FutureLab: Fireside Chat with Marc Manara, OpenAI
🚀 Building Defensible AI Companies
Building an impressive AI product has become easier.
Building one that customers repeatedly use, trust and pay for has not.
As frontier models become increasingly capable and accessible, building with AI has never been easier. The real challenge has shifted from building with AI to building businesses that remain differentiated because of it.
FutureLab by Newton School of Technology is bringing together a curated group of founders and technology leaders for an intimate fireside conversation with Marc Manara, Head of Startups at OpenAI, moderated by Pratik Poddar, Partner at Nexus Venture Partners.
Through his work with startups around the world, Marc has a front-row seat to how AI companies are evolving, from early experimentation to enduring businesses. We’ll use that vantage point to unpack the decisions that shape defensibility, customer value and long-term growth.
What we'll explore
Why AI alone is no longer a competitive advantage and what creates defensibility as models become increasingly commoditized
The product decisions separating enduring AI companies from short-lived AI demos
What startups should build themselves versus leverage from frontier model providers
Building for long-term customer value in an AI-first world
Emerging opportunities OpenAI is seeing across the global startup ecosystem
Format & Event Details
A fireside chat with Marc, followed by audience Q&A, open discussion and networking.
Doors open at 4 PM. The fireside begins at 4:30 PM sharp and runs for 60 minutes.
📅 Date : 6th August, 2026
📍Location : Bangalore
Who's this for?
Founders and CXOs of AI-native startups
CTOs, senior product and engineering leaders building AI products
Seats are intentionally limited to keep the room high-signal. Apply to attend!
✨ Private Founder Session with Marc
Before the main event, 10 selected founders will join Marc for a private 30-minute conversation.
An opportunity to discuss your product, strategy and toughest questions in a small-group setting.
Select "Interested in the Private Founder Session" while registering to be considered.
About FutureLab
FutureLab by Newton School of Technology is an invite-only community that brings together founders, technology leaders and builders for candid conversations on the shifts shaping technology, talent and innovation.
Our past editions have hosted engineering leaders from Microsoft, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Flipkart, Paytm, MoEngage, Razorpay, CleverTap, CodeRabbit, Zeta, Truecaller, among others.
Want to refer a founder, engineering or product leader who should be part of this conversation?
Share the invite link above.
About The Product Folks
The Product Folks is one of the world's largest volunteer-driven communities of product builders, leaders and founders who want to shape the future and grow together. We host events, mixers, dinners & more across 30+ cities globally.