San Jose, February 2026
The first working day of Silicon Valley Start-up & Investor Week – Edition III set a powerful tone for the week ahead, bringing founders, mentors, investors, and ecosystem leaders together for a full day of learning, connection, and strategic alignment at the Hyatt Place San Jose Airport on Monday, 9 February 2026.
From the outset, the focus was clear: helping founders sharpen their narratives, deepen their market understanding, and position themselves for meaningful engagement with investors and partners.
Building Strong Narratives from Day One
A key highlight of the day was the delegate introduction session, where each cohort company was given five minutes to present their organisation, the problem they are solving, and the opportunity they are pursuing.
These concise introductions were more than icebreakers — they were the foundation for the week’s journey. Each presentation fed directly into preparing founders for the Pitch Night on Friday, ensuring every participant is developing a compelling, authentic, and investor-ready narrative.
Throughout the day, delegates received practical feedback and insights designed to help refine these stories and align them with market expectations and funding realities.
Learning from Industry Leaders
The program featured an outstanding lineup of speakers and mentors, offering advice that participants described as “second to none” for companies either entering Silicon Valley or preparing to scale globally.
A standout session was the keynote, From Start-up to Success: 35 Years in Silicon Valley, delivered by Arthur Mrozowski, who shared decades of experience navigating growth, capital, and commercialisation in one of the world’s most competitive ecosystems.
Two standout sessions anchored the day’s learning and strategic focus. The keynote, From Start-up to Success: 35 Years in Silicon Valley, delivered by Arthur Mrozowski, drew on decades of experience navigating growth, capital, and commercialisation in one of the world’s most competitive ecosystems, offering founders rare insight into what long-term success truly requires.
Complementing this was Andrew Côté’s presentation, Coming to Silicon Valley as an Outsider, which provided a candid, real-world perspective on building and scaling in the Bay Area. Drawing on his own entrepreneurial journey, Andrew unpacked the realities of fundraising, venture capital dynamics, and what it takes to build a venture-fundable business in today’s AI-driven landscape. Through practical frameworks, market data, and hard-earned lessons, he challenged founders to think strategically about positioning, defensibility, and global scalability. Together with sessions on investor expectations, founder resilience, digital twins, responsible AI, and market trends, the program delivered a holistic understanding of what it takes to succeed in today’s innovation economy.
More Than a Program: A Peer Community
Beyond the formal agenda, one of the most powerful outcomes of the day was the emergence of a strong peer network among the cohort.
As founders shared their challenges, ambitions, and experiences, it became clear that this group will continue to support one another well beyond the program. These peer relationships — built on trust, shared purpose, and mutual respect, are a critical asset for founders navigating complex growth journeys.
Connecting with like-minded innovators who truly understand the realities of scaling has proven to be one of the most valuable aspects of the program.
Connecting Founders with the Right Community
Silicon Valley Start-up & Investor Week is designed to facilitate curated introductions and structured engagement between founders, investors, and ecosystem partners. It does not operate as an investment intermediary.
Instead, the program connects founders to a trusted global community, providing access, insight, and relationships that empower them to pursue opportunities on their own terms.
Looking Ahead
The momentum generated on Day One has set the stage for an impactful week of meetings, site visits, workshops, and investor engagement.
What emerged clearly is that these working days, the deep dives, honest conversations, and collaborative learning, are where lasting value is created. They are also the catalyst for future spin-offs, partnerships, and long-term collaboration within the Smart Cities Council ecosystem.
For founders participating in SCC SVS&IW, this is more than a program. It is an entry point into a global community committed to helping innovators grow, connect, and succeed, together.
More highlights from Silicon Valley Start-up & Investor Week – Edition III will be shared in the days ahead.
A huge thank you to the following incredible leaders for their time, passion, and willingness to support our program, and for bringing such valuable expertise to our cohort:
Andrew Côté, Advisor and Analyst, a16z, Founder, Deep Tech Week
Junaid Islam, Founder, Board Member & CTO, XQ & SCC Global Thought Leader – Digital Trust
Kelly Cure, Vice President - Public Policy, Bay Area Council
Arthur Mrozowski, Silicon Hill Ventures, Bluecash.ai
Alex Shevchenko, CEO & Founder, Orca Connect
Drake Burciaga & Stephania Stavropoulos, Co-founders, Orchestra
Dan Isaacs, CTO, Digital Twin Consortium & SCC Global Task Lead – Digital Twins
Lucas Root, SCC Global Task Lead – AI Ethics & Implementation
More Information please contact Karen Norden karen.norden@smartcitiescouncil.com
About Smart Cities Council
Smart Cities Council is a global network of cities, governments, technology leaders, investors, and solution providers dedicated to enabling city and community transformation through governance, finance, technology, and partnerships that deliver measurable outcomes.
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