Hey — LA Tech Week is here. The official calendar has 814 events across seven days, and there's only one of you. Monday's kickoff gets showers in the forecast, which in LA basically counts as a natural disaster. By Tuesday it's sunny again, so you're out of excuses.
We went through the whole calendar so you don't have to. Below are seven evening rooms worth your time, mostly on the Westside, plus a DTLA pitch night and a Pasadena climate night. Most of them need an application, so apply this morning.
Here's What's Up.
- Jay
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⛅ Weather Tue ☀️ 67°/58° Wed ☀️ 72°/62° Thu ☀️ 80°/67°
1. LA Agentic AI Meetup by Pinecone — Tech Week Edition
What's on: Pinecone's monthly agentic AI meetup, with live community demos (ModelVantage is first up) and then open networking. Free. Open RSVP with no application, and they ask you to sign up with your work email.
📆 When: Tue Oct 13 · 5:00–7:00 PM PT (demos at 5:45)
📍 Where: Gulp Restaurant & Brew Pub · 13020 Pacific Promenade #1, Playa Vista
💬 Why: 330+ people have RSVP'd to a low-key room of people who actually build agents. It's also the easiest door to get through all week.
2.Founders & Funders: VC Reverse Pitch
What's on: For once the investors do the pitching. Funds lay out their theses, check sizes and what they look for in founders. Listed so far: Mucker Capital, Red Bull Ventures, Sandbox Studios, Vamos Ventures, Fireroad Ventures and more. Free, but you need to be approved. Seed and Series A founders who are raising get priority.
📆 When: Tue Oct 13 · 6:00–8:00 PM PT (pitches at 6:30)
📍 Where: 929 Colorado, Santa Monica (BLANKSPACES Santa Monica)
💬 Why: You can scout which funds fit you in 40 minutes, then go talk to the ones that do.
3. Techstars Aerospace & Defense Happy Hour w/ US Space Force and NASA JPL
What's on: Drinks and conversation about the future of space with the Techstars Space Accelerator crew. The accelerator runs with the US Space Force and NASA JPL, and Leonid Capital and Wilson Sonsini are sponsoring. Free, but you need to apply. The exact address goes out once you're approved.
📆 When: Wed Oct 14 · 5:00–8:00 PM PT
📍 Where: Techstars' office · Culver City (address on approval)
💬 Why: 550+ people are already approved, which makes it the biggest space and defense room of the week. If you're building hardware, this is where your customers and investors will be.
4. STAN LA: Pitch & Connect
What's on: The Science & Technology Angel Network runs a deep-tech pitch session with curated investors, followed by open networking. The pitch portion is invite-only: investors request an invite on Partiful, and startups apply to pitch through STAN's Dealum form. Free, and you need to apply.
📆 When: Wed Oct 14 · 5:00–9:00 PM PT
📍 Where: CBRE · 400 S Hope St, 25th Floor, Downtown LA
💬 Why: Real angels and science-heavy startups on a 25th floor downtown. It's also a way into STAN's Armenian diaspora investor network.
5. Climate Commons: The Water-Energy Nexus — Pasadena Edition
What's on: A climate-tech startup showcase (Captura, Thiozen, Mitico, Water from Air), then a panel with NASA JPL's J.T. Reager, Pasadena Water & Power, Metropolitan Water District and Water from Air. Hosted by Innovate Pasadena with Caltech's Resnick Sustainability Institute. Free.
📆 When: Wed Oct 14 · 6:00–8:30 PM PT (panel at 6:30)
📍 Where: FoundrSpace Coworking · 87 N Raymond Ave, Old Pasadena
💬 Why: It's the best climate and water room of the week, with JPL scientists, utility buyers and startups all in one place. Heads up: the Partiful listing is full, but Luma RSVPs were still open on Saturday night.
6. Pitch Roast Live — LA Debut
What's on: Shark Tank meets a comedy roast. Four founders pitch, and three comedians plus a VC roast them. Hosted by Noah Obstfeld, with Atlassian, TriNet and Forecastr sponsoring. Free for founders, investors and ecosystem folks if you apply through the $0 ticket. Other tickets are $15 and $20.
📆 When: Thu Oct 15 · 6:00–9:00 PM PT
📍 Where: Beyond Baroque · 681 Venice Blvd, Venice
💬 Why: By Thursday you've heard 40 pitches with a straight face. Go watch someone else's get roasted.
7. Acquired LA Tech Week Meet Up
What's on: A fan-run meetup for builders, founders and Acquired podcast superfans. Drinks by the water and talk about company origin stories. Free, open RSVP. It's hosted by REXEHAUS and is not sponsored by Acquired.
📆 When: Thu Oct 15 · 6:00–9:30 PM PT
📍 Where: Beachside Restaurant & Bar · 14160 Palawan Way, Marina del Rey
💬 Why: No panels and no application, just 140+ people who'll happily spend an hour on the history of TSMC. It's a good way to wind down after three nights of networking.
🗣️ Special mentions
Demo Day — Second Time Founder Edition (Nerdstage x SimpleClosure) · Wed Oct 14 · 10:00 AM–1:00 PM PT · BLANKSPACES Venice, 606 Venice Blvd · Free, apply. Brunch, pitches from serial founders, and investors from Amplify, Antler, Bonfire, Felicis, LACI and more. More Info here —>
LA Tech Fall Fiesta (Nerdstage) · Fri Oct 16 · 6:00–8:00 PM PT · The Bungalow, 101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica · Free, open RSVP (360+ going). The LA Tech Events crew's big Tech Week party. More Info here —>
Didn't get in anywhere? The full LA Tech Week calendar (Oct 12–18) has 800+ events, and plenty still take same-week applications. More Info here —>
🛋️ Online (from your couch)
Hard Earned Lessons from Building Hardware (Hardware Velocity) · Wed Oct 14 · 10:00–11:00 AM PT · Google Meet · Free, apply. Hardware founders on the expensive calls they'd make differently. More Info here —>
Growth Teardown LA: 5 Companies in 60 Minutes · Wed Oct 14 · 11:30 AM–12:30 PM PT · Zoom · Free, apply (capped at 70). Five live teardowns of positioning, funnel and acquisition. More Info here —>
That's the list. Seven rooms out of 814. Pace yourself, drink water, and maybe skip the 7 AM run club after Thursday. See you out there.
— Jay at WhatsupLA
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