AI Startup Pitch Night with Early Stage Investors

​We're bringing together early-stage AI founders, investors, and builders for an evening of high-energy pitches, sharp Q&A, and genuine connection, hosted at the AWS GenAI Builder Loft in San Francisco.

​About This Event

​8 pre-seed startups selected from applications, taking the stage to pitch live and get feedbacks from top investors:

• ​5 min pitch

• ​3-5 min live Q&A from our judge panel, per startup

​So you could

• ​Watch 8 live pitches and the Q&A that follows, and see how founders think on their feet and how investors probe a pitch

• ​Network with founders, operators, and investors in the room before and after the pitches

• ​Get a founder's-eye view of what makes a pitch land, useful whether you're building something yourself or just curious how funding decisions get made

​Apply to Pitch

• ​If you want to pitch your startup or project at this event, please fill in this application form

• ​Submission Deadline: Aug. 2, 2026

• ​Finalist Announce: Aug. 3, 2026

​Awards

​Top performing teams walk away with credit prizes, plus the top 1 winner receives an interview opportunity for Antler's next residency batch.

​Judges

​Ryan Green: Principal at Antler. He concentrates on pre-seed investments and bringing exceptional founders to Antler SF. Previously, he was involved in deep-tech and AI investing at AIC. Prior to venture, he led deployment and product development at an IoT startup. He started his career in cybersecurity at Deloitte.

​Gavin Zhu: Investor at Llama Ventures. He focused on early-stage companies. He works with founders across AI agents, developer tools, and infrastructure.

​More judges to announce...

​Agenda

• ​5:00–6:00 PM — Networking

• ​6:00–8:00 PM — Pitches + results

• ​8:00–8:30 PM — Closing networking

​Who should come

• ​Founders building in AI

• ​Investors

• ​Growth and startup leaders

• ​Anyone building in the space who wants to meet the next wave of AI companies.

​Smarter Networking with Walnut AI

​The goals and offers you share during registration will be used to create your Digital Twin, an AI agent that represents you and works behind the scenes to match you with the right fellow attendees. So instead of cold-scanning name tags, you'll walk in already knowing who's worth meeting.(No app to download currently, everything happens through email.)

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​About Walnut AI

​Walnut AI is a human-centered AI infrastructure company dedicated to shaping the future of professional growth in the AI era. It tackles information asymmetry and transforms how individuals manage their professional digital assets, build meaningful relationships, and amplify human capability in professional intelligence and productivity.

​Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/iwalnut-ai/
X: https://x.com/walnutai_
Official Website: https://walnut.ai

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​About Antler

​Antler is a pre-seed fund, the first believer at the inception stage, investing $500K+ as your first institutional check. You can apply for their NYC, ATX, or SF residency here: https://www.antler.co/apply

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​About Llama Ventures

​Llama Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture capital firm partnering with ambitious founders building enduring AI-native companies. We invest across the full intelligence stack—from deep-tech hardware and AI infrastructure to enterprise software, healthcare, fintech, robotics, and consumer applications.

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​Guest Instructions

• ​By registering for this event, you acknowledge that you are 18 years or older and agree to follow the AWS Code of Conduct and the AWS Event Terms and Conditions

• ​It is mandatory to bring valid physical government ID to enter the AWS Builder loft (No Digital IDs will be accepted).

• ​There is no scooter/bike parking available in the building. If you plan to bring one, you will need to find parking options nearby.