The AxEC Community Tech Talk 2025, held on October 16 in Santa Clara, united more than 100 founders, technologists, and investors for an evening of deep discussions, learning, and connection. The atmosphere was electric, packed with ideas, ambition, and genuine warmth.
From startup showcases to venture panels, every session reflected a pivotal shift: we have moved beyond asking what AI can do to building what it must do - with purpose, scale, and real-world value.
The event opened with a warm meet-and-greet over chai and delicious snacks, then transitioned into high-energy sessions and wound down over Mediterranean dinner and drinks, where conversations continued well into the night.
This year’s sessions covered the full spectrum of innovation: from early-stage startups to agentic AI, cybersecurity, legal readiness, and the investment outlook for 2026 and beyond.
Sudarshan Kamath, Founder of Smallest AI, shared his journey raising an $8M seed round, and how his company is redefining Voice AI for the enterprise.
Pervez Alam of QA North America spoke about why upskilling and workforce readiness are essential to every AI transformation journey.
Weimo Liu, Founder & CEO of PuppyGraph, discussed how zero-ETL graph analytics allows real-time relationships to be queried directly on existing databases, signaling a new era in data infrastructure.
Representing GrowthLab, a dynamic peer community that empowers ambitious professionals through authentic career conversations, Piyashi Bhattacharyya and Dhriti Borah spoke about mentorship and inclusion to drive sustainable career growth.
Moderated by Rukmini Baruah, this flagship panel with Mahesh Yadav, Swagata Ashwani and Partha Deka brought sharp insight into how agentic systems are no longer experiments- they are powering workflows, scaling systems, and delivering outcomes.
Ashish Kakran (Sierra Ventures) moderated a high-spirited and energized conversation with Sameer Agarwal, Tarang Vaish, Varun Kohli and Sudarshan Kamath. They shared how IIT Guwahati alumni are building globally relevant companies and why alumni networks and peer mentorship remain key to deep-tech innovation.
Dr. Juhi Ranjan of Zime demonstrated how AI-driven workflow automation and context-aware assistants are boosting productivity and sales performance resulting in real business velocity.
Moderated by Pankaj Tibrewal (Carbide Ventures) with industry leaders Anshu Agarwal, Ashish Kakran and Mahesh Ram, this investor session looked ahead to 2026’s AI investment climate.
Investors agreed that the winning startups will be those that combine technical defensibility, customer focus, clear metrics, and founders who move with urgency and insight.
Moderator Bijoy Bora spoke with O’Melveny Partner Nate Gallon on how legal and ethical governance is becoming a competitive edge. From data contracts to compliance, legal readiness is now synonymous with responsible AI.
The evening closed with a showstopper of a panel, as Vidya Raman (FirstByte Ventures) led a razor-sharp conversation with Apolak Borthakur, Debu Chatterjee, and Dhruba Borthakur. Their brilliance and on-stage chemistry kept the room buzzing - equal parts entertaining and enlightening. From AI-powered threats to defense at scale, the panel made one thing clear: in the era of GenAI, cybersecurity is not just an afterthought; it is a strategic imperative that must evolve as fast as the tech it protects.
AI success is shifting from demos to delivery and systems must create real business impact.
Startups must anticipate how platform giants like ChatGPT and Gemini reshape their ecosystems.
Software is evolving into adaptive experiences that predict user intent in real time.
Security and ethics are no longer side conversations, they define AI adoption.
Scaling reliable, maintainable AI is the new north star for founders and enterprises alike.
A heartfelt thank-you to our generous sponsors: QA North America, Smallest AI, O’Melveny, and Zime, for powering this event and helping us create a space where technology meets community.
As the panels ended, attendees continued their conversations over dinner and drinks, exchanging ideas and forging connections that extended beyond the evening.It was a night that blended insight with warmth - a testament to AxEC’s mission to connect, learn, and grow together.
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