Expand North Star ’26 Cities – San Francisco Edition
We are pleased to announce that Expand North Star, the world's largest startup and investor event, is coming to the Bay Area.
Join us at the Silicon Valley Bank Experience Center for Expand North Star ’26 Cities – San Francisco Edition, an evening of founder stories, VC insights, and live startup pitching.
The event will feature the exciting Shark Island SF Qualifying Round pitch format, where the winner earns flight, accommodation, exhibit space, and guaranteed entry into the Dubai Grand Semi-Finals at Expand North Star in December 2026 for a chance to win up to $200K. (Startup application HERE)
Lineup:
David Hefter, AI Strategy for Investing at BlackRock
Chris Yeh, Founding Partner, Blitzscaling Ventures, and Co-Author of the International Best Selling book Blitzscaling
Sydney Sykes, Head of VC Partnerships, NVIDIA, and Co-Chair of the Board and Co-Founder at BLCK VC
Andy Tsao, Head of Global Gateway, Silicon Valley Bank
Lynda Chin, Founder, President and CEO, Apricity Health and Adjunct Professor, Dell Medical School
Cindy Bi, General Partner, CapitalX
Hossam Tewfik, Head User & Brand Creator Monetization Product, Meta
Leonard Lee, Head of Accelerator Ops, 500 Global
Elina Tsao, Global Brand Director, Plaud AI
Nicole Patrice De Member, Founder, OS Projects
Zarko Ackovik, Group Commercial Director at Dubai World Trade Centre
Kevin Jiang, Founder and CEO, Mangusta VC
Amsal Naseem, Founding Engineer, Newton
Annija Eizenarma, Exited Founder
Mariane Bekker, Head of Developer Relations at You.com
Pascal Haider, Chief Executive Officer, RIX Group
Mo Salah, Founding Partner, Pitlane Ventures (Host)
Agenda:
3:30 - Check-in
4:00 - Talk: Opportunities in Dubai: Zarko Ackovik, Dubai World Trade Centre
4:15 - Fireside Chat: Powering the Next Generation of Startups and Venture Capital: Sydney Sykes, NVIDIA; Moderated by Mo Salah, Pitlane Ventures
4:35 Startups Pitches Round 1; Hosted by Pascal Haider, RIX
5:05 - Fireside Chat: AI Is Ready; Healthcare Data Isn’t: Lynda Chin, Apricity Health, and Dell Medical School; Moderated by Nicole Patrice De Member, OS Projects
- 5:25 - Panel: The AI Bubble Myth: What’s Real, What’s Overhyped: Andy Tsao, Silicon Valley Bank, Kevin Jiang, Mangusta VC, Chris Yeh, Blitzscaling Ventures, Stanford University, Cindy Bi, CapitalX; Moderated by Amy Benziger, The Aspen Institute
6:05 - Startups Pitches - Final Round (Judges: Mo Salah, Pitlane Ventures, Hossam Tewfik, Meta, Andy Tsao, SVB, Amsal Naseem, Newton, Annija Eizenarma, and Mariane Bekker, You.com)
6:25 - Fireside Chat: Unicorns Everywhere: Leonard Lee, 500 Global; Moderated by Elina Tsao, Plaud AI
6:40 - Fireside Chat: How AI Is Changing Investment Decision-Making: David Hefter, BlackRock; Moderated by Mo Salah, Pitlane Ventures
6:55 - Closing Remarks and Winner Announcement - Zarko, Pascal
7:00 - Reception and Networking
8:00 - Home Sweet Home
Attending Expand North Star '26 - San Francisco Edition will provide you with insights from the Bay Area leaders and also practical insights into what it takes to enter, operate, partner, invest, or speak within Dubai’s innovation ecosystem and how to be part of Expand North Star (ENS) 2026, the world’s largest tech and startup event.
Don't miss the opportunity to begin your pathway to Dubai, the global center of scale, innovation, and opportunity.