Up Calling all college student founders building with AI: if you have a strong AI product idea you’re excited to bring to market and grow into something with global impact, this night is for you.

Join The AI Collective and Startup Tri-Valley for an energetic Pitch Showcase where college founders present viable AI products ideas, get real-time feedback, and compete for cash prizes.

🌟 Submit Your Pitch Application 🌟

Please ✅ Submit your pitch ✅ by Friday, March 27, 2026. Read our pitch guidelines. Selected finalists will get a pre-event pitch practice with mentors to sharpen their story, get feedback, and feel confident on stage.

What to expect

A panel discussion with VCs and founders on what makes a startup idea compelling, what investors look for, and lessons from building in the real world.
College student founder pitches featuring AI products that make a global impact
Pitch night awards + prizes ($1,000 total), with the audience using the AI Collective voting app and 100K in virtual money to back their favorite teams.
• Prize 1: People's Choice / Top Funded
• Prize 2: Judges’ Choice for Best Pitch
Food + drinks (non-alcoholic) + time to meet builders, mentors, and community partners

Special guest speaker

• Mayor Hu, city of Dublin

Panel (30 mins)

Stephen Lee, General Partner at Carbide Ventures. Stephen backs early-stage founders in AI, SaaS, and digital health. With a focus on high-conviction investments, he helps startups navigate the journey from zero to scale.

Archana Vadya, Founder and CEO at PartneRite, and LP in How Women Invest. She brings deep experience from leading product at VMware and advising startups on market entry, while also investing in and mentoring the next generation of founders.

Jon Vincent, Director of Engineering at Vercel. Jon is a veteran engineering leader and former founder with deep experience scaling teams at companies like Vercel, Pinterest, and Dropbox. He brings a strong track record of building products, teams, and platforms from the ground up.

Who should attend

College student founders with a viable AI product idea and looking for valuable feedback from investors, founders and industry leaders
Aspiring student builders looking for inspiration and connections
Mentors, operators, investors, and community members supporting the next generation of founders

** Special callout: The audience votes! Help us crown the People's Choice Award of the night — show up and make it count.

Hosted by

Jessie Chen, Chapter lead of the AI Collective Tri-Valley
Yolanda Fintschenko, Executive Director of i-GATE Innovation Hub, home of the Startup Tri-Valley Initiative and the Tri-Valley's only incubator, Daybreak Labs.

🌟 Submit Your Demo Pitch Application 🌟

RSVP required — space is limited.

As always, food and drink, engaging conversation, and incredible company will all be provided!

Please be advised: Unfortunately, space is very limited at these community events and we can not always accept everyone we would like to. If you are not accepted to this event, please keep applying! We appreciate your application tremendously and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future event very soon!

The AI Collective is a global non-profit building the human layer for the AI age. We unite 200,000+ leaders, builders, and stakeholders across 100+ forums worldwide to democratize the frontier, build trust, and coordinate how society navigates the rapid acceleration of technological progress.

About Startup Tri-Valley

Startup Tri-Valley is an i-GATE initiative to grow and strengthen our region by helping more startups succeed. We do this by connecting founders and innovators to a tightly networked ecosystem of resources built specifically for science-based startups. The initiative is sponsored by the Tri-Valley cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and the Town of Danville, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and i-GATE Innovation Hub partners Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories. To learn more, visit startuptrivalley.org or connect on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram.

About the City of Dublin, California

From a population of approximately 14,350 in 1982, the City of Dublin has become a highly diverse city with a resident population of nearly 73,000, and a thriving community with over 2,100 businesses. Learn more at https://dublin.ca.gov/.

All attendees and organizers at events affiliated with The AI Collective agree to our privacy policy and are subject to our code of conduct.

Built Here. Built for What's Next: College Student Founders Pitch Night & Industry Insider Panel - The AI Collective x Startup Tri-Valley