Over 300 AI Founders and Investors assembled at Llama Lounge 8 (partial view of crowd), hosted at GenLab in SF, photo by Erick D
Last Thursday in San Francisco, the epicenter of innovation for AI, I had the privilege of orchestrating a gathering of 300 attendees spanning AI founders (majority of folks), venture capitalists, press members, and influencers at the Llama Lounge, our 8th event.
This was apparently the largest event across the globe on AI agents, but don’t take my word from it, autonomous agent industry leader, Alex Reibman told me: “The Llama Lounge headcount registered is at least double the second largest I’d seen”.
This event stood out as more than just a discussion on AI; it was a deep dive into the world of AI agents, featuring hands-on explorations and live demonstrations by the actual innovators behind these transformative technologies –not just conference talks. Attendees had the rare opportunity to interact with ten pioneering AI startups, gaining firsthand experience of their applications, giving feedback, brokering partnerships and finding investors.
What are AI agents?
AI agents are software programs designed to autonomously perform tasks, learning from interactions and adapting to accomplish a broad array of objectives with minimal human intervention. These agents play a crucial role in steering us towards more automated and intelligent systems, serving as the building blocks for the future of artificial general intelligence. They are distinct from copilots which are often collaborating with humans within an app. I do realize the categories are blurring.
The venue, hosted by GenLabs at the iconic Digital Garage space in the heart of San Francisco, provided the perfect backdrop for this immersive experience. A heartfelt thank you to my friends Brady Forest, Daniel Riedel, Martha Denis, and the entire GenLab team for their invaluable support. Our sponsors, Cleo and Amaara Networks, were instrumental in bringing this vision to life.
The event commenced with the unique tradition of me sounding the conch shell (see video by Amy Kelly), a practice that not only demands the herd attention but also pays homage to my past as a professional musician. It symbolizes the beginning of something exceptional, where we collectively embark on a journey into the depths of AI innovation.
Above: Agent Lunar team (who just relocated from London) provided live demos of agents in action.
I addressed the Llama Lounge, kicking off the event.
Above photos by Erick D
(Llama Lounge logo by Sightbox)
The Ten AI Agent Startups on the Demo Floor:
–Agent Lunar: Digital workers built for small businesses
–AgentOps: Agent benchmarking, testing, compliance
– Claros: AI personal shopper Agents
– Commit: AI talent agents for software developers
– Evabot: Your AI research assistant in sales
– Floode: Personalized AI EA for daily comms
– Infinityy: Sales Agent for property leasing
– Instalily: Autonomous AI Agents; human level productivity
– Lutra: Coding Agents integrated with your apps
– MultiOn: Your personal AI agent
Looking ahead to our events in March, April, and three additional gatherings in the fall in the SF Bay Area—the global capital of AI—it’s evident that the Llama Lounge is more than just an event; it’s a catalyst for innovation, collaboration, and a deeper understanding of AI agents’ transformative potential.
This post, originating from the epicenter of technological advancement, was initially penned by me, organic Jeremiah, and later refined with the assistance of GPT-4, embodying the spirit of human-AI collaboration celebrated at the Llama Lounge.
Social Media posts, images, and videos of Llama Lounge 8 from attendees:
- Jeremiah Owyang Tweet Thread on Llama Lounge 8
- Jeremiah Owyang video walk thru of the event (sound on)
- AI Founder on the floor: Dominique Harrison-Bentzen of Agent Lunar: “Still buzzing with excitement and splashed in PINK from last night’s #LlamaLounge”
- Host Daniel Riedel of GenLab writes a thank you to all
- Robert Scoble does a video walk thru of Llama Lounge, interviewing me.
- Robert Scoble interviewed ClarosAI on the demo floor using a Vision Pro.
- Ozlem Peksoy Bishop: enjoying Floode demo!
- Dušan Vuksanovic of Swisscom Ventures enjoyed the event.
- Paul Jurcys says: “When you see a charismatic investor sounding off a conch shell in front of a crowd of 300 you know something extraordinary is happening”
- Lutra team loved to demo.
- Evabot team got some love.
- Time lapse video by Ben Holfeld
- Christy Bergman: “a digital hangout, for community, having fun, not worried about counting our followers. Thanks for the awesome conversations IRL tonight!
- VC Angad of FalconX enjoyed meeting AI founders.
- Photos by Blake Menezes
- Hitesh Parashar, says we “know how to throw an AI party, man!! San Francisco, we are so back, baby”
- Guillaume Dumortier: offers video clips of an interview
- Michael J. Miraflor Video: Survived an evening on the SF Tech circuit, which is alive and well and firing on all cylinders (a dozen events tonight!?). Learned a lot at the Llama Lounge AI Agent meetup.
- AI Founder Dr Starson (who’s attended perhaps the most Llama Lounge events) writes: Outstanding time at the LLAMA Lounge yesterday! The new venue at GenLabs.
- Ricardo Uzcategui: “What a night in the breathtaking San Francisco, the heart where AI is reshaping our world!”
- Wesley Lorrez calls the event inspiring, buzzing and exhilarating.
- Shiv Singh: AI Agents are probably the most exciting part of the Gen AI revolution.
- Ken Yeung says his heart is full after attending another SF event focused on AI, thanks Ken.
