Andreessen Horowitz is hauling its city-sized startup festival into Boston next Tuesday through Sunday, with Kendall Square, the Seaport and other neighborhoods set to become a wall-to-wall lineup of hackathons, panels and pitch nights. The week is built around AI, biotech, robotics and other deep-tech tracks and is aimed at pulling founders, operators and investors from across the country into the city.
According to The Boston Globe, Tech Week will run May 26-31, and the firm says it invited local hosts to craft events across the region and is offering logistical support and grants for some programming. The official Tech Week calendar lists dozens of sessions across Back Bay, Kendall Square, the Seaport and neighborhood venues, with many events free to attend and others invite-only.
Perkins and DisabilityTech Take Center Stage
Perkins School for the Blind is stepping into the spotlight with a “vibe-coding” hackathon aimed at teacher tools at Boston University, plus a four-hour DisabilityTech investor summit at MassBio’s Cambridge headquarters, according to the Tech Week event map. Perkins’ Howe Innovation Center has been building the DisabilityTech space for several years, and its work is detailed on the Perkins site; organizers say putting accessibility on the mainstage could help attract more investors to the field.
Local Hosts and Where the Money Is Flowing
Some of Boston’s best-known tech names are throwing open their doors. Local companies hosting events include Whoop, HubSpot, Klaviyo, DraftKings and Wayfair, per Startup BOS’s event roundup. At the same time, a16z has been active in the Boston market backing deep-tech and biotech startups. Liquid AI’s emergence was covered by TechCrunch, and Boltz’s seed round listing shows participation from a16z on Dealroom.
“I think it’s the best time in a decade to start a company in Boston,” Jonathan Lai said, and Boston’s mayor welcomed the attention as a way to showcase the region’s work, according to The Boston Globe. Perkins’ Sandy Lacey told the Globe she hopes the festival will “bring to light the importance of solving challenges and investing in this space,” and urged investors to come see accessibility founders at work.
For a full calendar and RSVP details, organizers are pointing people to the official Tech Week site and the citywide event map. The Tech Week site and the community calendar list host details and locations across Boston next week.
