Inside AI-First Startups: Turning Models into Products

​About the Event

​In this session, we’ll go behind the scenes with three founders building AI-first startups. We’ll discuss infrastructure to applications, unpack how to create moats in a rapidly developing market, and how to scale intelligent systems in production.

​The event will bring the most value to founders, operators, and engineers who are building (with) AI products.

​💬 The Panel

​Ali el Hassouni — Founder, MarvelX

• ​Former Head of Data & AI at bunq, PhD in AI (VU Amsterdam).

• ​Backed by EQT | Plug & Play

​Niek Hogenboom — Co-Founder, Minimal AI (YC S25)

• ​YC-backed founder building AI agents for e-commerce customer support.

​Robert Hommes — Founder, Moyai

• ​Former Lead Staff AI Engineer at Proofpoint (via Tessian acquisition) and Data Scientist at Adyen.

• ​Backed by SpeedInvest | Galion.exe | NVIDIA

​🧩 What We’ll Cover

• ​From model to market: How to go from a technical breakthrough to a product customers actually use

• ​Moats & defensibility: How AI-first startups protect themselves in a world of open models

• ​Product trade-offs: What to build in-house vs. what to leverage from the ecosystem

• ​Keeping up with the frontier: How teams stay ahead with the latest infra, models and frameworks

​⚙️ Format

• ​Panel Discussion (45 min): Inside stories from founders building AI-native startups

• ​Audience Q&A (15 min): Open discussion

• ​Drinks & Networking (1 hrs): Connect with others

​🐳 About Whale

​We help the next generation of operators and founders accelerate their growth through top-tier learning and a high-impact, peer-to-peer network.

​Through expert-led sessions, hands-on training, and curated connections, we create a space where leaders learn from each other, share what works (and what doesn’t), and build together.

​🔒 Spots are limited — apply below to request an invite.