VLAB

The Future of Privacy: Will Cryptography and Secure Computation Protect Us?
2020-08-27 18:00 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online Event
The Future of Privacy
Will Cryptography and Secure Computation Protect Us?

Thursday, August 27, 2020
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

It is hard to argue with the statement that “data is the new oil.” Unfortunately, the ever-expanding collection of data from social networks, smartphones, and IoT devices has created an alarming trend. Every month, it seems, there is another huge data breach somewhere in the cyberworld, and people are understandably concerned about how well — or even if — their online privacy is being protected. The current pandemic has accelerated the growing demand for sharing health-care data and highlighted the need for digital contact tracing. When exacerbated by the questionable behavior of some online services, this has all simply added fuel to the fire.
Both governments and private companies have been trying to assuage these fears. Governments have passed new laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). And emerging technologies, including secure multiparty computation (MPC), Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) are attempting to put stronger protection in place. But is this enough?
In this VLAB event, a panel of experts in cryptography, privacy, and security — including trailblazing startups, Internet giants like Google, and VCs focused on this field — will discuss the role of cryptography and secure computation and examine the impact that these technologies could have on protecting privacy.

Can companies effectively balance the desire for data and the needs of consumers?
Will new technologies be strong enough to provide proper protection?
How can entrepreneurs leverage this opportunity?

Join us on August 27 to find out.

Moderator

Patrick Lincoln, Director of Computer Science Lab, SRI

Panelists

Kurt Rohloff, Co-founder and CTO, Duality Technologies
Vishwanath Raman, Product and Engineering, Oasis Labs
Moti Yung, Research Scientist, Google; Adjunct Research Professor, Columbia University
Chenxi Wang, Managing General Partner, Rain Capital

Free Online Event

A Note about Ticket Sales

We understand that many people may be having a rough time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the tickets for this online event will be offered free of charge to anyone who is interested in attending.
Normally, ticket sales are our main source of revenue, so VLAB could really use your support. When you register for the event, please consider making a donation to help keep VLAB going.
VLAB is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. We thank you for your support and hope to see you soon.

Digital Contact Tracing: Blazing a Trail Back to Normal?
2020-07-23 18:00 - 20:30 | Online Event
Digital Contact Tracing
Blazing a Trail Back to Normal?

Thursday, July 23, 2020
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

As people around the world deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone everywhere is asking one simple question: when will it end? A key component to answering this all-important question stems from having a more complete understanding of how the disease spreads. This is where contact tracing can play a huge role.
Just about everyone today has a mobile phone, so it makes sense to try to track the movement of these phones to understand the spread of COVID-19. The level of international collaboration is unprecedented, involving governments, health organizations, universities, and private companies. Silicon Valley giants like Google and Apple are leading efforts to develop a shared API that will automatically collect location data on mobile devices. The implications of knowing every person with whom any person has had contact are both enormously beneficial and enormously scary at the same time, but if it works, this contact tracing data could help provide a path back to normal.
Understandably, venture capital firms and startups are working hard (remotely, of course) to incorporate these APIs into existing and emerging apps — and to explore new opportunities in this space. Our panel will discuss the impact of universal adoption of this technology and several related hot-button issues, such as:

What mechanisms are needed to ensure that this location data is not misused?
Will people be willing to sacrifice some privacy to help stop the pandemic?
How will companies and organizations be able to use this data once the crisis has ended?

Join us for our interactive online event on July 23 as we explore digital contact tracing together.

Moderator

Thomas C. Kingsley, Senior Associate Consultant, Mayo Clinic

Panelists

Ramesh Rasker, Founder, PathcheckMIT Safe Paths
Clint Van Marrewijk, Founder and CEO, SaferMe
Mohammad (Mo) Islam, Partner, Threshold Ventures
George Rutherford, Epidemiologist, UCSF

Free Online Event

A Note about Ticket Sales

We understand that many people may be having a rough time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the tickets for this online event will be offered free of charge to anyone who is interested in attending.
Normally, ticket sales are our main source of revenue, so VLAB could really use your support. When you register for the event, please consider making a donation to help keep VLAB going.
VLAB is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated. We thank you for your support and hope to see you soon.

Automated Attorneys: Will AI “Kill All the Lawyers?”
2019-10-24 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Automated Attorneys
Will AI “Kill All the Lawyers?”

Thursday, October 24, 2019
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Lawyers have been around a long time — from long before Shakespeare. By some accounts, people have relied on the specialized knowledge of the legal industry for over 6,000 years. And everything is about to change. Recent technological and regulatory developments are poised to transform our access to legal expertise in radically new ways. How lawyers and startups adapt to these changes will significantly alter the landscape of a $300B industry.
As new digital services supplant traditional legal services, law firms will no longer need to hire huge teams to get the information they need. In theory, this will allow smaller firms to compete more effectively, increasing access and decreasing costs. When the cost of hiring a lawyer is calculated by the minute, the financial savings could be huge.
Additionally, regulatory changes could shift the distribution of revenue and profit substantially across the entire industry. For example, states such as California and Utah are exploring new rules that would allow legal firms to sell “shares” of ownership to non-attorneys, creating new opportunities for the savvy investor.
This expanded access to information, to services, and to capital has the potential to improve legal services and generate significant value.

What will lawyers need to do to survive in this changing landscape?
Will “live” attorneys be replaced by legal robots?
Will these changes lead to greater competition?

Join us on October 24 to find out.

Moderator

Drew Amerson, Director of LexLab, UC Hastings

Panelists

Patrick Barry, COO, Logikcull
Amélie-Sophie Vavrovsky, Co-Founder & CEO, Formally
David Wang, Corporate Strategic Innovation Counsel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Dan Jansen, CEO and Managing Director, NextLaw Ventures

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Founders’ Series: The Next Wave of Venture
2019-06-06 18:00 - 20:30 | San Francisco, CA
Founders' Series

The Next Wave of Venture

Thursday, June 6, 20196:00 pm to 8:30 pm6:00 pm: Reception and networking7:00 pm: Fireside Chat

As the investment from major VC funds into Series A rounds and subsequent growth rounds continue to get larger, we are witnessing the emergence of new funds for smaller, earlier-stage companies. To fill this need, some VCs have formed new funds. Is this a “back to our roots” movement or a new wave in the VC community?
With an amazing track record of helping multiple startups become some of the biggest players in their respective industries, Mamoon Hamid has joined Kleiner Perkins to show that big can be nimble, too. In this special Founders’ Series event, Mamoon will share his insight and experience. Founders seeking financing will hear about various options and the consequences, and a few select founders will have the opportunity to get individual counseling about their unique challenge.
Join us on June 6 to hear more about the next wave of venture funding.

Our Panelists

Mamoon Hamid, Partner, Kleiner Perkins
Prior to joining Kleiner Perkins, Mamoon was a co-founder and general partner at Social Capital. Mamoon has been an early investor in and served on the boards of some of the most innovative software companies of recent times including Slack, Box, Yammer (acquired by Microsoft), Intercom, and Netskope. Prior to Social Capital, he was a Partner at U.S. Venture Partners (USVP). Mamoon started his Silicon Valley career at Xilinx where he spent six years in various engineering and business roles. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, an MS from Stanford University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
Stephanie Zeppa, Partner, Sheppard Mullin, Corporate & Securities Group
Stephanie has extensive experience representing both private and public companies in mergers and acquisitions, investments, strategic transactions and corporate governance matters. She also represents emerging growth companies, founders, and institutional and strategic investors with the formation, financing, and exits of emerging growth and technology companies.
She serves clients in the software, life sciences, and digital media industries. Her clients describe her as “an excellent negotiator” with a “broad understanding of issues.” (Chambers USA Northern California: Venture Capital and M&A).
Stephanie serves as an advisor to VLAB, Astia, and UCSF CTSI’s Catalyst Awards Program. She received her J.D. from UC Hastings and her B.A. from Pepperdine. Stephanie enjoys running, stand up paddle boarding, and riding bikes with her kids.
Sheppard Mullin’s Emerging Growth practice is a leading advisor to start-ups in the United States, Europe, and Asia. With 780 attorneys in 15 offices across the globe, we provide “one-stop” legal services to help an emerging company grow.

About the VLAB Founders’ Series
Founders’ Series events provide a unique opportunity for startups and technologists to take part in an interactive session. Come prepared with your burning questions!
If you would like to have the rare opportunity to take the “Hot Seat” on stage to receive feedback from the speakers, please be sure to enter your question in the field below. Startup founders selected for the “Hot Seat” will be notified in advance.
For all other questions, please contact founders.series@vlab.org.
Note: Founder's Series tickets are for startup founders and are subject to approval. Please allow 24-48 hours for final ticket confirmation.

Outdoor AR: Who Wants to Come Out to Play?
2019-06-05 18:00 - 20:30 | Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Outdoor AR
Who Wants to Come Out to Play?

Wednesday, June 5, 2019
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Augmented Reality (AR) has been one of the hottest and most-discussed technologies over the last decade. When executed well, AR adds contextual information and deepens people’s understanding of “reality” by overlaying 3D/2D computer graphics onto videos and display screens. Many experts are predicting an AR boom in the next 5 years over a wide range of applications, including entertainment, education, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and travel, among others.
Of these many potential uses, outdoor AR is an emerging sector that opens up new possibilities for location-based services. Adding a new digital layer on top of the existing world, outdoor AR will forever change the way we interact with information and open up new ways to transform our surrounding environment. The only limits are our imagination.
While the potential for outdoor AR is huge, it requires new infrastructure. Both startups and big corporations are racing to develop new mapping techniques to position graphics in the real world. Some players are betting on generating content through crowdsourcing, while others still prefer a “walled garden” approach to retain full control over data.

Which approach is going to be the most competitive in the long term?
What will it take to witness the power of AR at scale?
What precautions need to be taken to address privacy concerns?

Join us on June 5 to find out.

Moderator

Avi Bar-Zeev, Designer and Architect, Reality Prime

Panelists

Matt Miesnieks, CEO and Co-Founder, 6D.ai
Anjney Midha, Co-Founder and CEO, Ubiquity6
Rachel Inman, Staff UX Designer – Google Maps AR, Google
Peter Rojas, Founding Partner, Betaworks Ventures

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Cubberley Auditorium
Education Building
Stanford University
485 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Zero-Trust Cybersecurity: Trust No One?
2019-04-09 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford University: Hauck Auditorium, David and Joan Traitel Building, 435 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Zero-Trust Cybersecurity
Trust No One?

Tuesday, April 9, 2019
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Protecting digital assets is becoming harder and harder, for one alarming reason: most organizations have poorly prepared for the deluge of cloud-based applications and other online services. With this explosion of information availability, the potential for data breaches continues to grow exponentially.
Cybersecurity today must extend beyond simply protecting on-premises data. With the ever-increasing desire to access applications from any network, from anywhere, cybersecurity must also safeguard the data traversing among cloud applications, data centers, and end-point devices. The cost of failing to do so is potentially huge. According to a recent study sponsored by IBM, the average cost of a single data breach is over $3 million.
To neutralize these risks, one new approach that has been gaining momentum is the “zero-trust” model. Originally conceived by Forrester, major corporations like Google have adopted various forms of zero-trust cybersecurity. If implemented properly, zero-trust has the power to transform the industry.

Is zero-trust security destined to become mainstream?
Will a micro-segmentation security strategy offer enough protection?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of not trusting anyone by default?

Join us on April 9 to find out.

Moderator

Randy Wood, VP, Public Sector, Akamai Technologies

Panelists

Amir Sharif, Co-Founder, Aporeto
Andrew Rubin, CEO and Co-Founder, Illumio
Pere Monclus VP and CTO Networking and Security BU VMware
Deepak Jeevankumar Managing Director Dell Technologies Capital

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Hauck Auditorium
David and Joan Traitel Building
435 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305

Breakthroughs in Diabetes: Real Progress or Just More of the Same?
2019-02-26 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Breakthroughs in Diabetes
Real Progress or Just More of the Same?

Tuesday, February 26, 2019
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

More than 1.5 million people in the United States live with Type 1 diabetes, a disease in which the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, and managing this disease can be a huge burden. Yes, the industry has come a long way from the room-sized artificial pancreas of the 70s, paper records, finger pricking, and manual injections. However, even though these treatments are improving, they still require constant vigilance. One missed alarm or delayed injection could be fatal.
With today’s continuous glucose monitoring systems and self-optimizing insulin pumps — and improved software that connects the two — the search for the artificial pancreas may be close to over. And it’s not just big companies and startups that are having an impact. Feeling that progress still seems slow, some patients are taking matters into their own hands and creating their own artificial pancreas. Wherever these new solutions come from, they will have the power to transform millions of lives.

How close are we to an artificial pancreas?
What are companies learning from the patients who have made home-grown solutions?
Is the industry poised to shift from “treating” to “curing” diabetes?

Join us on February 26 to find out.

Moderator

Amy Tenderich, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, DiabetesMine

Panelists

Jeffrey Brewer, Founder and CEO, Bigfoot Biomedical
Eugene Brandon, Senior Director of Strategic Relations, ViaCyte
Joel Goldsmith, Senior Director, Digital Platforms, Abbott Diabetes Care
Divya Gopisetty, Associate, The diaTribe Foundation

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Young Entrepreneurs: Meet the New Generation of World-Changers
2019-01-22 18:00 - 20:30 | Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford University, 485 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Young Entrepreneurs
Meet the New Generation of World-Changers

Tuesday, January 22, 2019
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

The opportunity to change the world may be greater today than any other time in history, and young entrepreneurs are leading the charge. This passion to make the world a better place is driving a new generation of entrepreneurs, disrupting industries and established norms along the way. These entrepreneurs are not afraid of breaking rules and frequently adopt an unconventional approach to realize their goals.
More and more young people are choosing to embrace the challenge of entrepreneurship instead of becoming a cog in the wheel of a big corporation. A powerful combination of boundless curiosity, technological prowess, and the desire to create a better future is empowering these entrepreneurs to chase their dreams, often in the face of insurmountable odds. Any business — even one with designs on changing the world — will need to overcome numerous challenges and hurdles on the road to success.

How can entrepreneurs build a path from idea to profitability?
What are the trade-offs between dreams and reality, if any?
What are the new technologies and markets that inspire young entrepreneurs?

Join us on January 22 to discover how young startup founders are making a difference and helping prove that success is possible at any age.

Moderator

Jeremiah Owyang, Industry Analyst and Founding Partner, Kaleido Insights
An acknowledged thought leader and widely read publisher, Jeremiah Owyang has appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, and Fast Company. Through Catalyst Companies and Kaleido Insights, he also publishes numerous research reports, playbook, and frameworks to help businesses navigate change, improve customer experiences and identify trends before they happen.

Panelists

Andrew Scheuermann, CEO and Co-Founder, Arch Systems
Andrew is the CEO and Cofounder of Arch Systems, an impact-driven venture backed startup that retrofits legacy machines to empower Industry 4.0. Before Arch, he helped build StartX, one of the top startup accelerators in the world. Andrew was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2016 and holds a PhD in semiconductor electronics from Stanford.
Bá Minuzzi, Co-Founder and General Partner, Babel Ventures
Bá is best known in the tech industry as the founder of BABEL Ventures, the first venture firm in Silicon Valley to have a Latina as founder and solo GP, with a $30M early stage fund focused in biotech. She has been lauded her for “Breaking all the rules” and “Rocking male-dominated Silicon Valley” by various mainstream publications.
Riley Ennis, COO and Co-Founder, Freenome
Marina Mogilko, Co-Founder, LinguaTrip
Marina is a Russian entrepreneur, co-founder and CCO of LinguaTrip. She is a YouTuber and influencer with over 2M followers and a Forbes contributor. Marina was named one of the 16 women founders making moves in tech according to the Tech.co edition.

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Cubberley Auditorium
Education Building
Stanford University
485 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Quantum Computing: Technology Nirvana or Security Armageddon?
2018-11-15 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Quantum Computing
Technology Nirvana or Security Armageddon?

Thursday, November 15, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Quantum computing promises to create the most fundamental change in the history of computing. The increases in processing power and speed will enable new capabilities that would take years — or maybe are simply not possible — using “classical” computing technologies. From molecular and financial modeling to weather forecasting and artificial intelligence, quantum computing represents the biggest advance in decades.
Perhaps the greatest impact — and most dangerous threat — will be in cryptography. Capable of instantly breaking today’s strongest data encryption algorithms, quantum computing is a major focus of governments, multinational corporations, and a growing number of startups around the globe. Theoretically, the first organization to build a quantum computer will have the power to break any existing security key anywhere, potentially wreaking havoc on entire societies, militaries, and economies. The race is on.

When will quantum computing find its way into production?
How will organizations be able to protect against potential misuse?
Has the US fallen behind other countries in the quantum computing race?

Join us on November 15 to find out.

Moderator

Brady Forrest, Operating Partner, ETW Advisors

Panelists

Alexei Marchenkov, Founder and CEO, Bleximo
Louis Parks, Founder and CEO, SecureRF
Pete Shadbolt, Chief Science Officer, psiQuantum
Hratch Achadjian, Quantum Computing & AI, Head of Business Development – North America, Google
Joseph Raffa, Director, IBM Ventures

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

The Impact of Technology on Clinical Trials: Will AI and Mobile Create Cures Faster?
2018-10-15 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
The Impact of Technology on Clinical Trials
Will AI and Mobile Create Cures Faster?

Monday, October 15, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Bringing a new medical treatment or drug to market often takes years and costs billions of dollars, and clinical trials usually present the biggest sinkhole — by some estimates, up to 20% of a $65B industry. As medical expenses skyrocket, several startups working on AI and other emerging technologies aim to revolutionize or, in some cases, even replace the clinical trial process.
These new technologies promise to get the right cure to the right people at the right time, simply because they decrease the time to market and expenses involved in clinical trials — while also reducing the frustration that so many patients feel about their treatment options.

Can these technologies find the right participants for clinical trials?
Will these new innovations reverse the trend of rising health costs?
How can AI provide a “shot in the arm” for the clinical trial industry?

Join us on October 15 to find out.

Moderator

Daniel Kraft, Founder and Chair, Exponential Medicine

Panelists

Wout Brusselaers, Co-Founder and CEO, Deep 6 AI
Dr. Michelle Longmire, Co-Founder and CEO, Medable
Mohanad Fors, Global Head of BIOME – Digital Innovation Lab, Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Ruchita Sinha, Senior Director of Investments, Sanofi Ventures

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Open-Source Processors: Bringing Silicon Back to Silicon Valley?
2018-09-18 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Open-Source Processors
Bringing Silicon Back to Silicon Valley?

Tuesday, September 18, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

The open-source approach to developing new technologies is entering a new realm, with the potential to change an entire industry. For years, open-source has lived exclusively in the software domain. From Linux to GitHub, open-source software has become a powerful way to bring new products and solutions to market. This open-source transformation in software is now making its way to silicon, with far-reaching implications.
Open-source has the potential to be as big a game-changer in silicon as it has been in software. Companies like Sifive and Esperanto are already commercializing new architectures based on the open-source approach, and new open-source communities like the RISC V consortium are having a huge impact.
In this event, our panel will discuss the promise of open-source CPU architectures and the challenges faced in building complete system-on-a-chip (SoC) products around an open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA).

What will motivate chip companies and customers to embrace open-source hardware?
What ecosystem components are needed for successful commercialization?Which domains will benefit by embedding an open-architecture?
What business models can succeed in this new ecosystem?

Join us on September 18 to find out.

Moderator

Linley Gwennap, President, The Linley Group

Panelists

Krste Asanovic, Co-Founder and Chief Architect, SiFive
Art Swift, VP Marketing and Business Development, Esperanto Technologies
John Heinlein, Vice President, Chief of Staff to the CEO, ARM
Stefan Dyckerhoff, Managing Director, Sutter Hill Ventures

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

The Proliferation of Artificial Intelligence: Will AI Be the Biggest Disruption in the Next 10 Years?
2018-06-19 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
The Proliferation of Artificial Intelligence
Will AI Be the Biggest Disruption in the Next 10 Years?

Tuesday, June 19, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Evolutionary disruptions in machine learning, deep learning, and artificial intelligence are ushering a new age of “intelligent enterprise,” creating unprecedented opportunities for both startups and established companies. Gartner projects that the value of AI-derived businesses will reach $3.9 trillion in 2022.
From home automation to self-driving cars, cognitive learning and AI have the potential to be the most disruptive class of technologies during the next 10 years. Driven by increasingly powerful computational capabilities and new advances in context-based learning, the implications are huge — for business, for entire industries, and for society as a whole.
In this event, our panelists will explore how enterprises are reinventing business processes, workflows, and customer services.

Will AI live up to its expectations?
What are the requirements for true cognitive learning?
How can businesses leverage the latest advances in AI?

Join us on June 19 to find out.

Moderator

Mariya Yao, Editor-in-Chief, TOPBOTS

Panelists

Patrick Ehlen, Chief Scientist, Loop AI Labs
SriSatish Ambati, CEO and Co-Founder, H2O.ai
Shubho Sengupta, Facebook AI Research (FAIR)
Jishnu Bhattacharjee, Managing Partner, Nexus Venture Partners

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Fully Autonomous Vehicles: Removing the Front-Seat Driver
2018-05-24 18:00 - 20:30 | William R. Hewlett Teaching Center, Room 200, 370 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Fully Autonomous Vehicles
Removing the Front-Seat Driver

Thursday, May 24, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

The automotive industry is bracing for a new surge of progress and opportunity, with billions of dollars on the line. The potential is huge. People have been dreaming about owning a self-driving car for decades, and recent sales have shown that consumers are willing to spend big bucks for this dream.
The final push to widespread availability of fully autonomous vehicles has begun. Testing has moved onto public roads, and in the next few years, several vendors plan to release autonomous vehicles in limited-use “Level 4” situations (taxis, transit companies, fleet operations, freeway-only driving). As the technology advances from “assisted driving” to true self-driving, consumer-ready vehicles for general road travel (Level 5) will be tailgating right behind.
In this panel, industry-leading startups, entrepreneurs, and investors will explore the technologies and challenges related to realizing the dream of a fully autonomous self-driving vehicle — i.e. a vehicle that a human does not need to monitor and that can completely take over all driving responsibilities.

Will small startups or large corporations have the inside track?
How will we know when self-driving cars are safe enough?
How will self-driving cars change our lifestyle?

Take a ride with us on May 24 to find out.

Moderator

Rob Coneybeer, Managing Director, Shasta Ventures
– More than $1B under management

Panelists

Sterling Anderson, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Aurora
– Named “America’s Hottest Self-Driving Startup” by Wired
Ivan Mihov, Director of Program Management, Zoox
– Valued at over $1B by Crunchbase
Vinay Shet, Director of Product, Lyft
– Ground-breaking car transportation company
Alexei Andreev, Managing Director, Autotech Ventures
– Focused on the $3T ground transportation sector

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William R. Hewlett Teaching Center
Room 200
Stanford University
370 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA 94305
Stanford campus map

Robotic Dexterity: Grabbing the Brass Ring
2018-04-24 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Robotic Dexterity
Grabbing the Brass Ring

Tuesday, April 24, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

From warehouse operations to surgical operations, robots are lending a helping hand like never before. With a rapidly improving ability to manipulate objects of all shapes and sizes, they have the potential to replace human operators with better accuracy, better precision, and better efficiency.
In Robotic Dexterity, we will explore how the latest advances in robotic technologies have the potential to transform entire industries. By combining cloud computing and machine learning with groundbreaking gripper designs, these innovations in dexterity are shaping our future — sometimes literally.
Our panel of founders and industry insiders will explore these and other issues.

Where are the best opportunities for entrepreneurs?
Will these new robots completely replace all human workforces?
How will society react to increasingly capable robots?

Join us on April 24 to find out what the future “holds.”

Moderator

Stefano Carpin, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Merced

Panelists

Harsha Prahlad, Co-Founder and CTO and Products Officer, Grabit
Juan Aparicio Ojea, Head of Research Group, Advanced Manufacturing Automation, Siemens
Matt Howard, Managing Partner, Norwest Venture Partners

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Founders’ Series: Strategies for Negotiating Term Sheets
2018-03-27 18:00 - 20:30 | San Francisco, CA
Founders' Series

Strategies for Negotiating Term Sheets
with Stephanie Zeppa and Andrew Romans

Tuesday, March 27, 20186:00 pm to 8:30 pm6:00 pm: Reception and networking7:00 pm: Fireside Chat

San Francisco(Address will be sent to registered attendees.)

After intense networking, intro requests, and pitches, you have finally landed a term sheet. Signing it will give you much-needed growth capital to take your startup to the next level. You will be able to hire more team members, build out the game plan, and zero in on the needs of your best customers. Most importantly, it will let you, the founder, get back to building the business instead of fundraising.
Unfortunately, this is often the time when most startup founders agree to terms that they regret later.
Join us for a lively discussion from two important perspectives: a corporate attorney and a VC. After a breakdown the do’s and don’t’s of terms sheet negotiation, attendees will have an opportunity to participate in a Q&A session.
There will also be a drawing for a free signed copy of Andrew’s book, Masters of Corporate Venture Capital.

Panelists

Stephanie Zeppa, Partner, Sheppard Mullin, Corporate & Securities Group
Stephanie has extensive experience representing both private and public companies in mergers and acquisitions, investments, strategic transactions and corporate governance matters. She also represents emerging growth companies, founders, and institutional and strategic investors with the formation, financing, and exits of emerging growth and technology companies.
She serves clients in the software, life sciences, and digital media industries. Her clients describe her as “an excellent negotiator” with a “broad understanding of issues.” (Chambers USA Northern California: Venture Capital and M&A).
Stephanie serves as an advisor to VLAB, Astia, and UCSF CTSI’s Catalyst Awards Program. She received her J.D. from UC Hastings and her B.A. from Pepperdine. Stephanie enjoys running, stand up paddle boarding, and riding bikes with her kids.
Sheppard Mullin’s Emerging Growth practice is a leading advisor to start-ups in the United States, Europe, and Asia. With 780 attorneys in 15 offices across the globe, we provide “one-stop” legal services to help an emerging company grow.
Andrew Romans, General Partner, Rubicon Venture Capital
Based in Silicon Valley, Andrew is a successful VC-backed entrepreneur, author of two top-selling books on venture capital, former tech VC and M&A investment banker, cofounder of an angel group, and now general partner of Rubicon Venture Capital, a VC fund active in Silicon Valley, New York, and Europe. His books, Masters of Corporate Venture Capital and The Entrepreneurial Bible to Venture Capital have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, and Russian by major publishers.
Andrew raised over $48m for tech startups he founded by the age of 28. He has continually raised VC funding as a founder, banker, or VC ever since. He was the founder and general partner of The Founders Club and also acted as the managing director of EMEA at VC-backed Sentito Networks (acquired by Verso Technologies) and managed enterprise software sales in Europe at VC-backed Motive Communications (NASDAQ IPO).
He is also a frequent VC guest speaker on TV shows including MSNBC, CNBC and ABC, as well as various TV channels in China and Russia. He was born in Japan, lived in Europe for 15 years and is fluent in English, German, and French and can speak conversationally in Slovak. He began his career in 1993 working in the UNIX computing industry at Pencom Systems in New York, Silicon Valley, and Austin. He holds a BA from the University of Vermont and an MBA in finance from Georgetown University, which he completed on scholarship.

Andrew’s new book Masters of Initial Coin Offerings – ICOs & The Blockchain, which focuses on the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cryptocurrencies, token economies and what it means for startups, large corporations, sales & trading and venture capital, will be available soon.

About the VLAB Founders’ Series
Founders’ Series events provide a unique opportunity for startups and technologists to take part in an interactive session. Come prepared with your burning questions!
If you would like to have the rare opportunity to take the “Hot Seat” on stage to receive feedback from the speakers, please be sure to enter your question in the field below. Startup founders selected for the “Hot Seat” will be notified in advance.
For all other questions, please contact founders.series@vlab.org.
Note: Founder's Series tickets are for startup founders and are subject to approval. Please allow 24-48 hours for final ticket confirmation.

The Future of Storytelling: AR/VR Turns Its Gaze on TV and Cinema
2018-03-20 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
The Future of Storytelling
AR/VR Turns Its Gaze on TV and Cinema?

Tuesday, March 20, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

The way we tell stories is on the verge of a seismic shift in technology. Over the millennia, storytelling has evolved from oral traditions shared around the campfire to viral videos shared with millions around the globe — and it’s not stopping there. Technologies such as AR and VR are disrupting TV and film makers everywhere from Hollywood to Bollywood.
As AR/VR shifts its gaze from gaming to cinema, familiar 2-D rectangular displays are being replaced with new experiences that are deeply immersive, interactive, and personalizable. And investment is hot, with more than $5B in VC investments. In a market projected to explode tenfold by 2020, multiple startups are vying for lead roles in this new production.
Our panel of founders and industry insiders will explore these and other issues.

How are startups raising capital and making money in mixed reality?
What impact will AR/VR have on social media?
How are TV and film studios adapting to these new opportunities?
What technical and social challenges stand in the way of mass adoption?

Join us March 20 to hear how these technologies are shaping the future of storytelling.

Moderator

Jesse Damiani, Founder and CEO, Galatea

Panelists

Robin Sho Moser, Founder and CEO, eyecandylab
Larry Cutler, Founder and CTO, Baobab Studios
Ted Schilowitz, Futurist in Residence, Paramount Pictures
Maddie Callander, Director of Operations, Boost VC

View or download flyer for event:

Download the printable PDF.

Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

ICOs and the Token Economy: Disruption or Deception?
2018-02-27 18:00 - 20:30 | Stanford Faculty Club, Stanford University, 439 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
ICOs and the Token Economy
Disruption or Deception?

Tuesday, February 27, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Even the most seasoned investors, entrepreneurs, and established businesses have been caught off guard by the meteoric rise of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), cryptographic tokens, and blockchain-based application development. Early-stage startups raised nearly $4B from ICOs during the past year, far outstripping venture and angel funding. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently spoke out, emphatically cautioning that many ICOs may be violating securities laws.
Beyond the legal concerns and the hype awaits a potential technological and economic disruption not seen since the birth of the worldwide web: the decentralization of the Internet. If successful, decentralization of data storage and ownership promises to dramatically upend the status quo, cutting out intermediaries and centralized platforms and replacing them with token-based, peer-to-peer transactions executed via “smart contracts.” Myriad service industries are in blockchain’s crosshairs, from financial and payment processing to ride and home sharing, such as Uber and Airbnb.

As decentralization evolves, what form will it take? When will it occur, and at what scale?
What are the obstacles and barriers?
Given recent SEC action, what is the future of ICOs?
How will companies, businesses, and markets benefit from these changes?

Join us on February 27, 2018, to find out.

Moderator

Amy Wan, Founder, Sagewise.io

Panelists

Amanda Straub, Senior Counsel, Cyber Unit, Division of Enforcement, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Charles Hudson, Founder and Managing Partner, Precursor Ventures
Eric Ly, Founder and CEO, Hub Token, and Co-Founder, LinkedIn
Richard Craib, Founder, Numerai

Demo Pavillion

Alpha Coin • Cypherium • Earn.com • Hack Fund • Hub • Luna Capital • NEM Foundation • Olympus Labs • Sagewise • Votem • WorkCoin

View or download flyer for event:

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Stanford Faculty Club
Stanford University
439 Lagunita Drive
Stanford, CA 94305
Driving directions and parking information

Young Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Living the American Dream
2018-01-30 18:00 - 20:30 | SRI International Conference Center, 333 Ravenswood Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
Young Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Living the American Dream

Tuesday, January 30, 2018
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

One of the most highly-motivated, capable groups of individuals in America is often taken for granted: young immigrant entrepreneurs. They leave their home countries to bring their dreams to live in the land of opportunity. Immigrants are some of our most brilliant innovators, researchers, and scientists. They make up only 12% of the U.S. population but in recent years hold 30% of its patents, 47% of its doctorates in science and engineering, and 25% of its Nobel Prizes. Young immigrant entrepreneurs are tackling challenging problems, building successful companies, creating jobs, and adding to the economy.
While there are political factions with anti-immigration agendas, the facts will not change: immigrants are twice as likely to start businesses than U.S.-born citizens. According to Inc. Magazine, between 1995 and 2005 immigrants founded 52% of all new Silicon Valley companies, with 25% of them raising VC funds. In 2012, tech companies founded by immigrant entrepreneurs employed over 560,000 people and generated over $63 billion in sales.
Well-known immigrant entrepreneurs, including Sergey Brin, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Vinod Khosla, have built some of the world’s most successful companies. If not for immigrants, Google, PayPal, Tesla, Evernote, Reddit, and many other companies would not exist. With new ideas and diverse perspectives, young immigrant entrepreneurs are leading promising startups that could be the next unicorns.

What drives these young entrepreneurs to immigrate?
How do they overcome the many challenges that they face?
Are they concerned about immigration reform affecting their companies?

* Source: Bernard Munos, Senior Fellow, FasterCures

Moderator

Mohit Aron, Founder and CEO, Cohesity
With 15 years of experience in building scalable, high-performance distribution systems, Mohit has been attributed as the father of hyper-convergence. Prior to founding Cohesity in 2013, he co-founded Nutanix and before that was at Google as a lead developer on the Google File System engineering project. Mohit holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Rice University.

Panelists

Iba Masood, Co-Founder and CEO, TARA.AI
With a strong passion for machine learning, Iba has spent the last seven years building mechanisms for pre-screening and project deployment in software, for hundreds of enterprise customers. She was recently awarded the Forbes “30 under 30,” is a past winner of the MIT Global Business Plan competition, and was a recipient of the UN ITU Young Innovator’s Award. She has also been featured in TechCrunch, Wired, and The Huffington Post.
Tenzin Seldon, Co-Founder and CEO, Kinstep
Raised in the Indian Himalayas, Tenzin graduated with honors from Stanford University and was the first Tibetan-American Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. An advocate for disenfranchised communities, her work has been recognized around the globe: Forbes “30 under 30,” World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Harry S. Truman Scholar, and one of OZY magazine’s “5 Civil-Rights Leaders for a New Generation.” She has also been a visiting lecturer at Rangsit University and UC Berkeley.
Gary Kurek, Founder and CEO, Kügar
After spending years manufacturing advanced robotic mobility aids, Gary launched Kügar to develop technology that redefines how we build complex electromechanical systems, with an aim to bring automated manufacturing back to the United States. He was the youngest Canadian to ever receive an O-1A extraordinary ability visa, was selected as part of Peter Thiel’s “20 Under 20” inaugural class in 2011, was one of Canada’s “Top 20 under 20,” and is a Forbes “Top 30 under 30.”
Adelanwa Adesanya, Co-Founder, Moving Analytics, Inc.
Originally from Nigeria, Ade is the co-founder of Moving Analytics, a digital health company dedicated to conquering heart disease through digital prevention programs. One of Ade’s passions is helping entrepreneurs actualize their visions. Previously, he worked with researchers at USC to commercialize their research into startup companies and is the co-founder of Lighthouse Africa, a nonprofit whose mission is to foster early-stage investing in African entrepreneurs.

Featured Speaker

Iliana G. Perez, Research Analyst, Stanford University Graduate School of Business
Born in Hidalgo, Mexico, and a DACA recipient in 2013, Iliana focuses on immigrant entrepreneurs, the successes of immigrant students, the effects of deportation on the lives of young adults, and the economics of immigration. She has shared her story with various audiences across the country and on several media outlets, including the LA Times, Business Insider, CNN, CNNE, The Huffington Post, Univision, La Opinion, and Radio Bilingue.

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Download the printable PDF.

SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Nuclear Fusion: Reacting To Commercialization
2017-11-14 18:00 - 20:30 | William R. Hewlett Teaching Center, Room 200, 370 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305, United States
Nuclear Fusion
Reacting To Commercialization

Tuesday, November 14, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Successful entrepreneurs including Peter Thiel, Paul Allen, and Jeff Bezos are investing in innovative nuclear fusion startup companies, such as Helion Energy, Tri-Alpha, and General Fusion. Lockheed Martin is building a compact fusion reactor prototype, looking at future markets. These approaches are leaner and evolve faster than large government or international fusion projects.
Startups may now apply AI to accelerate nuclear fusion. Innovative physics and AI technology provide nuclear fusion moon shots an opportunity to change the world, disrupting future markets with cost-effective abundant energy.
The race to commercialization is accelerating, as investors make socially responsible long-term commitments. While each machine is modest compared to government or international efforts, their results point to multiple paths for commercialization of nuclear fusion.
Come listen to a panel drawn from the frontier of commercialization of nuclear fusion.

Learn innovative commercial approaches to Nuclear Fusion
Understand Socially Responsible Investing Options
Ask your questions of the Pioneers!

Moderator

Rachel Slaybaugh, APRA-E Program Director and Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley

Panelists

Michel Laberge, Founder and Chief Scientist, General Fusion
Matthew Thompson, Director of Physics, Tri Alpha Energy
Tom McGuire, Research Engineer and Scientist, Lockheed Martin
Ray Rothrock, Former General Partner, Venrock, Chair of NVCA, and CEO of Redseal

View or download flyer for event:

Download the printable PDF.

William R. Hewlett Teaching Center
Room 200
370 Serra Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA

This is event is sponsored by

The US-Asia Technology Management Center, or US-ATMC, is an education and research center located at Stanford University. US-ATMC education and research programs about innovation and emerging business trends provide Stanford students in technical fields, and the Silicon Valley community at large, with knowledge and analytical capabilities that will be important to global success in high-tech fields in the Twenty-First Century.

Founders' Series: The Scalable Founder
2017-11-02 18:00 - 20:30 | San Francisco, CA
Founders' Series

The Scalable Founder
Scaling the Company, the Team, and Yourself
with Jacques Benkoski and Mark Coopersmith

Thursday, November 2, 20176:00 pm to 8:30 pm6:00 pm: Reception and networking7:00 pm: Fireside Chat

San Francisco(Address will be sent to registered attendees.)

The “Scalable” founder learns to overcome personal challenges, pushing the limits to achieve lasting success. Failure to manage individual demons can doom a company and destroy friendships. Personal growth may be one of the toughest challenges an entrepreneur may face. Only those who learn how to grow personally will survive and thrive — scaling the company, scaling the team, and “scaling” themselves.
If you are a founder or are thinking about starting a company, join us on Thursday, November 2, 2017, for a fireside conversation with Jacques Benkoski and Mark Coopersmith. Hear from two seasoned entrepreneurs and investors about the seldom-addressed personal challenges you will face in growing your startup and how to overcome them.
Among the topics Jacques and Mark will address:

Navigating founding, funding, and growth
Surviving near-death experiences (and you will have them)
Working with your Board and other key stakeholders
Maintaining perspective

Panelists

Jacques Benkoski
An international businessman, Jacques was born in Belgium, educated in Israel and the U.S., held executive positions in Europe and the U.S. Jacques is an active investor in the Israeli market and in the IT markets in the U.S. Past USVP companies include Trusteer (acq by IBM), Dune Networks (acq Broadcom) and ClearShape (acq Cadence) along with executive chairmanships at Certess (acq Springsoft) and Synfora (acq Synopsys).
Jacques currently sits on the boards of Chute, Kilopass, Kenna Security, Qnovo, SupplyFrame, Zerto, and ZypMedia. Before joining USVP, Jacques was CEO of Monterey Design Systems from 1999 until its acquisition in 2004. He founded the European subsidiary of Epic Design Technology (EPIC) which had a successful IPO in 1994 and became Vice President of European Sales following its acquisition by Synopsys. Earlier in his career, Jacques held a number of positions at IMEC,
Before joining USVP, Jacques was CEO of Monterey Design Systems from 1999 until its acquisition in 2004. He founded the European subsidiary of Epic Design Technology (EPIC) which had a successful IPO in 1994 and became Vice President of European Sales following its acquisition by Synopsys. Earlier in his career, Jacques held a number of positions at IMEC, IBM and STMicroelectronics. Fluent in English, French, and Hebrew, Jacques holds a B.Sc. in computer engineering from Technion Israel Institute of Technology, and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He is on the Board of Governors of Technion and on board of the California Israel Chamber of Commerce.
Mark Coopersmith
Mark Coopersmith is an educator, entrepreneur, and best-selling author. A Senior Fellow and Faculty Director at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, he teaches entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership to current and future leaders at CAL and around the world. As a Fortune 500 executive and corporate entrepreneur he has built and run global businesses for Sony and Newell Rubbermaid. He has launched and built successful (and not-so-successful) Silicon Valley startups — Google now owns an e-commerce platform he founded.
Mark is a frequent keynote speaker and moderator. His entrepreneurship students and teams have launched more than 100 ventures globally. Many of these have failed, but more than a few have seen success as well. Learn more in his best-selling book “The Other “F” Word: How Smart Leaders, Teams and Entrepreneurs Put Failure to Work (Jon Wiley and Sons, co-authored with Jon Danner).

View or download flyer for event:

Download the printable PDF.

About the VLAB Founders’ Series
Founders’ Series events provide a unique opportunity for startups and technologists to take part in an interactive session. Come prepared with your burning questions!
If you would like to have the rare opportunity to take the “Hot Seat” on stage to receive feedback from the speakers, please be sure to enter your question in the field below. Startup founders selected for the “Hot Seat” will be notified in advance.
For all other questions, please contact founders.series@vlab.org.
Note: Founder's Series tickets are for startup founders and are subject to approval. Please allow 24-48 hours for final ticket confirmation.

Managing Hyperscale: AI Enters The Data Center
2017-10-17 18:00 - 20:30 | SRI International Conference Center, 333 Ravenswood Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
Managing Hyperscale
AI Enters The Data Center

Tuesday, October 17, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Entrepreneurs and established companies alike are exploring a new frontier for AI — The Data Center. Data consumption is increasing at an unprecedented rate as the adoption of enterprise and consumer applications in IoT, cloud computing, autonomous vehicles, and online collaboration tool go mainstream.
To keep up with the demand, data center operators may run 100,000 servers in a single location. Managing critical infrastructure at hyperscale is an expensive challenge that requires skilled IT staff. Artificial intelligence is now providing solutions that allow companies to control costs by optimizing energy consumption, monitoring performance, and even enhancing call center support more efficiently. AI has entered the data center.
According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Hyperscale Data Center market is expected to grow from $20.24 billion in 2016 to reach $102.19 billion by 2023 with a CAGR of 26.0%. Startups along with big players including AWS, Equinix, and Ericsson are all running hard to get the edge over the competition. In this new frontier:

Will startups develop AI solutions that disrupt established companies?
Which trends will lead the industry?
Will AI deliver on the promise of more efficient data center operations?

Join us on October 17, 2017, 6:00 pm at SRI International in Menlo Park.

Moderator

Ravi Belani, Fenwick & West Lecturer of Entrepreneurship at Stanford University and Managing Director at Alchemist Accelerator

Panelists

Scott Noteboom, Founder and CEO, LitBit

Val Bercovici, Founder and CEO, PencilDATA
Tom Vo, Director of Engineering, Ericsson

Supdip Chakrabarti, Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners

View or download flyer for event:

Download the printable PDF.

SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Deep Genomics: Artificial Intelligence Meets The Human Genome
2017-06-20 18:00 - 20:30 | SRI International Conference Center, 333 Ravenswood Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
Deep Genomics
Artificial Intelligence Meets The Human Genome

Tuesday, June 20, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Deep Genomics is opening doors to understanding the large-scale, incredibly complex data set that makes up the human genome. The Human Genome sequencing project, completed in 2003 cost $3B and took 15 years to complete. Now the human genome can be sequenced within a matter of days for approximately $1,000, making it possible to generate data sets for Deep Genomics. Using artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning algorithms, and complex data sets, the entire healthcare industry could be revolutionized — from diagnostics to gene therapies to personalized medicine. Deep Genomics holds the key to unlocking the biggest disruptions in the medical, life sciences, and pharmaceutical industries.
The potential returns for investors are driving a funding race. Startups are raising billions of dollars in venture capital. Earlier this year, Grail raised $900M in a series B round for their “high-intensity sequencing approach” in a market estimated to reach $45B by 2024. While there is a tremendous business opportunity, there are huge privacy implications related to mass-genomics data collection.

Which companies will prevail with this emerging technology’s ecosystem?
How will companies access the data?
Will the development of new therapies be accelerated as a result of Deep Genomics?

Moderator

Raeka Aiyar, Director of Scientific Strategy and Communications, Stanford Genome Technology Center

Panelists

Charlene Son Rigby, SVP Customer Operations, Fabric Genomics
Helmy Eltoukhy, CEO, Guardant Health
Andy Felton, VP Marketing & Product Management, Ion Torrent Business
Ursheet Parikh, Partner, Mayfield Fund

View or download flyer for event:

Download the printable PDF.

SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Founders' Series: What Does it Take to Raise a Real Series A?
2017-06-08 18:00 - 20:30 | Palo Alto, CA
Founders' Series

What Does it Take to Raise a Real Series A?

Thursday, June 8, 20176:00 pm to 8:30 pm6:00 pm: Reception and networking7:00 pm: Fireside Chat

Palo Alto, CA(Address will be sent to registered attendees.)

Raising a Series A round is vastly different from raising seed or angel funding and even if a founder has received angel or seed-stage funding, it can be difficult to secure follow-on funding. What do founders need to know in order to increase the likelihood of successfully raising a Series A round?
Join Ted Schlein, General Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Hank Barry, partner and co-chair of Sidley Austin’s Emerging Companies/Venture Capital practice as they discuss what entrepreneurs need to know in order to heighten their chances of attracting Series A funding. Some of the topics they will cover include:

What metrics (with respect to the product or service; revenue; team) do companies need to achieve before a VC will consider investing?
When should founders start thinking about and developing their Series A strategy? What does the typical timeline look like from seed to Series A?
If a VC has invested at the seed stage, does that increase the likelihood of raising a Series A or raising a larger round?
VCs meet with a lot of entrepreneurs – How can founders stand out from the crowd?
Are investor days worthwhile? What about accelerators?
How much should you raise?

Panelists

Hank Barry
Hank Barry is chair of Sidley’s Emerging Companies and Venture Capital (ECVC) practice and a founder of the firm’s Palo Alto office. Prior to joining Sidley, Hank was a managing director at Hummer Winblad Venture Partners in San Francisco. From 2000 to 2002, he served as CEO and a Board member of Napster, Inc.
Hank has advised many prominent technology companies as a lawyer, investor and director, including seven companies in which he was involved from formation through IPO. He represents Amazon.com Inc. and other companies in digital media matters, as well as technology startups and venture capital firms.
He has testified twice before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee with respect to technology and intellectual property policy.
Hank is a frequent speaker at industry conferences on topics related to venture capital, emerging companies, cybersecurity, eCommerce, digital media and copyright issues, and he has been a guest lecturer at Stanford’s Program in Law, Science & Technology and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. He is consistently recognized as a leading practitioner in his field by various publications including: Who’s Who Legal (2016) in the area of Telecommunications Media & Technology; The Legal 500 US and The Best Lawyers in America, who named him San Jose Lawyer of the Year 2016 for Technology Law, and he is also recognized in the areas of Information Technology and M&A Law. Hank currently serves on the Board of Directors of KQED, Inc., the Milt Olin Foundation and he is a member of the VLAB MIT Enterprise Forum advisory board.
Ted Schlein
Ted Schlein joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in 1996 and focuses on early-stage technology companies in the enterprise software and infrastructure markets, including ventures within the networking and consumer security arenas. Ted has led KPCB’s involvement in a number of successful investments, including Mandiant (acquired by Fire Eye), Chegg (CHGG), IPO, LifeLock (LOCK), IPO; ArcSight (ARST), IPO, sold to HP; Beijing Venustech (002439:Shenzhen),IPO; Corio (CRIO), sold to IBM; Extensity (EXTN), sold to GEAC; Fortify Software, sold to HP; Internet Security Systems (ISSX), sold to IBM; and Oakley Networks, sold to Raytheon. Ted was the founding CEO of Fortify Software, a pioneer in the software security market and now an HP company. He serves on the board of directors of 3VR, Area 1 Security, Alien Vault, Chegg, FullStory, Inspirato, Ionic Security, IronNet Cybersecurity, IronPlanet, Phantom Security, Reputation.com, Shape Security, Synack and Trusona. Additionally, Ted oversees KPCB’s investments in Ayasdi, Carbon Black, Endgame Systems and Segment.
Before joining KPCB, Ted served as vice president, Enterprise Solutions at Symantec. One of Symantec’s early employees, he played an instrumental role in the company’s growth and dominance as a global software leader. Ted led Symantec’s successful move into the software utilities market, as well as the launch of its commercial anti-virus solution, an offering that quickly emerged as the industry gold standard.
Ted is the former chairman of the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), a national alliance advocating the role of venture investing in job creation, technology innovation and economic development. He is also the former president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists and the founder of DoD sponsored DeVenCI program. He currently serves on the board of overseers of the Engineering School at the University of Pennsylvania and sits on the Board of Trustees at InQTel. Ted frequently participates as an opinion leader in public, private and government forums, providing perspectives on security technology, related investments and market adoption trends. Ted holds a B.A. degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

About the VLAB Founders’ Series
Founders’ Series events provide a unique opportunity for startups and technologists to take part in an interactive session. Come prepared with your burning questions!
If you would like to have the rare opportunity to take the “Hot Seat” on stage to receive feedback from the speakers, please be sure to enter your question in the field below. Startup founders selected for the “Hot Seat” will be notified in advance.
For all other questions, please contact founders.series@vlab.org.
Note: Founder's Series tickets are for startup founders and are subject to approval. Please allow 24-48 hours for final ticket confirmation.

Sports Analytics: Changing The Game
2017-05-23 18:00 - 20:30 | SRI International Conference Center, 333 Ravenswood Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
Sports Analytics
Changing The Game

Tuesday, May 23, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Sports analytics is changing the game by providing insights that improve athletic performance, affect coaching decisions, and engage audiences in new ways. Using sensor technology, computer vision, and VR, startups and tech companies are developing state-of-the-art algorithms that reveal physiological details about the athletes as they train and compete. Now every professional sports team is investing in analytics. Precise data provides coaches and fans with intimate knowledge about each player on the field, allowing them to view the game like never before. As sports technology evolves, it gets relied on more and more each day.
The sports analytics industry, according to Research and Markets analysts, is expected to reach $3.97B over the next five years — but is not without controversy. Athletes are concerned about who has the right to their personal data, and many have speculated that draft picks and player salaries could be determined by the data.

Will sports analytics be available to all, or to only teams with the biggest budgets?
Who stands to make the most money?
Which sports are changing as a result of sports analytics technology?

Moderator

Ted Ramey, Sports Broadcaster at KNBR 1050 and Radio PXP voice of the SJ Earthquakes, and AM sports anchor at 107.7 The Bone

Panelists

Michael Sharf, Founder and CEO, Bridge Athletic
Steven Smith, Founder and CEO, Kitman Labs
Howard G. Wright, Vice President, Intel Capital/Global Business Development, Intel Sports Group
John Malloy, General Partner and Founder, Blue Run Ventures

View or download flyer for event:

Download the printable PDF.

SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Debate Series: Exit Strategies Debated
2017-05-11 18:00 - 21:00 | Quadrus Conference Center, 2400 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
Debate Series

Exit Strategies Debated

Thursday, May 11, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Oxford style debate: Exit by acquisition is new norm, plan for it.
We’re launching VLAB’s Debate Series, a lively Oxford style debate, sponsored by PwC. To weigh the costs and consequences for you, your employees, and your current investors, out team of our world-class investing firms, and a leading law firm debate the proposition “Exit by acquisition is the new norm. Plan for it.”
This is for you if you are a C-level startup executive in growth stage, contemplating exit strategies. You pose questions to the debaters, You determine the outcome.
This event is invite only. If you would like to be considered or nominate someone, send that person’s name, company, and email to debates@vlab.org.
Why Attend

Get insights and war stories from leading investors in the Valley.
Put your questions to the debaters. Get opposing views.

Debate Chair

Stephanie Zeppa, Partner, Corporate & Securities Practice Group, Sheppard Mullin

Debate Team FOR the Motion

Tricia Salinero, Partner and Managing Director, Woodside Capital Partners
Elliott Robinson, Principal, Microsoft Ventures

Debate Team AGAINST the Motion

Kempton Dunn, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
Jonathan MacQuitty, Venture Partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners

Agenda

6:00 to 6:30 PM – Social with wine, cheese and hors d’oeuvres
6:30 to 6:40 PM – Welcome and introductions
6:40 to 8:00 – Oxford style debate

Audience Poll
Opening arguments
Audience questions
Closing arguments
Post audience polls

8:00 to 9:00 – Social with wine, cheese, and hors d’oeuvres

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Quadrus Conference Center
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025

This is event is sponsored by

With over 223,000 people in 157 countries, PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) is one of the world’s largest professional services networks. With a corporate purpose to “Build trust in society and solve important problems,” PwC is organized around 3 primary business lines: Assurance, Advisory, and Tax / Legal. PwC’s people work tirelessly to serve their clients around their most pressing issues, while also enhancing their own professional experiences and development. PwC is a VLAB Platinum sponsor. Learn more at pwc.com.

Next-Generation Networking: Disaggregating the Data Center
2017-04-25 18:00 - 20:30 | SRI International Conference Center, 333 Ravenswood Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
Next-Generation Networking
Disaggregating the Data Center

Tuesday, April 25, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Data centers, the last bastions of proprietary Internet infrastructure solutions, are facing a new challenger, one that promises to break down walls by providing standardization, flexibility, and increased control over data center operations — Open Data Center Networking.
For decades, networking giants like Cisco, Juniper, and Brocade dominated the industry. Later, Google, Facebook, and Amazon built extensive data centers using proprietary hardware and software, emerging as leading hyper-scale operators. Today, the Open Compute Project is disaggregating hardware and software in the data center to provide greater flexibility, scalability, and efficiency with software doing more heavy lifting.
This next generation of networking is driving disruption in the IT infrastructure market, which IDC predicts will maintain a 24% CAGR to reach over $140B by 2019.

With the adoption of open data center networking, who will come out ahead?
Will IT infrastructure startups be able to challenge the infrastructure giants that currently dominate the market?
Which companies are the venture capitalists watching?

Moderator

Roy Chua, Co-Founder and Partner, SDxCentral

Panelists

Mansour Karam, Co-Founder and CEO, Apstra
JR Rivers, Co-Founder and CTO, Cumulus Networks
Amit Sanyal, VP of Product Management, Innovium
Sudip Chakrabarti, Partner, LightSpeed Venture Partners

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SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Immunotherapy: Hacking How the Body Fights Disease
2017-03-21 18:00 - 20:30 | CA
Immunotherapy
Hacking How the Body Fights Disease

Tuesday, March 21, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

Immunotherapy researchers are applying new insights into how the immune system works to unleash its power on cancer and fight autoimmune diseases like diabetes, MS and rheumatoid arthritis. Private investors, VCs, and pharmaceutical companies are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into groundbreaking immunotherapies, and clinicians are scrambling to identify and test the most promising treatments.
In spite of the huge expense, time-consuming research, rigorous clinical testing, and FDA approval requirements, startups, non-profit organizations, and established companies alike are racing to bring the next immunotherapy to market. Radically different approaches will stand alone, be combined, or fail in crunch time. According to market research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global immunotherapy market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.5%, reaching $201B by 2021, promising huge returns.
Biopharma companies like Merck, Novartis, Roche and BMS are all-in.

With high barriers to entry, are startups able to compete?
What strategies are companies taking to be the first to market?
Will cancer, allergies, and autoimmune disease someday be a thing of the past?

Moderator

Tito Serafini, President and CEO, Founder, Atreca

Panelists

Jonathan MacQuitty, CEO, Forty Seven Inc.
Karin Jooss, Executive Vice President of Research & Chief Scientific Officer, Gritstone Oncology
Edgar Engleman, Professor of Pathology and of Medicine, Stanford University
Jackie Benson, Vice President, Immunology Scientific Innovation, Johnson & Johnson

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Download the printable PDF.

SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

IoT Security: High Stakes for Billions of Devices
2017-02-21 18:00 - 20:30 | SRI International Conference Center, 333 Ravenswood Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
IoT Security
High Stakes for Billions of Devices

Tuesday, February 21, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

The speed of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption is creating opportunities for startups developing IoT security solutions. Many industries such as healthcare, energy, automotive, and consumer products are being transformed using insights gained from the real-time data that IoT provides. As new online devices continue to be added at exponential rates, the frequency of sophisticated cyber attacks targeting consumers, businesses, and public services is also increasing.
Startups are competing against large corporations to establish themselves as leaders in IoT security. And the rewards leading the charge to protect against security breaches, hijacking, and individual privacy concerns is enormous. According to KBV Research, the IoT Security market expected to reach $29.2B by 2022.

Is the Internet of Things making us more vulnerable to attacks?
Given the anticipated growth in connected devices, will security solutions be able to keep pace?
What are the biggest challenges for startups working on IoT Security?

Moderator

Mark Weatherford, Chief Cybersecurity Strategist, vArmour

Panelists

May Wang, Co-Founder and CTO, ZingBox
Lasse Andresen, CTO and Founder, ForgeRock
Mallik Tatipamula, Vice President of Service Provider and IoT Solutions, F5 Networks
Carl Ledbetter, Managing Partner, Pelion Venture Partners

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SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025

Founders' Series: The Funding Pitfalls and Windfalls for 2017
2017-02-01 18:00 - 20:30 | San Francisco, CA
Founders' Series

The Funding Pitfalls and Windfalls for 2017
Office Hours with Tim Chang, Partner, Mayfield Fund
Moderated by Tomio Geron, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Wednesday, February 1, 20176:00 pm to 8:30 pm6:00 pm: Reception and networking7:00 pm: Fireside Chat

San Francisco(Address will be sent to registered attendees.)

The funding landscape is changing, so are trending technologies. Are we over the Series A “crunch”? Should you attract strategic investors earlier? How to appeal to the new global investors? Famed investor Tim Chang, managing director of the Mayfield fund, will share his insights to guide us through the pitfalls and windfalls of raising funds in 2017.

Which technologies are trending now?
Is AI still hot?
Is AR/VR falling out of fashion?

Panelists

Tim Chang, Partner, Mayfield Fund
Tim Chang is a proven venture investor and experienced global executive. He has been named to the Forbes Midas list and received the Gamification Summit award for Special Achievement in the Industry. Tim leads Mayfield’s consumer investing practice which focuses on areas such as the Internet of Things, consumerized health & wellness, crowdsourcing, collaborative consumption, mobile-first service and product marketplaces, vertical communities, and enabling platforms and services.
Tim has over a decade of investment experience with firms such as Norwest Venture Partners & Gabriel Venture Partners. His operational experience includes working in Japan for Gateway Inc and as a trilingual Engineer for General Motors, where he led project teams in China, Korea, and Japan. He is currently championing the following entrepreneurs & companies: Chris Anderson/3D Robotics, an Open Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Platform; Ron Gutman/HealthTap, mobile-first doctor-patient community and on- demand health services; Alejandro Foung/Lantern, an online programs and coaching company that strengthen your emotional well-being; Steve El Hage/Massdrop, an online community for enthusiasts; Jonah Goodhart/Moat, a brand analytics and intelligence SaaS platform.
Tim’s pre-Mayfield entrepreneurs/companies include: Kunal Sarkar/Lumosity, leader in brain training and mental fitness; Liam Casey/PCH International, Virtualized design, manufacturing, and logistics services for next-generation connected devices.
Tomio Geron, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Tomio is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal in San Francisco covering startups, venture capital and technology. Previously he was a staff reporter at Forbes magazine where he covered technology and venture capital, including the on-demand economy. He also edited the Midas List of top technology investors.
Tomio was also a reporter at Dow Jones/WSJ.com where he received a Clabby Award for his coverage of funds created for pre-IPO shares of Facebook and Twitter. He also wrote about the fallout of Lehman Brothers in the tech industry, auctions for tech companies, and the rise of seed investors and incubators. He has written for newspapers on topics including crime, health, immigration and cities. Tomio also worked at startup Exitround.

About the VLAB Founders’ Series
Founders’ Series events provide a unique opportunity for startups and technologists to take part in an interactive session. Come prepared with your burning questions!
If you would like to have the rare opportunity to take the “Hot Seat” on stage to receive feedback from the speakers, please be sure to enter your question in the field below. Startup founders selected for the “Hot Seat” will be notified in advance.
For all other questions, please contact founders.series@vlab.org.
Note: Founder's Series tickets are for startup founders and are subject to approval. Please allow 24-48 hours for final ticket confirmation.

Young Investors: Venture Capital Millennial-Style
2017-01-17 18:00 - 20:30 | SRI International Conference Center, 333 Ravenswood Drive, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, United States
Young Investors
Venture Capital Millennial-Style

Tuesday, January 17, 2017
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
6:00 pm: Reception and networking
7:00 pm: Panel discussion (with Q&A)

The accelerated pace of product development is giving rise to young investors, who are shaping the technological landscape by providing venture capital in Millennial-style. With the average app startup moving from ideation to acquisition within 18 months, young entrepreneurs and fast-moving founders need investors that understand the technology and fund them faster than ever before. With more founders exiting and turning investors under 30 years of age, it is clear that Millennials are up for the challenge.
While many established venture capital firms are hiring young investors right out of college, the Millennials are moving into other areas including accelerators, incubators, syndications, and Angelist to find the next promising investment. With the private equity market expected to grow to more than $70 billion by 2020, Millennial investors are ready to make their mark.

But, who are these young investors?
How is their track record?
What types of investments attract their attention?
Is this the birth of a new PayPal mafia?

Moderator

Mark Bunger, VP of Research, Lux Research

Panelists

Bucky Moore, Principal, Costanoa Ventures
Josh Nussbaum, Principal, Compound Venture Capital
Lu Zhang, Founding and Managing Partner, NewGen Capital
Shruti Gandhi, Managing Partner, Array Ventures
William Ichioka, Self-employed, Investor

SRI International Conference Center
333 Ravenswood Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
