SuperReturn Venture US West 2026Monday, 14 September 2026 - PT (Pacific Time, -07:00)

Exploring how market players are navigating the rapid shift into deep tech, AI, defense, space, and energy while building durable businesses in a turbulent market. Tracking the migration of capital from software to hardware-heavy frontiers. How are LPs shifting strategies and adapting to new market dynamics? Spotting non-obvious talent, leveraging exclusive access, and identifying true commercial signals. Applying pattern recognition to scale and build category-defining companies today.

Keynote address followed by a panel discussion

A deep dive into how AI is reshaping industries such as healthcare, defense, e-commerce, and enterprise software. Discussing the rise of agentic AI, its role in operational efficiencies, and its implications for portfolio construction and startup creation. Addressing concerns about how agentic AI is replacing the workforce and discussing AI safety and governance.

Analyzing the emergence of secondaries as a critical tool for LP liquidity and portfolio management. How are secondaries evolving as a partial exit mechanism and what is their role in addressing liquidity challenges in venture capital? Drawing a distinction between liquidity for LPs and liquidity for portfolio investments and generating DPI and net IRR.

As geopolitical tensions and sovereign mandates accelerate the demand for resilient infrastructure, the investment landscape for "national security" technologies has fundamentally shifted. Highlighting innovations in civilian and military applications, including space, drones and cybersecurity solutions.

With billions of digital agents expected to occupy the workforce by 2028 and billions of physical robots joining them by 2040, how are we funding the infrastructure of a fully autonomous world? Evaluating capital efficiency, cash flows, and liquidity timelines for hardware-enabled automation. How do consumers and enterprises navigate the new reality run by sovereign autonomous networks? Sharing portfolio strategies to mitigate regulatory, legal, and macroeconomic backlashes as automation replaces 50–80% of legacy workflows.

Examining the growing divide between large mega funds and smaller funds. Discussing the challenges faced by smaller funds and how larger funds respond to raising significant capital but often less than anticipated, reflecting broader macroeconomic pressures. How does AI impact capital needs of venture backed companies and what does it mean for VC? Exploring how longer fundraising timelines and higher revenue expectations are driving companies to do more with less, and the implications for VC firms. Analyzing the expected rise of spinouts from mega funds.

Sharing investor insights into the effectiveness of core-satellite model, performance concerns and emerging manager scrutiny. What liquidity and exit mechanisms prevail? Discussing opportunities in evergreen structures, enthusiasm for late-stage venture strategies and challenges presented by an evolving regulatory landscape.

Examining the mixed exit environment, including the rise of IPOs and M&A activity, alongside challenges such as overhyped IPOs and valuation drops. Discussing the uneven impact of valuation resets, with AI, LLMs, and derivatives continuing to experience bubble-tier pricing

Table 1: Healthcare & Life Sciences

Table 2: Information Technology & AI

Table 3: Fintech

Table 4: Energy & Climate Tech

Table 5: Deep Tech & Robotics