About This Event
For all questions and inquiries - Join the Discord!
\---------------
DO NOT WEAR HIGH HEELS AT THIS EVENT
Wear comfortable shoes, boots, and bring a jacket / warm clothing. These are steel hulls, it's an aircraft carrier, not a jazz lounge.
\~~~~~~~~~~~
The future is taking off faster than anyone thought possible thanks to the builders pulling science fiction from the pages of imagination and into reality right here in the Bay Area.
SF Deep Tech Week brings together 4500+ people across 40+ events over a week dedicated to startups building at the frontiers of science and technology: Aerospace, Defense, Nuclear Energy, Neurotech, Bio, Computing Hardware, Robotics, and more.
The week starts on the USS Hornet with a showcase of hardware demos from startups building in the Bay, alongside DeLoreans, Cybertrucks, Flying Boats, Supersonic Aircrafts, and Robots of all shapes and sizes.
We have loaded the ship up with 5 bars, 7 DJ Sets, two sound stages of audio equipment, turn tables, lasers, lounge furniture, robots, VR headsets, projector screen and kebab stand. Oh, and lasers.
What to expect:
* Reception at the Flight Deck
* Music on the flight deck by Grammy Award winning pianist and composer Ivan Linn (Assassin's Creed, Final Fantasy and Kingdom of Hearts) starting 5:15PM
* Longevity Panel: How not to Die- with Bryan Johnson, Linda Avey and Celine Halioua
* Opening Remarks at Hangar Bay
* 7:00 PM- How to Build a Supersonic Jet with Blake Scholl, Founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic and YCombinator Partner, Jared Friedman
* 7:45 PM: When the Heavens went on sale- with Will Marshall, Chris Kemp and Mike Cassidy.
* Live Tech Demos in Hangar Bay
* Fashion Show and Emancipator on Flight Deck
* Rebuilding the American Maritime Industry- with Sampriti Bhattacharyya, CEO of Navier and Naval Intelligence Officer and is the former CTO of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Capacity is limited. All RSVPs are reviewed for approval.
Ticket prices are heavily subsidized by the proud sponsors of SF Deep Tech Week and go towards covering operational costs of throwing a big party on an aircraft carrier.
Event Sponsors:
Lead Sponsor: Microsoft for Startups [](https://x.com/msft4startups)\- throwing down compute and resources for founders when they need it the most.
Supporting Sponsor: Arc, cash management and capital markets built to scale hardware and heavy capex industries.
Speakers
Bryan Johnson
Founder & CEO, Blueprint
panelistBryan Johnson is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and longevity pioneer renowned for founding Braintree—a payment processing platform acquired by PayPal for $800 million in 2013 after incorporating Venmo—before launching neurotechnology firm Kernel to develop advanced brain interfaces and OS Fund to invest in frontier science. In 2021, he embarked on Project Blueprint, a data-driven anti-aging regimen involving meticulous monitoring of dozens of organs, a strict vegan diet, over 100 daily supplements, rigorous exercise, and experimental therapies, reportedly reducing his epigenetic age by over five years and achieving the slowest aging speed ever measured in a human, all documented publicly and featured in the 2025 Netflix documentary Don't Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever. Shifting focus in 2025, Johnson stepped back from commercializing Blueprint—hiring a new CEO amid plans to potentially sell it—to champion the "Don't Die" movement, a philosophical ideology framing continued existence as humanity's paramount priority in the era of superintelligence, blending biohacking, AI alignment, and species-level survival to inspire global communities toward radical life extension.
Blake Scholl
Founder & CEO, Boom Supersonic
Blake Scholl is the visionary founder and CEO of Boom Supersonic, a Denver-based aerospace company he launched in 2014 to revive commercial supersonic travel with sustainable, mainstream-accessible flights—culminating in 2025 when the XB-1 demonstrator became the world's first independently developed supersonic jet to break the sound barrier multiple times, achieving Mach 1.18 and pioneering "Boomless Cruise" technology for quieter overland flight. Inspired by a museum visit to Concorde and self-taught aerospace principles, Scholl—a Carnegie Mellon BS in Computer Science graduate and private pilot—pivoted from Silicon Valley successes: starting as an early Amazon engineer inventing automated ad systems driving billions in revenue, co-founding mobile startup Kima Labs (acquired by Groupon), and holding leadership roles at Groupon and Pelago. With orders for 130 Overture airliners from United, American, and Japan Airlines—designed for Mach 1.7 on 100% sustainable aviation fuel and targeting service by 2030—plus innovations like the Superpower natural gas turbine for AI data centers, Scholl is engineering faster global connectivity, defending U.S. leadership in aviation, and proving private innovation can conquer decades-old barriers for a high-speed, net-zero future.
Jared Friedman
Group Partner at Y Combinator, Y Combinator
Jared Friedman is a Managing Director, Software, and Group Partner at Y Combinator, the world's premier startup accelerator, where he mentors founders, invests in early-stage companies, and has directly advised over 20 unicorns—contributing to YC-backed ventures collectively valued at more than $100 billion while championing expansions into biotech, hard tech, and AI-driven innovation. A Harvard computer science dropout inspired by maximizing impact (famously leaving the year after Mark Zuckerberg), Friedman co-founded Scribd in 2006—one of YC's earliest batches—as CTO, pioneering the shift from Flash to HTML5 document rendering and growing it into a top-100 global website with millions of users before transitioning to full-time partnering at YC in 2015. An early angel investor in successes like Cruise (autonomous vehicles), advocate for mobilizing tech against crises like COVID-19, and thought leader on spinning university research into startups, he embodies YC's ethos of bold experimentation to empower the next generation of transformative founders.
Sampriti Bhattacharyya
Founder & CEO, Navier
Sampriti Bhattacharyya is the founder and CEO of Navier, a San Francisco-based startup revolutionizing maritime transportation with zero-emission electric hydrofoil boats that "fly" above the water for unparalleled efficiency—up to 10 times more than traditional vessels—boasting the world's longest-range electric boat and features like AI-driven autodocking to make waterways viable highways for people and goods at land-like speeds and costs. Born in Kolkata, India, she overcame early academic hurdles and cultural barriers, moving to the U.S. at age 20 with just $200 to intern at Fermilab, followed by internships at NASA, a master's in aerospace engineering from Ohio State University, and a PhD in mechanical engineering from MIT, where her work on autonomous underwater drones inspired her first company, Hydroswarm. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, advocate for women in STEM, and persistent innovator who once applied to over 500 internships, Bhattacharyya now leads Navier in scaling sustainable ocean mobility, with prototypes operating in the Bay Area and ambitions for global commercial, military, and transit networks.
Linda Avey
CEO, 23andMe
panelistLinda Avey is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of 23andMe, a company that pioneered direct-to-consumer genetic testing, making personal genomics accessible to the public. She has played a key role in advancing biotechnology through her innovative work in health and technology startups. Her contributions have significantly influenced the field of personalized medicine.
Chris Kemp
CEO, Astra
Chris Kemp serves as the CEO of Astra, a space technology company dedicated to developing affordable and frequent launch services for small satellites. He co-founded Astra in 2016, leveraging his background in aerospace engineering from his time at NASA Ames Research Center. Kemp previously co-founded Made In Space, where he contributed to pioneering 3D printing in space environments. His expertise includes rocket propulsion systems, satellite deployment, and fostering innovation in the commercial space sector. Under his leadership, Astra has achieved multiple orbital launches, advancing accessibility to space.
Mike Cassidy
CEO, Verkada
Mike Cassidy serves as the CEO of Verkada, where he leads the company's efforts in developing and deploying cloud-based physical security solutions, including AI-powered cameras and analytics. He has a proven track record as a serial entrepreneur, having founded Xobni in 2005, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2013, and subsequently held executive roles at Yahoo. Cassidy's expertise lies in hardware-software integration and building scalable tech startups, with a focus on security and enterprise software. His contributions include pioneering innovations in physical security technology, making him a key figure in the industry.
