Austin Chen

ceo @marlo_today (a16z SR004)

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[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@rickpanchal97 Back on

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

THE best program out there. Hmu for an intro to the team.

[andrew chen @andrewchen]

ok - dropping big dates/news for a16z speedrun:

- starting TODAY, founders can apply for the 2026 program that runs July 27 to Oct 11 in SF

here's the link: https://t.co/opkX4cIaCF

- we will be investing up to $1M and funding 70+ companies over the next few weeks

- But there's also $5M in credits/tokens/etc from AWS/GCP/Open AI/Azure/NVIDIA/Deel/Stripe/etc. You'll also work with our amazing operating team (GTM, talent, brand, people, and more), and join our community of elite founders

- we offer a Global Founders Program for international founders, to help with visas, banking support, relo recommendations

- yes you can be solo (but better if you're further along, and have built a team). No you don't have to have an idea yet. Yes you have to know how to build (even if you're not technical)

- Also, in other news: speedun is officially moving full-time to SF. (prev it alternated SF/LA) this is for all the obv reasons

- we've continued to have an insane lineup of speakers, including the founders of Carta / DoorDash / Twilio / Figma / Zynga / Airtable / Twitch / and of course, lunch/dinners with Marc/Ben alongside a16z team - and much more

- the deadline for applying is May 17!

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@Tocelot that surface area compounds

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@speedrun man does it all!

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@_renatov Older folks over index on ‘thinking’ and younger folks over index on ‘doing’

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@Chen @speedrun @lekondonyc @YengT9 @moverware Wow.

[Tech Week @Techweek_]

I’ll die on this hill: creators aren’t “just” influencers. They’re founders, distributors, culture-setters, and product builders.

Some of the best convos on that shift are happening at #LATechWeek

Events below

[Lester @Chen]

attention is currency. distribution matters. every founder has a story, and today's stories are videos.

We've built several @speedrun programs to help founders become better storytellers:

1) brand lab: we offer cost-effective design services to take your brand from 0-1: decks, logos, typography, colors, websites, and more.

2) launch lab: video is hard. talking to a camera for the first time sucks. we offer studio spaces for founders to level up their product demos, client-facing videos, and more. we also offer up a network of videographers, production teams, and creatives to build your launch+ strategy.

3) creator connect & press club: we've built data-backed systems to help connect you with both top creators and UGC/ambassadors. additionally, we help early-stage founders who don't yet have street cred get in front of the newest media outlets.

Whether you're a seasoned creative with design chops or have no idea what 'marketing' is, we encourage you to apply.

applications close this weekend.

[Katia Ameri @KatiaAmeri]

hi! we just launched SF + LA Tech Week and it’s crazy to say (I know I say this every time) but it really is true - it’s the biggest one yet. we’ve broken more records and now have 1,500+ events, over 2x last year’s launch!

SF Tech Week: Oct 6-12
LA Tech Week: Oct 13-19

Register for events here: https://t.co/Ow2I62jXkH

SF is on fire, on track to be home to the biggest Tech Week. When we first started @Techweek_, it was right after COVID, and we saw so many founders relocating outside the Bay Area to cities all over the US. That first year, SF Tech Week was actually the smallest. This year, it’s set to be the largest. We’ve doubled the number of SF events at launch year over year, a clear signal showing just how much the AI wave is fueling the city’s growth. And this is shaping up to be *the* week for tech in the city.

LA was home to the very first Tech Week, and it’s special for me to see how much it’s grown. What makes LA unique is the mix of industries here. We’re seeing two in particular take off - AI in entertainment and deep tech. The best part is how the ecosystem really comes together around Tech Week to champion the city, with so many LA investors and GPs hosting.

One of the biggest pieces of feedback we’ve heard from attendees is that now that Tech Week has gotten so big, we need more ways to discover events most relevant to you. So, this year we’ve put together curated tracks: future of work in SF, entertainment in LA, investor-focused events, hard tech, fintech, hackathons, and more.

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@andrewchen @AmericanAir same

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

Knowing and embracing that you are in a bubble is an edge

[Turner Novak 🍌🧢 @TurnerNovak]

VCs paying $30/mo for Superhuman to write “it’s a little too early for us, but we’d love to take a look at the next round”

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@TheWalid same

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

Love watching @yoavz_ make waves in the media space. Congrats on the launch!

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

Third Chair (@usethirdchair) is building agents for in-house legal teams.

The world's biggest media & entertainment companies use Third Chair to monitor IP infringements, collect evidence, and recover millions of dollars in damages at scale.

Congrats on the launch, @yoavz_ & @atShourya!

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

It’s pretty special & inspiring to watch your friends do big things!

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@weberwongwong Let’s get it!

[Lingo.dev @lingodotdev]

Skills issue 🤣

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

It’s a two way street. If you need help, be helpful first.

Showing up and expecting something is wild. Someone’s trust and time is earned.

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@SherryYanJiang Big facts. There will be a lot of noise and competitors right now, but it’s about who will make it to the edge.

[Austin Chen @aus_che]

@brettdash_ Love that.