NEW YORK — After a two-year hiatus from the nation’s financial and media capital, TechCrunch’s boutique evening series, StrictlyVC, is officially making its triumphant return to New York City. Set for Thursday night, September 10, the event is trading the West Coast’s tech corridors for the historic charm of New York’s West Village—complete with brownstones, cobblestones, and an intimate atmosphere far removed from the Patagonia fleece-clad venture capitalist enclaves jokingly dubbed the "Vest Village" in San Francisco’s Mission Bay.
Following a successful global and domestic run throughout the year with packed events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Athens, the New York iteration boasts an unusually stacked lineup of venture capital heavyweights, sports executives, and serial entrepreneurs. Co-hosted generously by Craig Shapiro’s venture firm, Collaborative Fund, the evening promises to deliver unvarnished insights, high-profile debates, and heavy-hitting fireside chats covering everything from the artificial intelligence gold rush to the evolving economics of physical craftsmanship and sports entertainment.
Main Facts: The 2026 StrictlyVC New York Lineup
The September 10 gathering brings together some of the most influential figures in global technology and investing. The evening’s agenda is structured around intimate fireside chats and panel discussions featuring:
- Keith Rabois: The inimitable Silicon Valley veteran who recently relocated to the East Coast. Rabois is slated to discuss his latest investments—including his fourfold backing of Ramp and his support for State Affairs—as well as his candid critiques of founders over-raising capital. He will also address Khosla Ventures’ legendary 2019 early $50 million bet on OpenAI.
- Craig Shapiro & Jason Levien: A collaborative discussion between Collaborative Fund founder Craig Shapiro and D.C. United CEO Jason Levien, exploring sports organizations as sophisticated asset classes and the intersection of modern commerce, community, and fandom.
- Tristan Walker & Brynn Putnam: Two prominent founders building counter-cultural ventures in an increasingly automated world. Walker (founder of Bevel and Heirloom Craft) and Putnam (founder of Mirror and Board) will discuss the human element of technology, reshoring American craftsmanship, and combating digital isolation.
- Deven Parekh: The managing director who has co-run New York powerhouse Insight Partners for over 25 years. Parekh will provide rare public insights into how a multi-billion-dollar fund navigates an era where capital has become a commodity and asset classes continue to blur.
In addition to the mainstage programming, attendees will have access to networking opportunities, drinks, and hors d’oeuvres before and after the discussions, rubbing shoulders with TechCrunch journalists, including Connie Loizos and Rebecca Bellan, alongside leaders from across the broader startup ecosystem.
Chronology: The Journey to the West Village
To understand the significance of this upcoming New York event, it is helpful to trace the trajectory of the StrictlyVC series and the shifting landscape of the venture capital ecosystem over the past half-decade.
2019–2021: The Pandemic Pivot and the AI Inflection Point
During this era, firms like Khosla Ventures made monumental, contrarian bets. Notably, Khosla wrote an early $50 million check into OpenAI in 2019—a period when the artificial intelligence research outfit possessed no clear, formalized business model. At the same time, operators like Keith Rabois were scaling companies and shaping the playbook for hyper-growth startups, while tech hubs across the U.S. experienced unprecedented influxes of capital.
2018–2023: High-Profile Exits and New Foundations
The leaders featured at the September event were carving out massive wins during this period. In 2018, Tristan Walker successfully sold his grooming brand, Walker & Company Brands (creators of Bevel), to Procter & Gamble. Shortly after, in 2021, Brynn Putnam orchestrated a lightning-fast exit for her connected-fitness startup, Mirror, selling the company to Lululemon for $500 million just three years after its initial launch. Meanwhile, venture firms like Insight Partners, under the stewardship of Deven Parekh, continued to quietly deploy massive tranches of capital, cementing New York’s status as an enterprise software and growth-equity epicenter.
2024–2026: Global Expansion and the East Coast Migration
After focusing heavily on San Francisco, Los Angeles, and international hubs like Athens, StrictlyVC spent two years away from New York proper. During this time, a notable cultural shift occurred: prominent Silicon Valley investors, including Keith Rabois, packed up and moved East. The upcoming September 10 event in the West Village marks the culmination of this geographic and intellectual migration, highlighting how the gravity of tech investing has increasingly decentralized across American cultural capitals.
Supporting Data: Venture Capital Trends and Notable Investments
The discussions at StrictlyVC will be anchored by concrete market dynamics, notable financial stakes, and shifting industry metrics:
- OpenAI’s Early Valuations: Khosla Ventures’ 2019 investment of $50 million into OpenAI represents one of the most lucrative early-stage tech bets of the decade, preceding the generative AI boom ignited by the public launch of ChatGPT in late 2022.
- Ramp’s Rapid Ascent: Keith Rabois’s ongoing financial support—backing corporate spend-management platform Ramp across four separate financing rounds—highlights a concentrated conviction in B2B financial infrastructure software.
- State-Level Civic Tech: Rabois’s investments extend into specialized media and data analytics, such as State Affairs, which leverages AI and local journalists to track statehouse-level policies and legislative data across all 50 U.S. states.
- The Mirror Acquisition: Brynn Putnam’s Mirror achieved a half-billion-dollar valuation ($500 million acquisition price by Lululemon) in an accelerated three-year window, serving as a landmark case study in hardware-meets-software consumer product scaling.
- Two Decades of Insight: Deven Parekh’s tenure at Insight Partners spans more than 25 years, overseeing a firm that manages tens of billions in regulatory assets and has participated in hundreds of software exits across enterprise tech.
Official Perspectives and Thematic Insights
Keith Rabois on Capital Discipline and AI Headwinds
Keith Rabois has consistently challenged conventional Silicon Valley wisdom regarding cash burn and fundraising. Known for his unfiltered commentary, Rabois is expected to address the dangers of founders raising oversized rounds simply because capital is available—a practice that often breeds operational inefficiency. Furthermore, his perspective on Khosla Ventures’ historical bet on OpenAI offers a rare window into how top-tier venture capitalists evaluate foundational risk when a startup lacks an immediate revenue model. As OpenAI navigates increasing competition from rivals like Anthropic, Google, and open-source models, Rabois’s assessment of its strategic headwinds will be closely watched by industry insiders.
Sports as an Emerging Asset Class: Shapiro and Levien
The pairing of Collaborative Fund’s Craig Shapiro and D.C. United CEO Jason Levien underscores a broader macroeconomic trend: the institutionalization of sports franchises. No longer viewed strictly as vanity projects for billionaires, sports teams are increasingly treated as sophisticated, multi-channel commerce and community hubs. The conversation will dissect how venture capital principles intersect with fan engagement, live entertainment, and localized real estate developments.
Analog Antidotes to Digital Fatigue: Walker and Putnam
As generative AI accelerates automation and virtual engagement, a counter-movement is quietly gaining momentum. Tristan Walker’s new venture, Heirloom Craft, seeks to reshore American fine craftsmanship, building out the supply chains and training pipelines necessary to preserve physical trades. Simultaneously, Brynn Putnam’s new company, Board, merges physical play with AI-backed creation tools, acting as a deliberate antidote to the social isolation supercharged by modern digital technology. Together, these founders represent a growing thesis: that the future of technology must find ways to anchor people back into the physical world.
Deven Parekh on the Commodity of Capital
For over two decades, Insight Partners has remained a titan in New York growth equity while largely maintaining a lower public profile than its West Coast counterparts. Deven Parekh’s participation provides a crucial institutional lens. With mega-funds driving up valuations and blurring the lines between venture capital, private equity, and public markets, Parekh will address how a heritage New York firm maintains its competitive edge in an environment where raw capital is increasingly treated as an interchangeable commodity.
Broader Implications for the Tech and Venture Ecosystem
The return of StrictlyVC to New York City is more than just a networking event; it is a barometer for the maturation of the global tech ecosystem. Several broader implications emerge from the evening’s curated themes:
- The Eastward Diffusion of Venture Capital: The migration of figures like Keith Rabois to the East Coast, combined with the dominance of New York-headquartered institutions like Insight Partners and Collaborative Fund, signals a permanent decentralization of tech power away from Northern California.
- The Counter-Trend of Physical Craft and Community: The emergence of ventures focused on physical craftsmanship (Walker) and tactile, analog-digital hybrids (Putnam) suggests that the next wave of entrepreneurship may push back against pure digital immersion, prioritizing human-centric community building.
- The Maturation of AI Investment Strategies: As early speculative bets on foundational models mature into operational realities, investors are increasingly forced to re-evaluate ROI metrics, defensibility, and the sustainability of massive infrastructure outlays.
- Sports and Entertainment as Tech Frontiers: The integration of venture capital disciplines into traditional sports management (exemplified by Shapiro and Levien) points toward an era where fandom, data analytics, and community commerce are inextricably linked.
Ticket and Attendance Information
For founders, investors, and operators looking to secure a spot at Thursday night’s event, registration and ticketing information can be accessed directly through the TechCrunch StrictlyVC NYC Event Page. With a historic backdrop, high-caliber speakers, and an intimate salon format, the evening promises to set the tone for the autumn tech calendar in the heart of the real West Village.
