DaVinci Cafe--AI Under Fire: Security, Trust, and the Next Wave
About Event Series
In a world driven by rapid technological shifts, innovation thrives at the convergence of disciplines.
By bringing together founders, researchers, and industry leaders across AI infrastructure and applications, we aim to foster deeper conversations and meaningful collaborations.
Welcome to DaVinci Cafe 2026 AI Event Series — a space where builders, thinkers, and investors connect and shape the future of intelligent systems together.
About This Event
As AI agents rapidly evolve from copilots into autonomous systems, the cybersecurity landscape is undergoing structural transformation.
How do we secure systems where agents communicate, reason, and take actions autonomously?
Will we see a new generation of security companies built specifically for agentic systems?
This session brings together founders and AI leaders to explore:
• Security challenges in the age of AI agents
• Infrastructure shifts required for agent-native environments
• Startup opportunities emerging in next-gen cybersecurity
Join us for an evening of discussion and networking with founders, builders, and ecosystem partners.
🗓️ Agenda
Date: February 24th, 2026
Location: Palo Alto
5:00 – 5:30 PM: Check-in & networking
5:30 – 6:30 PM: Speaker panel discussion
6:30 – 7:30 PM: Open networking 🍕🍺
This event will include light appetizers, wine/beer and non-alcoholic beverages, generously provided by our sponsor Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
🎙️ Speakers
Founder, Reinforce Labs
Anish Das Sarma is the Founder & CEO of Reinforce Labs, building next-generation AI systems focused on reinforcement learning and advanced agent capabilities for enterprise applications.
A seasoned technology leader with over 15 years of experience in software engineering and machine learning, Anish previously led large-scale AI and engineering organizations at Google and Airbnb, where his teams worked on trust, safety, and fraud prevention systems used at a global scale.
Earlier, he co-founded Trooly, a machine-learning trust platform later acquired by Airbnb. Anish holds a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford, has published 40+ research papers, authored a book on data integration, and holds multiple patents in data and AI systems.
Founder & CEO, Elisity
Burjiz Pithawala is the Founder & CEO of Elisity, pioneering identity-based security architecture that enables enterprises to secure access across modern, distributed networks and cloud environments.
With over 20 years of experience across startups and Fortune 50 companies, Burjiz has led global engineering, product, and business organizations across networking, cloud infrastructure, SaaS, and enterprise software, building and scaling multi-million-dollar product lines and teams worldwide.
Prior to founding Elisity, he held senior leadership roles across networking and enterprise technology companies, driving large-scale platform and infrastructure innovation. He is passionate about building high-impact teams and bringing transformative security technologies to market.
Client Services & Endpoint Security, UC Davis
Glenn Cruz leads client services and endpoint security operations at UC Davis, supporting mission-critical IT infrastructure serving thousands of faculty, staff, and students across the university.
With over 20 years of experience building and scaling enterprise IT organizations, he has led teams supporting environments with tens of thousands of users while managing multi-million-dollar budgets and delivering measurable operational improvements across uptime, service delivery, and cost efficiency.
Beyond traditional IT leadership, Glenn plays a critical role in life-safety and operational resilience initiatives, serving as a technical advisor for public safety systems and leading business continuity efforts that ensure organizations remain operational during crises and large-scale disruptions.
About the hosts & sponsors
Hosts
DaVinci Café: Where thinkers, creators, and visionaries from every industry connect, collaborate, and shape the future. Find your tribe, your partners, and your inspiration.
Sponsors
LDV Partners: A deep tech venture capital fund in Silicon Valley. LDV is named in honor of Leonardo Da Vinci, who approached the world with a fearless ambition to bring multiple disciplines together for disruptive innovation.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP: An international law firm supporting technology companies, founders, and investors through venture financing, corporate, and innovation-driven growth. We appreciate their continued partnership and support in hosting our events.
Notes
This event may be photographed or recorded for community and marketing purposes.
Due to limited capacity, registration approval may be required.