across graduate students, PhDs, alumni, and faculty and this has quickly become one of the most high-quality demo days in the Bay Area.
Startups from Pre-seed → Series A will take the stage.
Last year’s founders went on to raise from:
a16z, Khosla, First Round, Pear, NFX, Floodgate, YC, Breakthrough Energy… and more.
Stanford Founders Demo Day 2026 Agenda
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Social & Coffee
9:00 AM – 9:05 AM
Opening Remarks
Jenny Ji, President, Stanford Founders
9:05 AM – 9:25 AM
Keynote
James Landay — Professor of Computer Science, Stanford University
Co-Director, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI)
9:25 AM – 9:40 AM
Featured Talk
Shaun Johnson — Investor, Backing early-stage AI and data-driven companies, with a focus on technical founders building category-defining platforms.
9:40 AM – 10:45 AM
Startup Pitch Block I
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM
Networking & Coffee
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
Founder Fireside Chat: The year one playbook: building for a new social era
Speakers
Celeste Amadon - CEO and Founder of Known
Zoe Lynch - CEO and Founder of Variant
Moderator: Francesco Marchioni
12:00 PM – 1:15 PM
Startup Pitch Block II
1:15 PM – 1:45 PM
Networking & Lunch
1:45 PM – 2:20 PM
Investor Panel: Capital Meets Intelligence: How VCs Evaluate Founders in the AI Era
Speakers
Gloria Zhang — Vice President, DCM Ventures
Investing in early-stage startups across consumer, SaaS, and AI
Shannon McClenaghan
Former CEO of StartX
15 years supporting Stanford founders through early-stage startup acceleration, founder development, and venture ecosystem building.
Chris Bradbury — Principal, Alumni Ventures
Backing early-stage founders through one of the world’s largest venture platforms
Nick Landolfi — Investor, Unusual Ventures
Focused on go-to-market strategy and early-stage company building
Vandon Duong — Principal, DCVC
Investing in deep tech, AI infrastructure, and science-driven startups
Moderator
Sophie Ren — Founder, AeoBox.AI & ChatSlide.AI
Building an AI-native learning world where knowledge becomes playable, personalized, and alive.
2:20 PM – 3:15 PM
Startup Pitch Block III
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Networking & Coffee
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM
Featured Talk : What makes a great founder in the age of super-capable AI?
Patrick Chung — General Partner, Xfund
Backing early-stage founders across technology sectors, with a focus on building enduring, category-defining companies.
4:00 PM – 4:10 PM
Closing Remarks
Who Should Join?
🔴 Founders (Stanford-Affiliated) Actively building, raising, or hiring? Apply to pitch your startup! ⏳ Applications accepted on a rolling basis, with (Final Deadline: April 19) 👉 https://www.stanfordfounders-demoday.com/
🔴 Investors Ready to discover the next breakout startup? Get access to the pitch list and investor-only updates. 👉 Open Google Form
🔴 Observers (Students, Alumni, Operators) RSVP on Luma to attend as a guest and get all the updates. Please use your stanford.edu email address to register if applicable: 👉 https://luma.com/achgqxtn
Parking Instructions
Address: 436 Mayfield Ave, Stanford, CA
How to Pay for Parking
Stanford uses the ParkMobile app for visitor parking. Please follow the steps below:
Download the ParkMobile App in advance from the App Store or Google Play.
Park in any available spot in Lot 7239 (Tresidder Lot). If this lot is full, you may park in any other Stanford visitor lot.
Open the ParkMobile App, enter the zone number (7239), and pay for your selected duration.
Parking Rates:
Hourly: $4.46/hour
Daily Maximum: $35.68
Please note that a $0.40 transaction fee is charged for each ParkMobile payment.
Important Reminders:
You must pay immediately after parking to avoid a citation.
Visitor lots are first-come, first-served. Please allow extra time in case Lot 7239 is full.
Payment is required between 8:00am and 4:00pm Mon-Fri (unless otherwise posted).
For more information please visit: Stanford Visitor Parking.
Directions from Parking to the Venue
Park in the Tresidder lot.
Once parked, follow the red dotted pathway toward the event building (see attached image).
You will reach a spiral staircase leading up to the Tresidder Oak Lounge.
Go up the staircase and you will immediately see our team ready to check you in.
Founders Bridge — Pre-Demo Day Accelerator
A 3-week program (Apr 21 – May 7) for international and cross-border student founders preparing for Demo Day. Weekly workshops, 1:1 mentorship, pitch practice with guest VCs, and visa/legal guidance.
Week 1: Founder Identity & Cross-Market Vision Week 2: Legal, Operations & Go-to-Market Week 3: Pitch Refinement & Demo Day Prep
Open to Stanford students building startups with a cross-border angle — any stage, any industry.
Full program details: https://www.stanfordfounders-demoday.com/demo-day/accelerator
To join, apply through the Demo Day application and select "Yes" on the Founders Bridge question: https://www.stanfordfounders-demoday.com/interview
📍 Event Details
May 7 | 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Tresidder Oak Lounge, Stanford