StrictlyVC San Francisco 2026: TDK Ventures, Replit CEO, and Forum AI Founder Take the Stage April 30

Key Takeaways

• TDK Ventures president Nicolas Sauvage will discuss what makes corporate VCs different and what catches his eye in startups
• Replit co-founder Amjad Masad will share insights on vibe coding and the future of software development
• Forum AI CEO Campbell Brown tackles the massive challenge of making AI platforms trustworthy
• TDK Ventures manages $500M and has backed 52 startups including three unicorns: Groq, Ascend Elements, and Silicon Box
• The event takes place at Sentro Filipino Cultural Center in SF with limited tickets still available

Look, if you're building something in AI right now, you probably feel like you're drinking from a firehose. New models dropping every week. Funding rounds that make your head spin. And the constant question of whether your startup can actually survive when Anthropic and OpenAI keep eating everyone's lunch.

That's exactly why events like StrictlyVC matter. The first one of 2026 hits San Francisco on April 30, and honestly? The speaker lineup is stacked in a way that actually makes sense for what founders are dealing with right now.

Corporate VCs: Not What You Think

Let's start with Nicolas Sauvage, president of TDK Ventures. He'll be having a chat with TechCrunch editor-in-chief Connie Loizos about something that doesn't get enough attention: corporate venture capital.

Here's the thing about corporate VCs. A lot of founders avoid them. They worry about strings attached, slow decision-making, or getting locked into partnerships they don't want. But Sauvage has built a pretty compelling track record that suggests those fears might be overblown.

Under his leadership, TDK has backed 52 startups. Three of those became unicorns: Groq (the AI chip company everyone's watching), Ascend Elements (battery recycling), and Silicon Box (advanced semiconductor packaging). That's not a bad hit rate.

TDK is also sponsoring and hosting this event, which means you'll have actual face time with their team. If you've been curious about corporate VC but didn't know where to start, this is your chance to get answers directly.

The AI Trust Problem Nobody's Solved Yet

Campbell Brown's pivot is fascinating. She went from CNN anchor to running news partnerships at Meta, and now she's tackling one of the thorniest problems in AI: how do you make these systems trustworthy?

Think about it. More people are turning to ChatGPT, Claude, and other LLMs for information every day. But these systems hallucinate. They make stuff up with complete confidence. And most users have no way to verify what they're being told.

“Brown's company Forum AI is working on vetting, verifying, and sustaining the veracity of information provided by large language models.”

— TechCrunch

This is huge for anyone building AI products. Your users are going to demand more accountability, and regulators are already circling. Brown's insights on how to build trust into AI platforms could save you serious headaches down the road.

Vibe Coding and the Replit Revolution

Okay, let's talk about the session I'm personally most excited about. Amjad Masad, co-founder and CEO of Replit, is taking the stage to discuss what's happening with software development right now.

If you haven't been paying attention, vibe coding has completely changed how people build software. The idea is simple: you describe what you want in natural language, and AI helps you write the code. Replit has been at the center of this movement, making it possible for people with zero programming experience to build functional apps.

But here's where it gets interesting. Anthropic and OpenAI have both jumped into this space hard. Claude can write code. GPT-4 can write code. Suddenly Replit isn't just competing with other IDEs. They're competing with the biggest AI labs on the planet.

Masad has a front-row seat to all of this. He's seen how developers actually use these tools, what works, what doesn't, and where the whole thing is headed. If you want a realistic view of programming's future, not the hype but the actual trajectory, this is the talk to catch.

Why StrictlyVC Events Actually Work

I've been to a lot of tech events. Most of them are honestly forgettable. You stand around with a drink, have awkward conversations with people clearly looking over your shoulder for someone more important, and leave with a stack of business cards you'll never follow up on.

StrictlyVC has a different vibe. The events are smaller and more curated. The speaker sessions are designed to actually reveal something useful, not just promote whatever the speaker is selling. And the networking portions are structured so you're not just wandering aimlessly.

• Intimate venue at Sentro Filipino Cultural Center in SF
• Curated attendee list of founders, investors, and operators
• Multiple networking sessions built into the program
• Direct access to speakers and their teams
• One more mystery speaker still to be announced

The fact that TDK Ventures is hosting also changes the dynamic. Their team will be there specifically to meet founders. That's not always the case at these things.

Should You Actually Go?

Let me be real with you. Not every tech event is worth your time and money. So who should actually consider this one?

If you're an early-stage founder looking for funding, especially if you're building something in AI or adjacent to it, this is a no-brainer. You get direct access to a corporate VC with $500M to deploy and a track record of picking winners.

If you're building AI products and worried about the trust and safety angle, Brown's insights could help you get ahead of problems before they blow up in your face.

If you're a developer trying to figure out how vibe coding fits into your career, hearing directly from Masad about where this is all going is valuable intel.

And if you just want to be in the room where connections happen? These events have a reputation for a reason. Some of the best-connected people in the startup ecosystem show up.

The Mystery Speaker Situation

One more thing. The organizers mentioned there's still one speaker to announce. They're being cagey about it, which usually means it's someone good. Keep an eye out for that reveal if you're on the fence about tickets.

The Bottom Line

The AI space is moving so fast that the founders who win are often the ones with better information and better connections. Events like StrictlyVC are where that happens.

You could spend another evening doom-scrolling Twitter for funding news and industry drama. Or you could be in a room with the people actually making decisions. The choice seems pretty obvious to me.

Tickets are still available, but these things tend to sell out once the final speaker gets announced. If you're going to go, probably don't wait too long.

Source: TechCrunch / TechCrunch Events