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- SF IRL - Apr 20th, 2026
SF IRL - Apr 20th, 2026
A curated newsletter showcasing the top tech & startup events in San Francisco
Jonathan Chang
April 20, 2026
Hi SF IRL! There's a ton of vibrance and energy coming back into the city and at SF IRL, we are excited to be a part of it. Excited to come with you all with some great events for Issue #191.
I'm Jonathan, the creator of SF IRL. I've been a Bay Area resident all my life and moved into San Francisco about 5 years ago. My vision for SF IRL is simple. Showcase the best tech + startup events in SF and to connect all of our builders and investors together. We are a growing community having over 10000+ subscribers. As we keep growing, if you enjoy reading these, please share this with your friends so we can hit 11,000 readers. As always, SF IRL is one of my many side projects. If you like to be involved in helping, please shoot me an email!
Lightfield is an AI-native CRM that remembers everything, then acts on it. It automatically captures and organizes every customer conversation across email, meetings, and notes, creating your team’s collective customer memory. Try Lightfield free today.
Excited to say SF IRL has partnered with ElevenLabs to give founders 33 million in ElevenLabs credits or equivalent to $4k to build voice AI agents.
Check Out the ElevenLabs Startup Grant & use code 11SFIRL723 for expedited review. We believe voice is the most natural way to communicate, and the future of human-AI interaction depends on making those conversations feel real. The ElevenLabs Grants Program exists to give early-stage startups and small teams the tools they need to build the future of AI audio with the best tools available, without cost being a blocker. ElevenLabs is the complete conversational agents platform, so whether a startup is creating an AI tutor, support assistant, or the next generation of voice-powered game characters, the grant will provide them with 12 months and 33 million characters of free access to ElevenLabs' cutting-edge AI audio, equivalent to over 600 hours of audio.
Sponsored
Jun 2nd-3rd, 2026 - Microsoft Build - San Francisco
Location: Keynotes (Palace of Fine Arts); Sessions and Expo (Fort Mason)
What: This hands-on, no-fluff event is for professional developers and engineers to immerse in the latest advancements across Azure, GitHub, and AI development. After 10 long years we are coming back to San Francisco for 2 days of building together. Learn more and register now. (#MicrosoftPartner)
I’ve made a form to connect the best founders raising with my list of VCs. If you are a founder raising your next round and want to potentially be featured to investors in the SF IRL network, please fill out this form.
I’m launching a newsletter that will feature the top founders looking to hire, founders looking for their cofounder, and operators that are looking for their next role. If you are interested in being featured, fill this form here.
You can subscribe to Day Zero here.
Events Coming Up
Location: San Francisco
Time: 1-5:30pm
What: This is a special gathering at the intersection of AI, climate, and Indigenous knowledge systems. Mitákuye Oyásʼiŋ.
During San Francisco Climate Week, we are convening a group of up to 60 leaders and practitioners across technology, climate, finance, and Indigenous governance for a focused, working session on a critical question:
Apr 21st, 2026 - SF Climate Week Breakfast Ride with Union Peak VC, G2 Venture Partners, and Congruent Ventures
Location: San Francisco
Time: 7:30-10:30am
What: Join us for our 16th Taco Tuesday Bike Ride -- SF Climate Week breakfast edition!
What: A group ride with founders, investors, and friends in the climate and deep tech spaces. Ride and then stay and network over breakfast burritos and coffee.
Time: We'll meet up around 7:30 AM and take off at 8:00 AM. Details on the location to follow in an email.
Apr 22nd, 2026 - Break My AI
Location: San Francisco
Time: 5-8pm
What: Break My AI is where AI builders put their product to the test, live with real users.
Bring your product! It can be anything from a side project to a venture backed startup. No demos. No decks. Only something tangible that people can try, either on your device or their own, to provide feedback.
Apr 22nd, 2026 - Design Chat with Rasmus Andersson
Location: San Francisco
Time: 4:30-6pm
What: South Park Commons is delighted to host Rasmus Andersson for our Design Chat series with Soleio.
Event Details
4:30pm: Doors Open
5pm-6pm: Design Chat
Apr 23rd, 2026 - Brex x Jack & Jill Cocktail Hour
Location: San Francisco
Time: 5-7pm
What: Join Brex and Jack and Jill for an intimate Happy Hour bringing together a thoughtful mix of leaders and builders from the startup community.
Spend the evening enjoying great drinks, good food, engaging conversation, and meaningful connections in a relaxed setting. Come unwind, share ideas, and connect with others who are shaping what’s next.
Apr 23rd, 2026 - SF Private Founder x Funder Billiards Cup feat. Innovation Endeavors ($2B+ AUM) & Bling Capital ($700M+ AUM)
Location: San Francisco
Time: 6-8pm
What: Some of the best conversations happen away from a screen and desk. We're taking over a private billiards room for a night of high-signal conversations and a little friendly competition.
The format is simple: you'll be placed in a small, curated group — tight enough that every conversation actually goes somewhere. Then you play. First to sink 3 balls wins, games move fast. Semis run with two teams per table, and your team's winner advances to the final.
Apr 23rd, 2026 - SF Marketing & GTM Leaders Dinner with Conversion
Location: San Francisco
Time: 6:30-9:30pm
What: Hey there 👋 I'm Ishaan, Head of Growth at Conversion. We’re bringing together a curated group of AI Marketing & GTM leaders in SF for a relaxed evening and we'd love to have you.
Swap stories, enjoy great food, and make real connections. No panels, no pitches, just a great vibe.
If you’re working in Marketing / Ops / GTM and are interested in AI, come swing by!
Apr 23rd, 2026 - -1 to Luma AI with Amit Jain
Location: San Francisco
Time: 4:30-6pm
What: South Park Commons is delighted to host Amit Jain, CEO & Founder of Luma AI for a fireside chat as part of our -1 to Now series!
Event Details
4:30pm: Doors Open
5:00-6:00pm: Fireside Chat
Apr 23rd, 2026 - From Idea to Capital: Navigating Pre-seed Fundraising
Location: San Francisco
Time: 4-5pm
What: Raising your first round is messy. There’s no clear playbook and most of the advice out there is either outdated or too generic.
We’re bringing together Bob Rosin (Antler) and Peter Walker (Carta) for a candid conversation on how pre-seed fundraising actually works today.
We’ll dig into real data from Carta’s platform (tens of thousands of startups) alongside what early stage investors are seeing on the ground so you can understand what’s actually happening in the market right now.
Apr 23rd, 2026 - Agent Builders Breakfast - Founders & Builders in SOMA, SF
Location: San Francisco
Time: 8:00-9:30am
What: Agent Builders Breakfast - Founders & Builders in SOMA, SF
Kick off your morning with conversations and impromptu demos with others navigating the chaos of building AI Agents inside of tech companies.
Join our network of experienced Founders, Product Managers, and Engineering leaders for Agent Builders Breakfast. A new regular casual, social gathering for people actively building AI agents inside of tools like Claude Code, Cursor, OpenClaw. Bring your latest skill to share for others to use.
Apr 24th, 2026 - Powerhouse Presents: A Live Recording of Watt It Takes with Alex Honnold - Free Solo Climber & Founder of the Honnold Foundation
Location: San Francisco
Time: 9-11am
What: At this year’s SF Climate Week, Powerhouse will host a landmark live conversation with Alex Honnold; one of the most iconic athletes of our generation.
Honnold is the climber behind the Academy Award–winning documentary Free Solo and the first person in history to free solo El Capitan, an achievement widely regarded as one of the most extraordinary feats in modern sport. His ascent permanently expanded our understanding of human focus, risk, and possibility.
Apr 25th, 2026 - Small Business Innovation Sprint Hackathon｜ Plug and Play Foundation
Location: Sunnyvale
Time: 9am-9pm
What: Plug & Play Foundation Hackathon — AI for Small Business
12 hours. 2 tracks. Bay Area.
Small businesses are the backbone of our communities — and they're being left behind by the agentic AI wave. We're here to change that.
Join us for Plug & Play Foundation's first-ever hackathon, where builders, designers, and problem-solvers come together to create real tools for real businesses.
Apr 25th, 2026 - Self-improving skills for remote Agents
Location: San Francisco
Time: 12-6pm
What: 🧠 AI-Memory Hackathon #2 🚀
This hackathon is for developers who want to build AI agents that learn from experience and self-improve over time.
Apr 27th, 2026 - SF | Claude for Technical Founders
Location: San Francisco
Time: 5-8:30pm
What: 🚀 Ship with Claude. Fund with G2C Ventures.
Hosted by AI Collective & G2C Ventures | Sponsored by Anthropic
The best Claude-native companies are being founded right now. The builders in this room will be among them.
This is a curated evening for developers, technical founders, and domain experts who are done waiting and ready to ship. Expect real conversations, hands-on time with Claude, and a room full of people who move fast.
Apr 27th, 2026 - European Tech Connect: Rooftop Party
Location: San Francisco
Time: 5:30-11pm
What: We’re bringing a touch of European energy to a San Francisco rooftop.
A curated group of founders, VCs, and operators will gather as the sun sets over the Bay.
The evening begins with a European Tech Connect Mixer from 5:30 to 7:00 PM, then transitions into a rooftop party as golden hour takes over — with DJ sets, light bites, and a soft disco glow as the city lights come alive.
Join us for an evening of meaningful connections, great atmosphere, and European spirit in San Francisco.
Apr 27th, 2026 - 🍻 AI + Saas Startups: Happy Hour @ Startup Grind
Location: Redwood City
Time: 4-8pm
What: Come join us for a relaxed but high-energy networking event during Startup Grind. This isn't a panel session — it's a room full of ambitious founders, C-suite leaders, and venture capital partners exchanging real stories, practical insights, and future-facing ideas.
We'll dive into how today's fastest-growing startups are:
🤖 Leveraging AI-driven strategies and tools to move faster, smarter, and leaner
📈 Building GTM playbooks that actually scale
💰 Raising capital in a shifting venture market
🚀 Growing from a handful of engineers to 100+ strong teams
🏆 Breaking through $1M ARR milestones
Apr 28th, 2026 - The Agentic Shift: Building the Future of Autonomous Work
Location: San Francisco
Time: 5-8pm
What: The Agentic Shift: Building the Future of Autonomous Work
Agentic AI is ushering in a new era of autonomy — one where systems can reason, plan, and execute complex workflows. This paradigm shift is fundamentally redefining productivity, automating end-to-end processes, and reshaping how we interact with technology in our professional and daily lives.
Apr 29th, 2026 - App Founders Dinner – SF
Location: San Francisco
Time: 7:30-10pm
What: Join us for an intimate dinner bringing together founders, builders, and operators in the mobile app ecosystem.
This is a casual, small-group gathering focused on great food, thoughtful conversations, and meaningful connections with fellow app founders.
Apr 30th, 2026 - Unicorner Presents: SF Seed+ Founders Dinner
Location: San Francisco
Time: 6-9pm
What: We're bringing together 20 seed to Series A founders from our community—founders that we believe have a unicorn trajectory.
SF IRL is Sponsored By
