AI Meets Robotics – Launch & Fund Your Own Startup
Details
The official AI Meets Robotics – Launch & Fund Your Own Startup (Edition-1) hackathon will take place on February 14–15, 2026 in San Francisco, CA, as the on-site finale of an eight-day global hybrid program. In the days leading up to the event, teams build remotely, validate their ideas, and prepare investor-ready demos before coming together in SF.
Participants will explore AI + robotics through hands-on challenges and mentorship opportunities. Projects will focus on building software-only robotics products in simulation or as devtools: autonomy and planning in digital environments, operator dashboards and fleet control, orchestration platforms, and analytics or infrastructure for robotics teams - with no physical hardware required.
Backed by partners such as Surge, Google, Google DeepMind and lablab.ai, the hackathon will reward creativity and execution through on-site pitching opportunities and follow-on support for selected teams. The most impactful teams will be invited to participate in person in San Francisco to present their work, connect with mentors, and plug into a broader 🏆 $1,000,000+ pool of credits, token prizes, perks, and funding opportunities across the Launch & Fund Your Own Startup series.
Location
San Francisco, California, USA
RSVP: https://luma.com/ai-meets-robotics-sf
Agenda
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Hosted By
Riya Dashoriya, GDG Organizer
Sako M, Platform engineer
Sako M is a seasoned professional with 10+ years of experience in the field of technology. He has worked with more than ten companies in six countries, and he holds three master's degrees in different countries. He is currently based in San Francisco, California, and he is focused on AI, DevOps, Security, Open Source and building SaaS products.
Sako's passion for technology is evident in his work, and he is dedicated to using his skills and knowledge to generate value for all creatures in the world. He believes that as long as we give more than we take, the best is yet to come.
Sako has founded two open source projects called JobHax and GOUP. Currently he works at company called Gladly, where he is a Sr. Software Engineer. Before his current role at Gladly, he worked as a DevOps | Infrastructure Security Lead at OpenGov Inc., where he managed highly available software as a service and built infrastructure for continuous integration, automated software releases, and infrastructure automation. He has also worked as a Software Engineer at NGINX, Inc., and as an Industrial Cyber Security Researcher at Fraunhofer IOSB-INA.
Throughout his career, Sako has honed his skills in areas such as security, reliability, scalability, performance, cost optimization, operational excellence, Kubernetes, Docker, Python, and Linux-based servers. At Huawei Technologies, he worked as a service project manager, responsible for 24x7 of five service providers' network engineering teams' management, and as a system and network support team leader, where he worked on Customer Experience Management platform Operation&Maintenance Linux based servers and storage. He has also worked as a Core Network Planning Team Leader at Bakcell, where he led the Core Network Planning team.
Anu Mittal,
GDG SF Organiser
Vikram Tiwari, Organizer
Co-founder, Tech @OmniLabsInc where I help build the future of work. @GoogleDevExpert @GoogleCloud and #MachineLearning helping others learn, build and excel.
Gouthami Nadupuri, Data Scientist
Data Scientist enthusiastic about AI, ML, and creating impactful digital platforms. I enjoy building smart solutions and designing purposeful digital platforms. I love turning ideas into interactive web experiences and contributing to tech communities through thoughtful design and innovation.
Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-san-francisco-presents-ai-meets-robotics-launch-amp-fund-your-own-startup/.
