Here's everything you need to know!

Today, Brandon will be live at VC Conf — the 19th edition of Max Pog's virtual investor conference — hosting the US and DeepTech breakout networking rooms from 3:00 to 5:00 PM ET. If you've been looking for an opportunity to connect with VC's today.

The event runs all day on Zoom alongside a LinkedIn live stream, with 40+ breakout rooms and 30+ speakers across panels on AI fundability, early-stage trends, and international expansion strategy.

It's free to attend.

How to find Brandon

Join the main Zoom link, click Breakout Rooms in the bottom toolbar, and look for US 4 (first session) and DeepTech (second session).

Brandon will be in both from 3 PM to 5 PM ET. No agenda, no slides, just an open room for founders, investors, and operators who want to have real conversations.

What else is happening in VC Conf

David Cohen, CEO of Techstars (4,900+ investments, 17 unicorns), leads a panel on early-stage funding beyond traditional VC: accelerators, venture studios, and angel syndicates.

Sue Xu of Amino Capital ($1B+ AUM, 17 unicorns) tackles why 99% of AI startups aren't fundable and what the other 1% is actually doing.

Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta, delivers live 2026 funding data pulled from 60,000+ companies, one of the most grounded data drops of the year.

Early-stage fundraising conditions have shifted materially in the first quarter of 2026.

This is one of the few events where you can hear directly from active check-writers about where deal flow is and isn't happening right now.

RSVP for the event here!

Kindo opens its doors to OpenClaw builders

On April 2nd, Kindo and OpenClaw’s builder community are convening at Kindo’s Venice office for an engineering talk and demo of OpenClaw. 

While many are currently experimenting with OpenClaw, Kindo is building the infrastructure that allows enterprises to actually ship and scale secure AI agents.

This meetup is designed for anyone interested in seeing how OpenClaw is built and run in production environments. 

What to Expect

Charlie Hulcher, Kindo founding engineer, will walk through OpenClaw and how to run it securely.

Come see live demos of agentic workflows and connect with the AI community in the heart of Silicon Beach.

Why This Event Matters

Jumping from a basic prompt to a production-ready agent is the hardest challenge in the AI ecosystem right now.

This evening is about peeling back the curtain on how industry leaders are solving for latency, security protocols, and governance.

You can RSVP for the event here.

The Tech newsletter for Engineers who want to stay ahead

Tech moves fast, but you're still playing catch-up?

That's exactly why 200K+ engineers working at Google, Meta, and Apple read The Code twice a week.

Here's what you get:

• Curated tech news that shapes your career - Filtered from thousands of sources so you know what's coming 6 months early.

• Practical resources you can use immediately - Real tutorials and tools that solve actual engineering problems.

• Research papers and insights decoded - We break down complex tech so you understand what matters.

All delivered twice a week in just 2 short emails.

Join 200K+ engineers

Nvidia backed Twelve Labs, $100M raised, opens first LA hackathon to builders

On March 28th-29th, TwelveLabs and Emerging LA are hosting a two-day hackathon at WeWork Playa Vista.

Participants will build on a stack that includes TwelveLabs Marengo and Pegasus via AWS Bedrock.

TwelveLabs is building the video intelligence infrastructure that fixes this. Backed by NVIDIA, Databricks, and Snowflake, and with $107 million raised to date, the company enables machines to search, segment, and analyze video at the semantic level.

What to Expect

Three challenge tracks.

• Archive Intelligence — Make decades of footage searchable and licensable at scale

• Intelligent Segmentation — Automate the editorial and ad placement decisions studios still do by hand

• Compliance Guardian — Build content review infrastructure that doesn't cost $200 an hour

$2,250 in prizes. API credits from AWS, Baseten, and TwelveLabs. Two days to build.

Why This Hackathon Matters

The National Association of Broadcasters convenes in Las Vegas four weeks later.

The conversations that happen at NAB will be shaped by what gets built here. This is where that building starts.

Apply here now.

For more on TwelveLabs — who they are, what they're building, and why NVIDIA backed them — read our previous founder chat with the team here.

The Future of AI in Marketing. Your Shortcut to Smarter, Faster Marketing.

Unlock a focused set of AI strategies built to streamline your work and maximize impact. This guide delivers the practical tactics and tools marketers need to start seeing results right away:

• 7 high-impact AI strategies to accelerate your marketing performance

• Practical use cases for content creation, lead gen, and personalization

• Expert insights into how top marketers are using AI today

• A framework to evaluate and implement AI tools efficiently

Stay ahead of the curve with these top strategies AI helped develop for marketers, built for real-world results.

Download the Free Report

VC Chat Series

Join us for this week’s VC Chat, an open conversation making venture capital accessible to students and early-career professionals.

Get direct answers from an active investor on breaking into VC, how deals get evaluated, and trends shaping the industry.

About Brandon Hoffman

Brandon is a General Partner at Sunset Ventures and founder of Emerging LA, a 14,000+ member community of founders, investors, and operators across LA’s tech ecosystem.

He previously served as an investor & executive at Samsung, an internet analyst at Morgan Stanley. He holds degrees from Wharton, Harvard, and CSU Fullerton.

Emerging LA launched its fellowship program to bridge the gap between students and the VC ecosystem, providing hands-on experience in industry.

Cohort 3 Fellows gathering for our latest Emerging VC Fellowship dinner

What to Expect

A moderated discussion followed by an open Q&A on VC careers, investing, deal evaluation, and industry perspectives.

Interested in gaining real VC experience?

Join the Emerging LA Fellowship Waitlist here.

If you know any students or anyone interested, tell them!

Join our live VC Chat Q&A session

• Friday, March 20rd at 3:00 PM PT (30 mins)

• Attend live to ask questions that will be added to the discussion 

• Register here to join the QnA

Stablecoin leader powering $1B in payments with the crypto super app of Latin America

The Problem

Latin America’s digital economy is booming, but its financial infrastructure isn’t. Freelancers and entrepreneurs juggle multiple apps just to get paid, convert currency, access crypto, and spend globally.

Banks lag. Currencies fluctuate. Crypto platforms focus on trading, not daily use.

The result: friction, high fees, and limited access to modern finance…

The Solution

Belo is a crypto-native financial operating system built specifically for Latin America.

It combines local currency deposits, instant transfers, crypto, yield, and a Mastercard crypto card all in one seamless app.

No switching. No friction. Just one platform to save, earn, and spend.

With 3.1M+ users and $1B+ in 2025 volume, Belo is becoming the financial home for the region’s digital economy.

The Market

Latin America is a $45B+ fintech opportunity, driven by:

• Large unbanked and underbanked populations

• Rapid stablecoin adoption and mobile penetration

• Growing cross-border freelance and remote work

As stablecoins become core payment rails, the platforms that combine crypto infrastructure with everyday usability will define the region’s financial future.

Belo is built for that.

Meet the Founder

Manuel Beaudroit, Belo’s Co-Founder & CEO, is a 3x crypto entrepreneur and early Bitcoin pioneer in Latin America.

Before Belo, he co-founded Bitex, one of the region’s first crypto platforms, and brings nearly a decade of experience navigating regulation and scaling in emerging markets.

Join our live Founder Chat Q&A session

• Tuesday, March 3rd at 1:30 PM PT (60 mins)

• Attend live to ask questions that will be added to the discussion 

• Register here to join the webinar, and you will also get the recording

Let us connect you with the founder

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TL;DR: Issue #064 Summary

• Emerging VC Fellowship (Spring 2026 for college students)

  • Our 2025 Fellows landed roles at Goldman Sachs & Coinbase

  • 250+ applicants last year across top universities

  • Click here to read more, apply, and support

Apply for Emerging VC Fellowship - Spring 2026

This fellowship helped students land at top tech companies & investment firms. Now it’s back for Cohort 3. (Deadline Jan 23rd!)

Liking & commenting on this post is much appreciated to spread the word

What happened in 2025?

With 250+ applicants and another 100+ students on the waitlist, we saw a wide range of interest.

The team worked on live deals for our community syndicate, such as Anthropic, SpaceX, Perplexity, Databricks, Cursor, and xAI.

Prior Fellows have already started to see early signs of success. A few have landed at top firms: Coinbase, Goldman Sachs, Pathway Capital.

What’s new for 2026?

This year, we rolled out two specialized tracks:

• Operations Track (entry-level, open to all) → Apply here

• Investments Track (MBAs & finance professionals) → Apply here 

Are you interested in applying?

• → Click here to read more

• → Find the application link at top comment

• → Leave a reply on the post to let us know you applied

Application Deadline: Friday, Jan 23 at 11:59 PM PT

The fellowship is for students and early-career professionals with a connection to Southern California (from San Diego up to Santa Barbara).

Thank you,
Brandon

Featured Events

Introducing the first AI-native CRM

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With AI at the core, Attio lets you:

• Prospect and route leads with research agents

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The New Standard for At-Home Health

The Problem

Traditional diagnostic testing is often slow, inconvenient, and inaccessible for patients facing stigma or transportation challenges. Before 2020, most clinics lacked the infrastructure for remote testing. When COVID shut down in-person care, the need for accurate, scalable at-home testing became unavoidable.

The Solution

Launched in 2019 out of Cornell Tech, Ash set out to make at-home diagnostics simple and discreet. The company expanded rapidly during COVID to help clinics deliver remote testing. Ash now provides the tech and logistics powering scalable at-home diagnostics, supporting 100+ biomarkers across all 50 states. In recognition of its innovation and impact, Ash was named one of the world’s top health-tech companies by TIME in 2025.

The Market

At-home diagnostics is a fast-growing segment as patients demand privacy and convenience. Providers are shifting to hybrid care and looking for turnkey testing solutions. Ash enables organizations to offer modern at-home diagnostics without building their own infrastructure.

Meet the Founder

Before launching Ash, David Stein built his career across education, tech startups, and public-sector consulting. During his MBA at Cornell Tech, he began studying gaps in diagnostic accessibility, which sparked the idea for Ash.

When COVID hit, Stein led the company’s expansion from STI kits to a full diagnostics platform used by clinics, universities, and healthcare organizations nationwide. He continues to guide Ash as it supports partners across all 50 states.

Join our live Founder Chat Q&A session

• Friday, December 5th at 1:30 PM PT (60 mins)

• Attend live to ask questions that will be added to the discussion 

• Register here to join the webinar, and you will also get the recording

Let us connect you with the founder

The New Enterprise Approach to Voice AI Deployment

A practical, repeatable lifecycle for designing, testing, and scaling Voice AI. Learn how BELL helps teams deploy faster, improve call outcomes, and maintain reliability across complex operations.

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The Future of Global Storytelling

The Problem

Creating lip-synced videos in multiple languages usually takes massive post-production work: dubbing, editing, and endless back-and-forth between translators and VFX artists.

For creators, studios, and brands that want to reach global audiences, that’s time and money lost before a video even launches.

The Solution

Sync Labs builds AI-powered dubbing that actually looks natural.
Their platform syncs speech, facial movement, and emotion in real time.

Lips move naturally, and the performance stays authentic.

What once took weeks of editing now takes minutes with the state-of-the-art models that Sync has built:

• LipSync-2 model achieves frame-accurate alignment between voice and facial movement, preserving the tone and emotion of the original performance

• LipSync-2 Pro model extends these capabilities to cinematic and full-body scenes, giving studios precise control over motion, lighting, and mouth realism

Twitter tweet

The Market

The global media localization industry is worth more than 200 billion dollars and growing fast as video becomes the universal language of the internet. As demand for high-quality multilingual content surges, Sync’s own growth reflects that momentum.

The platform has 100,000s of users joining through its freemium model.

From YouTubers expanding audiences overseas to film studios localizing for new markets, Sync helps creators scale their stories without losing their voice.

We solved lipsync. The world's first studio-grade lip-syncing model to let you edit what any character says in any video.

Meet the Founders

Prady Modukuru, Sync’s Founder and CEO, is an AI engineer and product leader who previously built large-scale systems at Microsoft, working at the intersection of language, video, and creative technology.

A lifelong builder with a background in computer vision and generative media, Prady has spent his career exploring how AI can make storytelling more human.

Along with his three co-founders — Prajwal K R, Rudrabha Mukhopadhyay, and Pavan Reddy — they started Sync Labs to remove language as a barrier to global creativity.

Join our live Founder Chat Q&A session

• Wednesday, November 12th at 11:00 PM PT / 2:00 PM ET (60 mins)

• Attend live to ask questions that will be added to the discussion 

• Register here to join the webinar, and you will also get the recording

Let us connect you with the founder

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TL;DR: Issue #061 Summary

• LA Tech Week Recap

  • AI stole the spotlight

  • AI, Mediatech, Deeptech, Healthtech, Founder/VC meetups & more

• Upcoming Events

  • Nov 12 - Sync Founder Chat Q&A 

  • Nov 11 - LA Great Gatsby Gala: FAANG & Ivy/UC/USC

  • Nov 14 - Nov 14 - VC Chat with A100x - Live Q&A

LA Tech Week 2025

This year, LA Tech Week brought together thousands of founders, investors, and creators for over 1,500 events across the city: Venice, Downtown, Culver, Burbank, The Gundo, and more.

I’m in these parts of LA all the time, but seeing founders, creators, and investors come together like this made the city feel different.

From street-fair launches, sunrise workouts, rooftop panels, and after-hours mixers, the week showcased the best of Los Angeles to the entire tech community.

Across the ecosystem, conversations spanned everything from climate tech and mobility to media innovation and frontier AI.

Between the thousands of events and many topics of discussion, there was hardly a moment to stop and take a breath.

Now that it’s over, I’ve finally had a moment to take it all in.

Our Events Recapped:

🎾 Mediatech Founders & VCs Pickleball Social: We kicked off the week with a full house of founders, investors, and creatives across tech, AI, and media. Great rallies, better conversations, the perfect icebreaker before a packed week ahead.

🍽️ Bulletpitch Dinner: A night to remember. I finally got a chance to attend a Bulletpitch dinner, hosted by Brett and his team here in my hometown of LA. This might have been one of the most stacked rooms we’ve ever curated. Founders, VCs, and ecosystem builders came together for meaningful connections

💪 Health & Wellness Tech Innovators Summit: Over 200 attendees gathered to explore how technology and wellness are converging to redefine health. From Oura’s CCO sharing insights on personalized wellness to panels spanning data, AI, and lifestyle. It shows just how community-driven innovation can lead the way.

Summit Panel on “The State of the LA AI Ecosystem”

By far the most significant event for me was the AI LAX Summit at Google’s Playa Vista campus.

I shared a stage with Omari Sealey (OpenAI), Todd Terrazas (AI LA), Seven Cohen (Capital Group), and Emi Wayner (Google Cloud) for a panel to talk about the tech ecosystem in LA.

The event was completely sold out. I even heard people were waiting outside to get in.

Inside, the conversations were focused and forward-looking: how do we turn LA’s creative and technical talent into a more connected, investable ecosystem?

We talked about LA’s position as both a global creative capital and a fast-growing AI hub, spanning everything from entertainment and aerospace to biotech and defense.

I shared my thoughts on how far we’ve come, as well as what’s still missing: more early-stage capital, more local exits, and more ways to keep our talent here.

It was an absolute honor to share the stage with those tech giants.

LA’s Ecosystem is growing, and you can feel it

Across every event, one thing stood out to me: LA’s tech ecosystem is scaling fast. The collaboration between founders, investors, and operators feels stronger than ever, and there’s a real sense that something bigger is happening here.

It reminded me why I started building in LA in the first place.

There’s no other city where creativity, ambition, and community collide quite like this.

If this year’s LA Tech Week proved anything, it’s that the next wave of innovation isn’t confined to Silicon Valley. It’s being built right here in Los Angeles.

I’ll see you next year👇

Featured Events

Creator Spotlight

Your guide to growing and monetizing creator businesses.

Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays

Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.

Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.

Learn more.

Modernizing Enterprise Operations with Secure Agentic AI

The Problem

Security teams today are overwhelmed by the scale and speed of modern threats. They face a constant influx of alerts, incident reports, and intelligence feeds, often spread across disconnected tools that demand manual investigation and correlation. This fragmented approach slows response times and increases the risk of oversight.

The Solution

Kindo’s platform solves these challenges by introducing autonomous agents that streamline core security workflows. Its system can automatically triage incidents, execute response runbooks, and perform continuous monitoring, eliminating manual workloads while improving precision.

With its AI-native architecture, Kindo gives teams the power to:

• Deploy AI securely within existing infrastructure

• Automate complex workflows in DevOps and SecOps

• Enhance team efficiency and scalability through agentic operations

• Ensure security and compliance in every interaction

Beyond productivity, Kindo’s proprietary Deep Hat model powers AI-driven red-teaming for over 300 enterprises. Deep Hat’s uncensored design makes Kindo one of the only platforms capable of realistic, controlled cybersecurity testing at scale.

The Market

The global artificial intelligence (AI) cybersecurity market size was $17.4B in 2022 and is expected to reach $134B by 2030.

Big Tech companies are building their own security management platforms, but most large companies don’t have the resources or technical capabilities to build their own internal security platforms.

This is where Kindo comes into play.

Meet the Founder

Ron Williams, Kindo’s Founder and CEO, is a veteran security and infrastructure leader who previously led global teams at Riot Games, Bird, and Clover Health (all of which scaled to become unicorns during his tenure).

A former Air Force programmer turned enterprise CISO, Ron has spent two decades building and defending large-scale systems used by millions worldwide.

He has built 2 prior companies, with an exit, and started Kindo 3 years ago.

His expertise in automation, governance, and cybersecurity has made him a respected voice on trustworthy AI.

Join our live Founder Chat Q&A session

• Friday November 7th at 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET (60 mins)

• Attend live to ask questions that will be added to the discussion 

• Register here to join the webinar and you will also get the recording

Founder Chat with Kindo - Live Q&A

Join us for a live for an exclusive opportunity to hear founder Ron Williams

Let us connect you with Kindo!

The New Enterprise Approach to Voice AI Deployment

A practical, repeatable lifecycle for designing, testing, and scaling Voice AI. Learn how BELL helps teams deploy faster, improve call outcomes, and maintain reliability across complex operations.

Download the Guide

TL;DR: Issue #059 Summary

• LA Tech Week 2025 is here! Oct 12-19

  • 1,500 events across the city, 2x last year!

  • Our 10 curated events with various community partners

  • AI, Mediatech, Deeptech, Healthtech, Founder/VC meetups & more

• Our Events

  • Oct 12 - Mediatech Founders & VCs Pickleball Social

  • Oct 14 - SaaS/AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour

  • Oct 15 - The Future of Video Intelligence w/ Twelve Labs & Netflix 

  • Oct 16 - The Investor Dating Game

  • Oct 17 - AI LAX Summit w/ Google (come hear my panel!) limited seats left

Want to meet founders & VCs at LA Tech Week? Pick an event and I’ve got you covered.

First off, let me say that I messed up…

This issue was supposed to go out last week.

But I had caught a flu bug that wiped me out :/  

I spent all weekend trying to rest up & fully recover so I could be ready for this week.

Because it’s that time of year again. Time for Tech Week.

And I feel better than ever!

Ready to help you navigate LA Tech Week.

Tech Week problems, we got answers

In my experience, LA Tech Week can be overwhelming.

It is likely even tougher for those who come in from out of town but don’t know where to begin.

It isn’t hard to find the events… with 1,500 to choose from on the main site.

But there are two big problems everyone faces:

1. Hard to know which events are worth attending

2. Hard to get approved without knowing the hosts

Let me help you out with both of these!

1) Here are 5 events you should attend

• Oct 12 - Mediatech Founders & VCs Pickleball Social (event is over, but sign up to attend future sessions!)

  We kicked off the weekend on a high note with LA’s most dynamic founders, VCs, and creatives across tech, AI, and media

• Oct 14 - SaaS/AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour

  This mixer is tailored for founders and builders sculpting the next wave of enterprise-scale AI products.

• Oct 15 - The Future of Video Intelligence with/ Twelve Labs

  Join the co-founder from Twelve Labs for a conversation at the intersection of generative video, media data, and intelligence

• Oct 15 - Health & Wellness Tech Innovators Summit

  Joined by Oura Ring’s CCO offering a firsthand look at how they are redefining personalized wellness and the future of consumer healthtech.

• Oct 17 - AI LAX Summit (sold out, but we have access code!) 

  We’re capping off Tech Week with a bold, high-visibility summit. Leaders from Google, VCs, founders, and ecosystem builders will convene.

More events from our friends to look out for: Black LA Tech Week, Cafecito LA Tech Week with La Familia, and the Investor Dating Game with TCVN

2) Pick 1 event, and I’ll personally look into getting you approved

I can’t control events that are out of my control.

But for the events listed above, I am going to do my absolute best to get you in if you really want to attend.

There is a reason why you can’t get added to most of the event guest lists.

A lot of people sign up for 17 events per day, and then choose which to attend in real-time based on how they feel and where they are located at that moment.

I get it! … and I am guilty of the same crime, lol.

All of us event hosts know there will be a relatively low show rate %, and this tends to be what worries the hosts.

With that in mind. If there is ONE event that you want to attend and WILL 100% show up.

Then I want to know, because I want you there!

Hit me up directly so I can help get you on the list.

• Reach out to me directly on LinkedIn

• Commenting on this post the 1 event you want to attend

• I’ll reply to verify, or give access code (if possible)

I promise to do my best!

We save the best for last

We will wrap up the week on Friday, October 17th with the AI LAX Summit, hosted at Google’s iconic office in Playa Vista.

This is our biggest collaboration for the week! Over 1,000 are signed up, and there are limited slots left. (But hit me up on LinkedIn, and I’ll see what I can do!)

I am even more excited since I'll be speaking on an afternoon panel to talk about "LA Ecosystem of VC, AI & Startups."

It should be fun chatting alongside leaders from OpenAI, my good friends Todd at AI LA, and Eric at Alliance for SoCal Innovation.

It's a conversation about how LA is uniquely positioned to lead the next wave of AI innovation.

Why This Week Matters

LA Tech Week isn't about events…

It's about momentum. It’s about density. It’s about creating serendipity to spark innovation.

It's proof that LA has arrived as a major tech hub, not by copying Silicon Valley, but by building something distinctly our own.

Whether you're a founder looking for your next investor, an investor seeking the next breakout company, or an operator wanting to understand where the industry is heading.

• Comment on LinkedIn post which events you want to attend!

• Forward this email to anyone who wants to attend LA Tech Week events

This is your week! 

See you out there,

Brandon 👋

Featured Events

Oct 12 - Mediatech Founders & VCs Pickleball Social (sign up if you want to attend future sessions!)

Enjoy a morning of pickleball, tacos, and real conversation - led by the “Pickleball Coach to the Stars,” Matt “McNasty” Manasse.

Oct 15 - The Future of Video Intelligence with Twelve Labs

Join leaders from Twelve Labs, Netflix, Emerging LA and NOA for a conversation at the intersection of AI, data, and media content.

Oct 14 - SaaS/AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour

A perfect mixer for those working in SaaS, tooling, or developer-first AI.

Oct 15 - Health & Wellness Tech Innovators Summit

This summit brings operators together to unpack the next-gen of consumer health tech. Oura’s CCO will join us to talk about personalized wellness.

Oct 17 - AI LAX Summit - Culture meets AI

Join us at Google’s iconic Playa Vista office to meet over 200 LA's top founders, investors, and AI experts. If you're building, investing in, or curious about the future of AI in LA, you need to be here.

Creator Spotlight

Subscribe to get your guide on growing and monetizing creator businesses.

Want to reach 14K tech leaders & founders in LA?

• Content: Sponsor an issue to reach 14K across our newsletters

• Event: Sponsor an event to engage directly with attendees

👉 Reply to learn more

Fact-based news without bias awaits. Make 1440 your choice today.

Overwhelmed by biased news? Cut through the clutter and get straight facts with your daily 1440 digest. From politics to sports, join millions who start their day informed.

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TL;DR: Issue #058 Summary

• Emerging VC Fellowship (Fall 2025 for college students)

  • Here is your chance to break into VC!

  • Offers real experience & real deals (recently Anthropic & SpaceX)

  • Click here to read more, apply, and support

Apply for Emerging VC Fellowship - Fall 2025

Most fellowships teach you about venture capital. This one throws you right into it.

Introducing the Emerging VC Fellowship, a hands-on program for SoCal students who want to see how venture capital actually works.

Not theory. Not simulations. Real work. Real founders. Real decisions.

Fellows work directly with me! (Brandon Hoffman)

I am General Partner at Sunset Ventures and founder of Emerging LA, the city’s most active startup community.

You can expect to:

• Learn the operations that power a fund, from deal sourcing and memos to portfolio updates and community building

• Hear from various successful founders & investors

• Help on real deals backed by the Emerging VC syndicate, recent ones include SpaceX, Cursor, Databricks, Epic Games, and Anthropic

This is an 8-week program designed for students who want more than just credentials.

It’s for the ones who build side projects at night, chase new ideas on weekends, and treat learning like a contact sport.

If that sounds like you, this is your moment!

Applications close Friday, October 10 at 11:59 PM PT.

Are you a student? Next steps if interested

• → Click here to read more

• → Find the application link at top comment

• → Leave a reply on the post to let us know you applied

Are you a local professional? I need your help to spread across all of SoCal

I am talking from down in San Diego up to Santa Barbara.

Let’s get coverage across Orange County, Inland Empire, San Gabriel & Fernando Valleys, South Bay/Long Beach, Eastside/DTLA, etc.

• Please engage with the LinkedIn post

• Tag a student who should see it

• Forward this email to anyone in the network, or who focuses on entrepreneurship/finance at our SoCal schools

Thank you,
Brandon

Featured Events

10/29: Space & Robotics Tour at NASA JPL Caltech

Space & Robotics Tour at NASA JPL research facility at Caltech in Pasadena. This is a highly curated event.

10/15: The Future of Video Intelligence with Twelve Labs

Twelve Labs: The Intelligence Layer for Video (Why VCs are backing it at record pace — and how enterprise traction is turning video into infrastructure)

10/12: LA Tech Week Pickleball Social

We hate networking events. The awkward small talk. The stale coffee. The business cards you’ll never look at again. This is not that.

10/14: SaaS/AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour

NachoNacho.com, Deel, Shuffl, Shopline, Ancient, OneSixOne Ventures, and Emerging LA are hosting this exclusive Founder + Investor happy hour event alongside key high-profile brands and VC firms.

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TL;DR: Issue #057 Summary

• UCLA 2x AI events this week for college students + fellowship!

  • Oct 1: AI Dev Club Showcase w/ AI Collective, UCLA, Claude (Virtual) Starts, all students are welcome

  • Oct 2: AI Founder–VC Dinner (UCLA) (Full, but sign-up for waitlist)

  • Plus, the Emerging VC Fellowship application is open for SoCal students

• Upcoming Events

  • Oct 29 - Space & Robotics Tour at NASA (sign-ups close 10/2)

• Trending

  • Marpipe raised $10M to replace UGC ads

AI Series at SoCal Schools - This week at UCLA!

Southern California’s campus-to-ecosystem bridge is now live. 

Two touchpoints built for students: one virtual with AI Collective, one off-campus dinner with founders and VCs. Plus, a first look at a new fellowship.

Events to hit, not miss:

AI Dev Club Showcase at UCLA

Student-led demos and how to get involved in UCLA’s AI scene.

UCLA Founder–VC Dinner (off-campus)

The dinner is FULL but still has a WAITLIST option! Private small-group dinner for UCLA builders and LA investors; relationship-first.

Emerging VC Fellowship (apply here)

Lastly, a sneak peek at something exciting that will be announced tomorrow….

The Emerging VC Fellowship: A pipeline from campus to capital

• Cohort-based mentorship & training

• Work on real-world operator projects

• Scout deals at your local schools & support syndicated investments into the hottest names (Anthropic, Databricks, SpaceX)

Featured Events

Oct 29 - Space & Robotics Tour (sign-ups close tonight!)

• Join us for a Space & Robotics Tour at NASA x JPL Cal Tech! Today is the LAST day for sign-ups!

Space & Robotics Tour

Space & Robotics Tour at NASA JPL This is a highly curated event. The group size will be small to create an intimate setting that facilitates deep discussion and…

Marpipe raised $10M to replace UGC ads

Marpipe (built in collaboration with Meta) unlocks a hidden ad type that drives a 200% better ROAS than UGC.

Twitter tweet

If you're an e-commerce brand, Marpipe can help you earn $100k+ in 30 days!

Check Out These Jobs

Here are job listings from amazing organizations that would be perfect for those looking to break into the industry or explore a new career opportunity.

• Investor (AI) - Samsung Next  (Mountain View)

• VP / Principal / Junior Partner - The K Funds 

• VC Associate Technical- Uncork Capital (SF)

• Sr./Staff Software Engineer - Luthor (SF)

• VP of Engineering - Capitol AI (SF)

• Sales Account Executive Tax GPT (Remote)

MarketingAlec

Skip the AI hype, get real results. Join 12,000+ marketers learning the AI tools and prompts that drove 40% better performance.

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The future of AI customer service is at Pioneer

There’s only one place where CS leaders at the cutting edge will gather to explore the incredible opportunities presented by AI Agents: Pioneer.

Pioneer is a summit for AI customer service leaders to come together and discuss the trends and trajectory of AI and customer service. You’ll hear from innovators at Anthropic, Toast, Rocket Money, Boston Consulting Group, and more—plus a special guest keynote delivered by Gary Vaynerchuk.

You’ll also get the chance to meet the team behind Fin, the #1 AI Agent for customer service. The whole team will be on site, from Intercom’s PhD AI engineers, to product executives and leaders, and the solutions engineers deploying Fin in the market.

Join Pioneer in-person or online on October 9th, 2025. Register today.

TL;DR: Issue #056 Summary

• SoCal Deep Tech Week (Sept 15-19)

  • Connect with aerospace, defense, nuclear & advanced manufacturing leaders in LA

  • Industry leaders convene for five days of deep tech innovation

• Upcoming Events

  • Sept 12 - Private Tour at NASA JPL

  • Oct 5 - Entertainment x Tech Pickleball Social

• Trending

  • Google's viral Nano Banana AI: 13 instant design use cases explained

The Deep Tech Revolution is Coming: Sept 15-19

Southern California is about to become the epicenter of America's deep tech revolution.

SoCal Deep Tech Week returns September 15-19, bringing together the minds building the future of aerospace, defense, nuclear energy, and advanced manufacturing.

Featured events convene Aerospace & National Security, Nuclear & New Energy, and Advanced Manufacturing & Robotics.

Here are the events we think our Emerging LA community shouldn’t miss:

• GenJam: AI Music Video Competition

  • Make your first music video using AI. No skills involved, just creativity!

• Wonder Ventures - Deep Tech Coffee

  • Join deep tech founders, operators, and investors for a morning coffee and beachside walk

• Ride & Vibe - LAND Moto

  • Experience the future of mobility with demo rides, live music, and exclusive gear at this high-energy event on Abbot Kinney 

• Navigating the District

  • Join defense innovators, investors, and policymakers for a focused discussion on funding, policy, and emerging technologies in Santa Monica

SoCal Deep Tech Week 2025: Where Atoms Meet Ambition

While Silicon Valley builds apps, SoCal builds rockets. 

Join visionaries -  founders, researchers, engineers, investors, industry leaders, storytellers, designers, and policymakers - collaborating to solve today's hardest problems and build a better future. 

We’re excited to partner with NASA to host a curated tour of the NASA JPL facilities in Pasadena. Sign up here to be among the hand-picked mix of founders, investors, and leaders exploring the space and deep tech industries.  

Deep Tech Week Details:

• When: September 15-19, 2025

• Where: Across Los Angeles and El Segundo

• What: The intersection of defense, energy, and manufacturing innovation

Full calendar here ! 

Featured Events

NASA Tour - SoCal Deep Tech Week

Explore NASA JPL’s cutting-edge space labs and groundbreaking robotic missions

Entertainment x Tech Pickleball Social

Play pickleball with the most interesting people in entertainment and tech

More Events

• GenJam: AI Music Video Competition 

• Wonder Ventures - Deep Tech Coffee

• Ride & Vibe - LAND Moto

• Navigating the District

Google’s viral Nano Banana AI: 13 instant design use cases explained

Google's "Nano Banana" launched, and most people still don't know how powerful it really is.

The AI model instantly creates web designs, logos, social media graphics, and complete brand identities with simple text prompts.

Mark Gadala's breakdown reveals 13 examples that render traditional design workflows obsolete overnight.

Twitter tweet

One person can now ship complete visual brands that feel professionally crafted.

The future of design just got a lot more accessible!

Check Out These Jobs

Here are job listings from amazing organizations that would be perfect for those looking to break into the industry or explore a new career opportunity.

• Investor (AI) - Samsung Next  (Mountain View)

• VP / Principal / Junior Partner - The K Funds 

• VC Associate Technical- Uncork Capital (SF)

• Sr./Staff Software Engineer - Luthor (SF)

• VP of Engineering - Capitol AI (SF)

• Sales Account Executive Tax GPT (Remote)

Founders Pack Wolfcast: Learn from Unicorn Startups Before They Raise $1 💸

Learn the tools, strategies, and stories of the world's best founders. Every week we bring you profiles of Y Combinator's top startups. Get inside their success secrets, explore major pitch deck teardowns, and boost your startup know-how. Join 4000+ founders, investors, and startup enthusiasts for free!

Do you want to reach 14K tech leaders in LA?

• Content: Sponsor an issue to reach 14K across our newsletters.

• Event: Sponsor an event to engage directly with attendees. We have hosted over 50 events and 5,000+ guests through dinners, panel mixers, and private tours

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How 433 Investors Unlocked 400X Return Potential

Institutional investors back startups to unlock outsized returns. Regular investors have to wait. But not anymore. Thanks to regulatory updates, some companies are doing things differently.

Take Revolut. In 2016, 433 regular people invested an average of $2,730. Today? They got a 400X buyout offer from the company, as Revolut’s valuation increased 89,900% in the same timeframe.

No wonder 10K+ everyday people are taking the chance on Pacaso.

Founded by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso’s co-ownership tech reshapes the $1.3T vacation home market. They’ve earned $110M+ in gross profit to date, including 41% YoY growth in 2024 alone. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

The same institutional investors behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay backed Pacaso. And you can join them. But not for long. Pacaso’s investment opportunity ends September 18.

Invest While You Still Can

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

TL;DR: Issue #055 Summary

• Glendale Tech Week 2025 (Sept 2-4)

  • 9th annual event in ServiceTitan's backyard

  • Applications for hosting now open through City of Glendale

• Upcoming Events

  • Sept 12 - Private Tour at NASA JPL

  • Oct 5 - Entertainment x Tech Pickleball Social

• Trending

  • Sync Labs  launches  Lipsync-2-Pro

Glendale Tech Week Returns: Sept 2-4

September is about to get very interesting for the LA tech scene.

We've officially partnered with the City of Glendale to support their initiatives for startups and business owners. 

Glendale Tech Week returns for its 9th year, and this time it's different. The event has evolved from a small meetup to a significant presence in the LA ecosystem.

Here are events we think our Emerging LA community will love if you're making the trip up to the San Gabriel Valley:

• GTW25: Technology & Innovation: Public-Private Partnerships

• FoundersBoost & Techstars Happy Hour Mixer

• GTW25: SmartVC’s Demo Day

Three days. Real founders. Real investors. Real connections.

Glendale Tech Week 2025: The ServiceTitan Effect

With ServiceTitan anchoring the local scene ($10B+ unicorn), Glendale has quietly become one of the most authentic tech communities outside Silicon Valley.

ServiceTitan didn't just build a billion-dollar company in Glendale. They built an ecosystem.

The home services software giant's presence has attracted talent, investors, and other startups to the area.

Key Details:

• When: September 2-4, 2025

• Where: Various venues across Glendale

• What: Panels, pitch competitions, networking, demo day

Sign up here! 

Featured Events

NASA Tour - SoCal Deep Tech Week

Explore NASA JPL’s cutting-edge space labs and groundbreaking robotic missions

Entertainment x Tech Pickleball Social

Play pickleball with the most interesting people in entertainment and tech

More Events

• Innovation Spotlight: The Long Beach Accelerator

• Glendale Tech Week: Technology & Innovation: Public-Private Partnerships

• FoundersBoost & Techstars Happy Hour Mixer

• Glendale Tech Week Demo Day

• GenJam: AI Music Video Competition

Sync Labs is setting a new standard for dubbing:  introducing lipsync-2-pro 

Sync Labs  (Y Combinator & GV backed)  just launched Lipsync-2-Pro: a pro-grade model that lets you dub over any video with ultra-precise realism -  down to freckles, lighting, and lip movement.

Twitter tweet

Their state-of-the-art lipsync technology is built specifically for professional creators who need Hollywood-quality results.

The video dubbing quality has reached a point where it blurs the line between real and edited content.

Check Out These Jobs

Here are job listings from amazing organizations that would be perfect for those looking to break into the industry or explore a new career opportunity.

• Investor (AI) - Samsung Next  (Mountain View)

• VP / Principal / Junior Partner - The K Funds 

• VC Associate Technical- Uncork Capital (SF)

• Sr./Staff Software Engineer - Luthor (SF)

• VP of Engineering - Capitol AI (SF)

• Sales Account Executive Tax GPT (Remote)

The AI Report

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day. We'll teach you how to save time and earn more with AI. Join 400,000+ free daily readers from Tesla, Apple, A16z, Meta, & more.

Do you want to reach 14K tech leaders in LA?

• Content: Sponsor an issue to reach 14K across our newsletters.

• Event: Sponsor an event to engage directly with attendees. We have hosted over 50 events and 5,000+ guests through dinners, panel mixers, and private tours

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The future of AI customer service is at Pioneer

There’s only one place where CS leaders at the cutting edge will gather to explore the incredible opportunities presented by AI Agents: Pioneer.

Pioneer is a summit for AI customer service leaders to come together and discuss the trends and trajectory of AI and customer service. You’ll hear from innovators at Anthropic, Toast, Rocket Money, Boston Consulting Group, and more—plus a special guest keynote delivered by Gary Vaynerchuk.

You’ll also get the chance to meet the team behind Fin, the #1 AI Agent for customer service. The whole team will be on site, from Intercom’s PhD AI engineers, to product executives and leaders, and the solutions engineers deploying Fin in the market.

Join Pioneer in-person or online on October 9th, 2025. Register today.

TL;DR: Issue #054 Summary

• The Future of Video AI with Twelve Labs

  • Explore the evolution of AI use in video

  • Multimodal intelligence and agents

• Upcoming Events

  • Aug 20 - Runway’s AIFF 2025 in IMAX

  • Aug 21 - AI Panel with Twelve Labs

  • Sep 3 - Space Tour at NASA JPL

• Trending

  • Amazon-backed startup is the “Netflix for AI”

  • Consumer AI for solo creators
    

The future of video AI with Twelve Labs

With $107M+ raised from investors including NVIDIA, NEA, Index, Databricks, and Snowflake, Twelve Labs is solving one of AI’s hardest problems: understanding video at scale.

Their flagship Marengo model offers semantic, context-aware, multimodal AI for any-to-any search across text, images, and video.

Over 30,000 developers and brands like the NFL already rely on Twelve Labs, while partners such as Databricks, Snowflake, and Oracle embed its tech into global AI infrastructure.

By enabling real-time, context-aware video AI, Twelve Labs is unlocking new applications across media, security, manufacturing, and beyond.

On August 21st, join us for an AI Cafe session to talk with Anthony Giuliani, Twelve Labs’ Global Head of Operations, who joined the company as an early founding advisor.

In this session, he’ll unpack how video AI is evolving from clip-level analysis to systems that connect across time and space.

Attendees will leave with a clearer view of how this next generation of video intelligence will reshape entire industries.

The KINN in Venice

This event takes place at The KINN in Venice and is hosted by Emerging LA, Startup Coil, and Nerds of LA. 

We will start the morning with coffee & socializing, then jump into the discussion at 10am.

Sign up here!

Featured Events

8/20 - Runway Presents AIFF 2025 in IMAX (Burbank)

AI Film Festival. Join us to watch a screening

8/21 - AI Cafe: Fireside chat with Twelve Labs & Sunset Ventures (Venice)

Listen to a discussion on how video AI is evolving to become multimodal agents

9/3 - Space Tour at NASA JPL (Pasadena)

Explore NASA JPL’s cutting-edge space labs and groundbreaking robotic missions

More Events

• 8/19 - Venture East (DTLA)

• 8/21 - NOA Salon Curated Dinner (Beverly Hills)

• 9/4 - Pegasus Lightning Round Pitch Competition (Virtual)

• 9/4 - Glendale Tech Week (San Gabriel Valley)

Amazon-backed startup launches Netflix for AI

Twitter tweet

Showrunner (Amazon-backed) just launched Alpha, the first public version of playable, interactive shows.

Its first release, Exit Valley, is a satirical spin on Silicon Valley where you can join the story alongside AI versions of Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and more.

Instead of static AI animation, Showrunner is betting on multiplayer storyworlds

Imagine movies that generate new episodes daily, or TV shows that grow as the audience creates.

It’s a whole new way to experience entertainment: part game, part story, part community.

The Solo Creator Era for Consumer AI

Twitter tweet

AI experiences may start to look less like companies and more like one-person art projects.

One person, with taste and technical leverage, can ship something that feels alive 

We’re excited to see human creativity and storytelling come alive with AI!!

Check Out These Jobs

Here are job listings from amazing organizations that would be perfect for those looking to break into the industry or explore a new career opportunity.

• Coach - The Grand (Remote)

• AI Engineer - EdVisorly (LA)

• Machine Learning Engineer - Capitol AI (DC)

• Sr./Staff Software Engineer - Luthor (SF)

• Product Managers - Capitol AI (SF)

• Sales Account Executive - Tax GPT (Remote)

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The AI Report

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day. We'll teach you how to save time and earn more with AI. Join 400,000+ free daily readers from Tesla, Apple, A16z, Meta, & more.

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TL;DR: Issue #053 Summary

• AI Film Festival 2025 by Runway

  • Watch 10 short films embracing innovation

  • Winners shown at festivals around the world

• Upcoming Events

  • Aug 20 - Runway AI Film Festival in IMAX

  • Aug 21 - AI Cafe: From Labels to Agents 

  • Sep 3 - Private Space Tour at NASA JPL

• Trending

  • Sync’s Lite Mode Brings AI Magic to Videos

  • Startup Difficulty: From “Easy to Insane”

Watch AI Film Festival at IMAX with us!

On August 20th, join us at the IMAX Theatre in Los Angeles for the third annual AI Film Festival produced by Runway (valued at $3B and backed by NVIDIA, Softbank, and General Atlantic).

Runway is an AI startup that provides tools to creators to generate images & videos, which is now being used to create films. 

Watch 10 award-winning short films created with AI, selected from over 6,000 submissions, and experience the future of storytelling.

We’ll take over prime IMAX seats, enjoy the screenings together, and stick around afterward for drinks and conversation.

Movie night is better with friends & family! Feel free to add a +1 when signing up. I will be bringing my whole family.

Join fellow AI film enthusiasts for an evening of immersive storytelling and stick around afterward for drinks and conversation.

A distinguished panel of tech & media industry leaders judged submissions to select the finalists. 

Judges included: Cristóbal Valenzuela (Co-Founder & Runway), Elizabeth Daley (Dean, USC Cinematic Arts), and Michael Burns (Vice Chairman, Lionsgate).    

Want to see what movies are like when entirely created using AI? 

Sign up here!

Featured Events

8/20 - Runway Presents AIFF 2025 in IMAX (Burbank)

AI Film Festival. Join us to watch a screening

8/21 - AI Cafe: Fireside chat with Twelve Labs & Sunset Ventures (Venice)

Listen to a discussion on how video AI is evolving to become multimodal agents

9/3 - Space Tour at NASA JPL (Pasadena)

Explore NASA JPL’s cutting-edge space labs and groundbreaking robotic missions

More Events

• Glendale Tech Week

• Venture East Summer Soirée (DTLA)

• MLOps LA Claude Code Workshop & Happy Hour

• Pegasus Lightning Round Pitch Competition

YC-backed AI startup launches new audio tool

Sync Labs (backed by Y Combinator & Google Ventures) cracked the code on user-friendly AI.

Its new Lite Mode turns complex lip-sync APIs into a simple "upload, add audio, sync" workflow that anyone can master.

Built from creator feedback, Lite Mode offers a sleek, no-code interface.

Twitter tweet

Hollywood-quality dubbing is now as easy as editing a TikTok. 

Check out Sync’s Lite Mode: instant video editing with AI-powered lip-sync!

Difficulty Levels of Startups: From Easy to Impossible

B2B SaaS startups are considered the easiest… 

While robotics is an insane level of difficulty. 

Naval added in the comments that Consumer Hardware is impossible!

Check Out These Jobs

Here are job listings from amazing organizations that would be perfect for those looking to break into the industry or explore a new career opportunity.

• Coach - The Grand (Remote)

• AI Engineer - EdVisorly (LA)

• Machine Learning Engineer - Capitol AI (DC)

• Sr./Staff Software Engineer - Luthor (SF)

• Product Managers - Capitol AI (SF)

• Sales Account Executive - Tax GPT (Remote)

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Your one-stop source for climate news, issues, trends, forecasts, impacts, innovations, and tips.

The AI Report

Learn AI in 5 minutes a day. We'll teach you how to save time and earn more with AI. Join 400,000+ free daily readers from Tesla, Apple, A16z, Meta, & more.

Do you want to reach 14K tech leaders in LA?

• Content: Sponsor an issue to reach 14K across our newsletters.

• Event: Sponsor an event to engage directly with attendees. We have hosted over 50 events and 5,000+ guests through dinners, panel mixers, and private tours

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