San Francisco — four days inside the AI build-out.
Thirteen founders & CEOs in the rooms doing the work — Salesforce, OpenAI, Anthropic, General Catalyst, Contextual AI, HackerOne. Pricing in the age of AI with Madhavan Ramanujam. Legal with Wilson Sonsini. Dreamforce week, no Dreamforce stage.
By the numbers
In pictures
A walk through the week — the Consulate garden, the YC table, the Anthropic working session, a founder AMA, and a dinner that ran long.
The week, session by session
An Amsterdam pre-brief, then four days on the ground in the Bay. The agenda was the cohort's actual questions — pricing, legal, GTM, fundraising — answered by the operators who run them.
Kick off · Amsterdam
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Challenges on the table
Google · AmsterdamEach founder put the real US blocker on the table before the plane took off. The agenda for the week was the cohort's actual questions — not a curated panel.
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Expanding & raising in the US — AMA
Google · Amsterdam · Wilson SonsiniThe firm in the room for more US tech IPOs than you can count. A working pre-brief on the legal and capital realities of US expansion.
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Dinner
The guest list started becoming a cohort.
Welcome to San Francisco
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Arrivals & check-in
CitizenM Union SquareCohort lands. Dreamforce is the same week — the city is at capacity. Hotel as base, not as a venue.
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Orange Heart Reception
Consulate General's Residence · Hosted with the Consulate General of the NetherlandsFounders, investors and operators with a strong NL connection — pooled with the parallel Future of Compute cohort. The relaxed opener that sets the tone for the week.
Effectively leveraging the AI transition moment
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Pricing in the age of AI — deep dive
Palo Alto · Madhavan Ramanujam · General Partner, 49 Palms VenturesThe author of Monetizing Innovation on how AI is rewriting B2B pricing. A working session, not a keynote.
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Navigating AI from a legal perspective
Palo Alto · Wilson SonsiniModel risk, IP, customer contracts, regulation. The questions you don't want to discover the answer to in a deal.
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YC founders · lunch
San FranciscoLunch with a working group of YC founders. Peer-to-peer, no pitches.
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AMA with Parker Harris
Salesforce · Parker Harris · Co-founder, SalesforceJoined the parallel CEO group inside Salesforce HQ. The unfiltered version of building a category-defining platform — from one of the two people who did it.
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AMA with Jason Kwon
Jason Kwon · Chief Strategy Officer, OpenAIStrategy at the company shaping the AI market. Off the record.
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Dinner with the CEO group
The University Club · Central SF · In partnership with DeloitteFifty around the table — Dutch CEOs from NS, Gasunie, Alliander, APG, Rabobank, NN, KLM, KPN alongside SF founders and CEOs. An intimate dinner across two ecosystems.
Scaling, sales & connections — navigating the US market
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AMA with General Catalyst
General CatalystOne of the most active growth-stage investors in the US, on what they're funding in this moment and what they're not.
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Lunch at Anthropic
Anthropic HQInside the building. The conversation founders most wanted.
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OpenAI visit
OpenAIRound two for the cohort — this time inside OpenAI's own walls.
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Founder AMA with Michiel Prins
The Battery · Michiel Prins · Co-founder Product, HackerOneA Dutch founder who built a category-defining security business from the US. Unscripted.
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Investor Reception
The Battery · San Francisco · Hosted with AWSSixty investors, founders and operators across the Bay. The room you can't book yourself into — and the point of the trip.
A finale at the Consulate
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Checkout & walk to the Consulate
CitizenM Union Square → Consulate GeneralA short walk with luggage. The trip closes where it opened.
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AMA with Douwe Kiela
Consulate General · San Francisco · Douwe Kiela · Co-founder & CEO, Contextual AIA Dutch ML researcher turned Stanford lecturer turned AI founder. The technical, the unglamorous, and the long view — to close the week.
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Wrap-up & feedback
Consulate General · San FranciscoA short debrief. Group photo. Cohort heads to SFO.
Who was in the room
Thirteen founders & CEOs. One shared week, one shared question.
What founders walked away with
- A working framework for pricing AI products — directly from Madhavan Ramanujam, not a podcast clip.
- An honest read on AI legal exposure from Wilson Sonsini, the firm running it for the companies in the headlines.
- Time inside Salesforce, OpenAI and Anthropic — the buildings, not just the brands.
- A live AMA with a Dutch founder who already built a category-defining US business (HackerOne).
- A peer group of twelve other founders on the same scaling questions, now on a first-name basis.
- Room access — the Consulate Residence, The University Club, The Battery — that opens doors long after the flight home.
Who we sat down with
Want a seat on the next one?
The next Cities trip is already being shaped. Spots are limited and the bar is high, and we bring founders of scaling businesses ready to take the market seriously. Every trip ends with a private recap like this one.