We’ve always believed the best thing we can do as investors, beyond capital, is get great leaders in a room together. Every two years, our CEO Summit is how we do exactly that.
On April 28th and 29th, we brought together leaders from across the Conductive Ventures portfolio for our CEO Summit. As is tradition, we kept it intentionally small. No keynotes, no panels, no noise – just a trusted group of leaders having honest conversations with people who genuinely understand the journey.
We kicked things off with a welcome dinner at Taro San Noodle Bar, setting the tone for the two days ahead: warm, informal, and real. The next day, it was immediately clear what was on everyone’s mind: AI.
What does it mean to be truly AI-native today? Not just using the tools, but rebuilding how you operate around them? The capabilities available to builders have expanded so dramatically, so quickly, that the old playbooks are being rewritten in real time.
That led naturally into a conversation about hiring. If AI can augment what any individual can build and ship, does experience still carry the weight it once did? Or are companies now competing to find people who can leverage these tools to their fullest? And does that change who you look for entirely?
From there, we turned to fundraising.
We were thrilled to have Ambiq CEO Fumihide Esaka share his remarkable story of taking the company public on the New York Stock Exchange: the preparation, the pressure, and the rollercoaster ride that came with it.
We also dug into the current fundraising landscape and the widening gap between AI-native firms and everyone else competing for investor attention.
We wrapped the day at Fleming’s Steakhouse, a Conductive favorite, over wine and filet mignon. The best kind of ending to a long, full day of honest conversation.
The conversations may have been behind closed doors, but their impact carries forward.
We’re deeply grateful for the openness in that room, and for every founder and advisor who traveled from near and far to participate: Arnold Hur, Charles Huang, Christine Tao, Darrin Murriner, Donghao Li, Duke Chung, Eric Hutchinson, Erik Osland, Gorkem Sevinc, Fumihide Esaka, Hiroaki Kuwajima, Joshua Y. Lee, Juan Jaysingh, Justin Zhu, Kelly Ho, Purva Gupta, Saurabh Tejwani, Sean Whalin, Steven Jiang, Steven Hong PhD, Jiachun Li, and Vijay Chittoor.
A special thank you to our generous sponsors: Mintz, Goldman Sachs, Escalon Services, and TriNet.
Robin Chan
Vice President
