For the First Time Ever: Siamak & Babak Hodjat — Live
For the First Time Ever: Siamak & Babak Hodjat — Live
Before ChatGPT. Before Alexa. Before the world decided AI was the future, two brothers were already building it.
On July 25th in San Francisco, Second Group is hosting a live conversation with Siamak Hodjat and Babak Hodjat. Two brothers. 25+ years of building real AI before it was the buzzword of Silicon Valley. This is the first time these two have sat down together live.
Babak founded Dejima in 1998, the multi-agent startup whose natural-language technology the assistant category traces back to, and he is the lead inventor on the patent behind it, one of his 21 granted or pending AI patents. He went on to co-found Sentient Technologies, which ran one of the first fully AI-driven hedge funds, and today serves as CTO of AI at Cognizant.
Siamak left his PhD to join Dejima, then helped build Siri, acquired by Apple under Steve Jobs. Then Viv, acquired by Samsung to power Bixby. Then GamePlanner.AI, co-founded with Siri co-founder Adam Cheyer, acquired by Airbnb in a deal reported near $200M, his third exit.
These are not people who talk about AI. They build it.
30 seats. Curated room. If you're in the Bay Area and you're serious about where AI is actually going, this is the room to be in.
This is not a panel. This is not a conference. It's an intimate conversation with two of Silicon Valley's most respected builders, in front of a handpicked audience of 30–50 entrepreneurs, operators, and investors who are serious about what's coming next in AI. Moderator Caroline Hoogland, CEO of Human Agency, will not be asking softball questions.
What to expect:
How the Hodjat Brothers think about the current AI moment — vs. what they've seen before
What founders get wrong when they build in waves of hype
The lessons from 25+ years that still don't get talked about enough
Doors open at 11:30am
Space is extremely limited. This is an application-only event, we're building the room intentionally.
Apply for your spot below.