VCN #41: Bare Metal — run coding agents on local models, no API bill

⌖ San Francisco · Hyatt Regency Burlingame

Hosted by Open Data Science Conference (ODSC)

Learn to build production-ready AI systems in just seven weeks with the AI Engineering Accelerator bootcamp, a hands-on training program that bridges the gap between using AI and building it. Running from June 9 through October 29, 2026, this intensive program combines virtual instruction with a multi-day in-person capstone at the Hyatt Regency Burlingame during ODSC AI West 2026. Designed for professionals ready to move beyond tutorials, the Accelerator provides comprehensive training in the core disciplines of modern AI engineering: large language models (LLMs), agentic AI systems, and production deployment. You'll gain practical experience with the latest tools and frameworks used by leading AI teams, learning not just how to use AI, but how to architect, build, and ship AI-powered applications. Program Structure The bootcamp follows a hybrid learning model that maximizes flexibility while ensuring hands-on engagement. Starting with the Summer Cohort on June 9, you'll participate in virtual training sessions led by experienced AI practitioners. The program culminates in an intensive in-person segment from October 27-29, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, California, integrated with the main ODSC AI West conference. This dual-format approach allows you to build foundational knowledge remotely while maintaining your current work commitments, then apply those skills in collaborative, hands-on projects during the in-person sessions. You'll also gain full access to ODSC AI West's conference tracks, expo, and networking events. What You'll Learn The curriculum focuses on production-grade AI engineering, covering: - LLM development and deployment — Fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and optimization techniques - Agentic AI systems — Building autonomous agents and workflow automation - AI Engineering fundamentals — MLOps, model serving, monitoring, and scaling - Real-world implementation — Moving from prototype to production with confidence Organized by Open Data Science Conference, which has spent 11 years training thousands of AI engineers and data scientists, the Accelerator draws on ODSC's deep expertise in practical AI education. The program features specialization tracks tailored to different AI engineering domains, allowing you to focus on the areas most relevant to your career goals. Who Should Attend This bootcamp is designed for professionals who already work with AI tools and are rea

⌖ San Francisco · Silicon Valley AI Hub

Hosted by Voxel51

Build an end-to-end physical AI workflow in Menlo Park on 27 October 2026, using real robotics data, FiftyOne and a live fine-tuned YOLO11n detector. Co-presented by Voxel51 and Nebius, this three-hour, in-person meetup combines expert lightning talks, informal networking and a technical workshop at Silicon Valley AI Hub. The focus is practical: turning raw robot logs into curated training data, producing labels, training a computer vision model and reviewing its predictions in the original multimodal recording. What you’ll do The workshop uses DROID, a real-world robotics dataset loaded into FiftyOne as a native multimodal MCAP recording. Attendees will work with synchronised camera feeds, proprioception and language data on one timeline, with no ROS installation required. During the session, you’ll: - Explore a DROID robotics recording in FiftyOne’s multimodal MCAP viewer - Extract and browse frames, then filter and deduplicate the dataset - Compute embeddings and investigate the curated frames through similarity search and embeddings visualisation - Use open-vocabulary detection to auto-label the robot gripper and target objects - Fine-tune a YOLO11n detector on the generated bounding boxes - Evaluate the resulting model and view its predictions on the original MCAP timeline Embeddings and model training will run through Nebius Serverless AI Jobs. The evening closes with a walkthrough of Nebius Token Factory, including chat and vision models, fine-tuning and credits. You can also explore the FiftyOne documentation before attending. Evening format - 5:30–6:30 PM: Networking, food, drinks and lightning talks from local practitioners working across AI, machine learning and computer vision - 6:30–7:30 PM: From raw robot logs to a curated dataset, including multimodal exploration, frame extraction, deduplication and embeddings - 7:30–8:00 PM: Auto-labelling, live YOLO11n fine-tuning and model evaluation - 8:00–8:30 PM: Nebius Token Factory walkthrough This is a technical, hands-on event for people interested in robotics datasets, computer vision, machine learning and physical AI. It offers an opportunity to follow a complete model-development loop while meeting others working in the Silicon Valley AI community. Before you attend… Register for this event

Sponsors: Nebius

⌖ San Francisco · Antler San Francisco (3rd Floor)

Hosted by Voxel51

Explore how Physical AI systems turn robotics, sensor and vision data into real-world applications at this practical workshop and meetup in San Francisco. Co-presented by Nebius and Voxel51, this three-hour, in-person event combines short community talks with a hands-on introduction to building Physical AI applications using FiftyOne. It takes place on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm PDT at Antler San Francisco, 3rd Floor, 144 Townsend Street. What to expect The evening begins in a meetup format, with lightning talks from local speakers working across artificial intelligence, machine learning and computer vision. These concise sessions offer a look at the ideas and technical challenges shaping Physical AI before the programme moves into a practical workshop. During the hands-on portion, attendees will work with FiftyOne and explore key parts of the Physical AI development workflow, including: - Curating robotics and sensor datasets - Working with visual data captured in real-world environments - Evaluating computer vision models on real-world data - Building Physical AI applications with FiftyOne Bring a laptop if you want to follow along with the workshop. The blend of lightning talks and guided building makes this especially relevant to AI and machine learning practitioners, computer vision specialists, robotics teams, researchers and technical builders interested in data-centric development. No specific experience level is stated, but the workshop’s practical focus will be most useful to attendees who want direct exposure to Physical AI tools and workflows. Workshop access requirements A company, university or government email address is required to access the hands-on workshop environment. Personal or disposable accounts, including Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and similar services, cannot be used. According to the organisers, this platform-wide policy supports fraud prevention, abuse controls and compliance requirements. Anyone who needs an exception should contact the hosts before attending.… Register for this event

Sponsors: Nebius

⌖ San Francisco · Mind The Bridge

AI for Future brings expert talks, VC panels, startup pitches and AI business networking to Mind The Bridge in San Francisco on 5 November 2026. A high-level meeting point for the AI ecosystem WMF – We Make Future is bringing its international innovation ecosystem to San Francisco for the second edition of AI for Future. Organised by Search On Media Group, the event connects AI founders, investors, venture capitalists, experts and established companies for a focused exploration of the technology’s commercial landscape. This is a professional, business-led event rather than an introductory workshop. It is particularly relevant to AI startup teams seeking investment or market access, VCs evaluating emerging opportunities, corporate innovation leaders, technology specialists and organisations interested in partnerships between the US and European markets. What to expect The programme examines AI from several complementary perspectives: - Keynote talks from international AI experts, covering current trends and real-world applications - Investor and VC panels exploring funding trends, market dynamics and the US investment landscape - AI business meetings and networking designed to create strategic relationships across the ecosystem - The AI 4 Future Startup Competition, giving selected founders a live platform in Silicon Valley The startup competition is a central feature. Four European and four American AI startups will pitch their solutions to an audience that includes international investors and VCs. Finalists compete for the opportunity to attend the WMF Main Event in Italy, where they can connect with a wider global network of investors and industry leaders. AI for Future forms part of the WMF International Roadshow, launched in 2021 to connect innovation communities around the world. Its emphasis on cross-border collaboration, market access and strategic partnerships makes the event especially useful for teams looking beyond their domestic ecosystem. Previous-edition calibre… Register for this event

⌖ San Francisco

Hosted by Bardia Shahali

Hear Vanta CRO Stevie Case unpack go-to-market leadership with Granola VP of Sales Bardia Shahali in San Francisco on 5 November 2026. Inside the third GTM Series conversation Granola brings its speaker series back to San Francisco for a focused conversation with Stevie Case, Chief Revenue Officer at Vanta. She will sit down with Granola’s VP of Sales and event host, Bardia Shahali, as the series continues its mission to bring leading go-to-market operators into conversation with the Granola community. Stevie leads all go-to-market activity at Vanta, a Cloud 100-ranked security compliance company. Her remit spans: - Sales and customer success - Account management - Revenue operations - Wider go-to-market strategy and leadership Her perspective draws on more than 20 years spent leading sales teams and revenue organisations across very different stages of company growth, from 0-to-1 startups to major brands including Visa and Twilio. She is also part of 20SALES, a venture fund formed with seven other GTM leaders from prominent SaaS companies. The fund invests in seed-stage AI and B2B SaaS startups, adding an investor’s view of what early companies need to build and scale. Case’s path into technology is far from conventional. An aspiring lawyer turned college dropout, she began her career as Stevie “KillCreek” Case, the world’s first female professional gamer. Beyond work, she is a certified sailboat skipper and electric boat owner. Who should attend? This session will be particularly relevant to founders, sales and revenue leaders, customer success professionals, SaaS operators, and people building AI or B2B software. Attendees can expect an in-person, interview-style conversation rather than a hands-on workshop, with the emphasis on learning directly from an experienced operator who has worked across startups, established technology businesses, and venture investing.… Register for this event

Granola

Sponsors: Granola

⌖ San Francisco · Hilton San Francisco Union Square

Hosted by AI Engineer

AI Engineer Code Summit returns to San Francisco from 10–12 November 2026 for an application-only gathering focused on production agentic coding. Held at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square, this highly selective, single-track conference is designed for experienced engineers, founders and researchers building coding agents, testing their limits or deploying them across organisations. The programme starts where the basics end, prioritising technical depth, real workflows and lessons from systems shipped in production. Programme Hands-on workshops take place on 10 November, followed by talks, an expo and networking on 11–12 November. Planned areas of focus include: - Coding agents and IDE workflows - AI-assisted code review - Evaluations and production reliability - Internal agents, including systems built for company teams - Agent infrastructure and operational workflows The 2026 agenda and speaker lineup are still to be announced. Previous editions have featured engineers and leaders from OpenAI, Anthropic, Cursor and Cognition. The event is presented by Google DeepMind and supported by G2i. Tickets and access Attendance is by application only. Applying is free but does not reserve a place; approved applicants receive a purchase link. Regular tickets are listed at $1,299 plus fees, rising to $1,499 plus fees for final and at-door sales. The workshop add-on costs $299 plus fees. The Call for Speakers is also open to practitioners building, deploying, evaluating and operating AI coding systems. Proposals are accepted through Sessionize until 11 October 2026 at 11:59pm PT. A discounted hotel room block is available while rooms last. Apply to attend AI Engineer Code Summit 2026

Sponsors: Google DeepMind · G2i