How AI-Native Companies Are Built: From Voice Interfaces to Growth, Talent and Operations
Frontier Signals #02: The AI-Native Founder Stack
How Founders Build Faster—and What VCs Want to Fund
What does it take to turn AI into a product people use, trust and pay for? Join founders, builders and investors for a live Voiskey demo and three conversations about real business adoption, the next input layer for agents, and what investors look for beyond an impressive demo.
Meet leaders from AgentX, Nexad, Unlimit, Yummy Future and Voiskey, alongside investors from Acorn Pacific Ventures, Milemark Capital, Sixty Degree Capital, Plug and Play, and Pacific Summit Ventures.
📅 Thursday, October 1, 2026
🕔 Registration: 5:00 PM · Program: 5:30–8:30 PM PDT
📍 AWS Builder Loft · First Market Tower, 525 Market St Entrance, San Francisco, CA 94105
Presented by Voiskey. Supported by AWS. Hosted by PopPopTech.
🗓️ Agenda
All times are Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
5:00–5:30 PM · Registration & Arrival
Check in, settle in and meet fellow founders and builders.
5:30–5:35 PM · Opening Remarks
5:35–6:10 PM · Panel 1 — From AI Tools to Real Business
How do AI products earn a place in real customer workflows? A conversation about input friction, trust and commercial adoption.
Moderator: Benny Liao · Acorn Pacific Ventures
Panelists: Xuelai (Robin) Wang · AgentX; Jason Hu · Nexad; Wolf Ruzicka · Chief Commercial Officer, Unlimit
6:10–6:25 PM · Voiskey Keynote + Live Demo
Shimiao Huang · Product Lead, Voiskey
6:25–6:55 PM · Panel 2 — The Next Input Layer: From Voice to Agent Action
How will voice, context and human control shape the way we work with agents—from software to real-world systems?
Moderator: Adela Jamal · Milemark Capital
Panelists: Garrett Yan · Co-founder, Yummy Future; Shimiao Huang · Voiskey
6:55–7:00 PM · Short Break & Stage Reset
7:00–7:40 PM · Panel 3 — Beyond the Demo: What VCs Back
What separates a compelling AI feature from a durable company? Investors discuss evidence of customer demand, defensibility and commercial adoption.
Moderator: Adela Jamal · Milemark Capital
Panelists: Brett Liu · Sixty Degree Capital; Floren Van de Velde · Plug and Play; Andrew Maywah · Pacific Summit Ventures
7:40–7:50 PM · Closing Remarks & Lucky Draw 🎁
7:50–8:30 PM · Founder, Builder & Investor Networking
Compare notes, ask follow-up questions and meet potential collaborators.
🤝 Who Should Attend
Founders building AI applications, agents and enterprise tools
Engineers and product leaders turning AI capabilities into useful workflows
Growth and operations leaders evaluating AI adoption
Investors exploring the next generation of AI companies
Come with a question about what you’re building. Leave with ideas, perspectives and new connections.
🎟️ Registration & Arrival
Please complete the required AWS registration in addition to your Luma RSVP:
Register with AWS Builder Loft
All guests must be 18+ and bring a valid government-issued physical photo ID for check-in. Digital IDs are not accepted.
San Francisco traffic can be heavy, so please allow extra travel time. There is no on-site parking, and bikes and scooters are not permitted inside the building. Consider parking farther away and taking a taxi or rideshare for the final leg.
🎁 Try Voiskey
Download Voiskey, sign up and use it once, then claim a small gift at the event, while supplies last.