The Collider: Open Source, Closed Source, Open Weights

​Choosing an AI model is no longer just about picking the one at the top of a benchmark.

​The Collider brings together builders and engineering leaders to discuss the real trade-offs between open-source, closed-source, and open-weight models — from infrastructure and capacity planning to cost, control, reliability, and choosing the right level of capability for the job.

​We’ll hear from:

​Helder Vasconcelos — CTO & Co-Founder at LayerX
Model Selection Is Capacity Planning

​Ricard Castro — Director of Engineering at FanDuel
You Don't Need Frontier AI for Everything

​The sessions will be followed by a moderated roundtable with Filipe Macedo, Founder of API, exploring one central question:

​How do you choose the model that actually fits?

​Expect a practical discussion around:

• ​Open vs. closed vs. open-weight models

• ​Infrastructure, latency and operating costs

• ​Control, deployment and reliability

• ​When smaller models outperform the “frontier by default” approach

• ​How model choice becomes a product and engineering decision

​📍 Vertical Dom Henrique, Porto
📅 15 October 2026
🕡 18:30–20:00
🌍 Event in English

​Built for AI/software engineers, technical founders, product leaders, and infrastructure, platform and data teams making real model decisions.