Go back to list of postsSF Tech Week 2026 Side Events & Networking Guide
Last modified: August 24, 2026
SF Tech Week 2026 Side Events & Networking Guide
SF Tech Week 2026 runs October 5–11 across San Francisco, and unlike a traditional conference, there's no single afterparty or reception that comes with a badge. The entire week is built from hundreds of independently hosted events — happy hours, summits, founder dinners, and meetups — each requiring its own RSVP or registration. This guide covers the SF Tech Week side events confirmed so far, what to expect as more get added, and how to network across a week with no central venue.
Last checked: August 24, 2026. SF Tech Week is about six weeks out at the time of writing, and the official events calendar on Luma is still showing as "launching soon." Most independently hosted events for a week this size tend to get confirmed and published in the final four to six weeks before it starts, so treat this as an early snapshot rather than a full list.
What Counts as a Side Event During SF Tech Week?
SF Tech Week itself is decentralized — there's no main stage or central badge, just a citywide calendar of events submitted by companies, VCs, and community groups through tech-week.com/host. That means almost everything happening during the week technically counts as a "side event" in the sense that it requires its own registration, separate from any single Tech Week pass.
This guide focuses on events that are specifically confirmed for the 2026 dates, with a real venue, time, and registration path — not generic recurring meetups that happen to fall during the same week.
Confirmed SF Tech Week 2026 Side Events
The Brain Optimization Summit
Category: Independent, ticketed event
Organized by Longevity Global, this all-day summit covers new therapeutics, AI, and technology aimed at cognitive and brain health. According to the official listing, it runs Sunday, October 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at 135 Mississippi St, San Francisco. Speakers are drawn from the BCI, therapeutics, diagnostics, and health-tech neuro space, though the full 2026 speaker list had not been published at the time of writing — the listing points to last year's confirmed speakers as a reference for the kind of lineup to expect.
- Venue: 135 Mississippi St, San Francisco
- Registration: Required via Eventbrite
- Price: Not listed at the time of writing
Register for The Brain Optimization Summit
SaaS & AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour
Category: Independent, invite-only event
Hosted by NachoNacho alongside partners including Pilot, Revolut Business, Forecastr, Deel, and Shopline, this happy hour is part of NachoNacho's recurring "NachoTuesday" series. It's scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, 2026, in San Francisco. According to the official listing, the event is exclusively for SaaS and AI founders (Seed-funded and later), C-suite executives, investors, and tech media — applications are screened, no plus-ones are allowed, and only approved guests are admitted.
- Venue: San Francisco (exact address released to approved guests)
- Registration: Application required via Partiful
- Price: Free for approved guests; includes sponsored drinks and food
Apply for the SaaS & AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour
More Events to Watch For
Because SF Tech Week's official Luma calendar hasn't opened yet, most of this year's independently hosted events — happy hours, hackathons, founder dinners, and panels — aren't publicly listed. Recent editions have typically included dozens of events per day once the calendar fills in, spanning topics like AI, fintech, and developer tools. Rather than guess at details that aren't confirmed, we'll update this guide as new events are published.
Follow the official SF Tech Week calendar on Luma
SF Tech Week 2026 Side-Event Schedule at a Glance
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
Date | Tue, Oct 6 - Sun, Oct 11 |
Event | SaaS & AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour |
Venue | San Francisco (TBA) |
Registration | Application required |
Getting Around During SF Tech Week
With events scattered across the city rather than concentrated in one venue, a bit of route planning goes a long way:
- Cluster events by neighborhood where possible — SOMA, the Mission, and the Embarcadero each tend to host a concentration of Tech Week events, which cuts down on transit time between sessions.
- Use BART, Muni, or rideshare to move between neighborhoods; San Francisco traffic can slow things down significantly during rush hour.
- Build in buffer time between back-to-back events in different parts of the city — a 30-minute gap on the calendar can easily become a 45-minute trip once transit and walking are factored in.
Discover the SF Tech Week 26 agenda
Getting to Specific Venues
If you're attending The Brain Optimization Summit at 135 Mississippi St, that's in the Dogpatch neighborhood, a short rideshare or Muni ride from most SOMA-based events earlier in the week — worth planning as a standalone Sunday trip rather than squeezing it between other commitments.
Preparing to Network Across a Week of Side Events
With registration, screening, and venues varying event to event, the practical challenge of SF Tech Week isn't finding people to meet — it's keeping track of who you met where, especially across events with different audiences and formats.
A KADO digital business card solves the exchange side of that problem: instead of carrying paper cards to an invite-only happy hour one night and an all-day summit the next, you share your details through a QR code or link that works the same way at every event. KADO also lets you add a note and tag to each new contact right after you meet them — "met at the NachoNacho happy hour, works on SaaS fundraising" — so the context isn't gone by the time you're comparing notes from five different events at the end of the week.
Create your free KADO digital business card before SF Tech Week 2026, so you're ready to share your details at the first event on your calendar.
A Final Note on Accuracy
Side-event details for a decentralized week like this — registration status, exact venues, even whether an event is still happening as planned — tend to firm up only in the final few weeks before it starts. Everything confirmed in this guide reflects live event listings as of August 24, 2026. As SF Tech Week's official calendar opens and more events are added, we'll update this guide — but always confirm details on the original registration page before finalizing your plans.
Further Reading
Related Conference Guides
- SF Tech Week 2026: The Definitive Guide — the main event guide, covering themes, logistics, and how to prepare
- Top Tech Conferences in 2026
- TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Complete Guide
Networking Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Tech Week pass to attend these side events?
No. SF Tech Week doesn't have a single central pass — every event, including the ones in this guide, is organized independently and requires its own registration or application, regardless of whether you're attending other Tech Week events that week.
Are SF Tech Week side events free?
It varies by event. The SaaS & AI Founder + Investor Happy Hour is free for approved applicants, while pricing for The Brain Optimization Summit wasn't listed at the time of writing — check each event's registration page for current details.
When will more SF Tech Week 2026 side events be announced?
Based on past editions, most independently hosted events tend to be published on the official Luma calendar in the final four to six weeks before the week starts, so expect the bulk of 2026 listings to appear through September.
How do I find SF Tech Week side events as they're announced?
The official SF Tech Week calendar on Luma is the most reliable source once it opens, alongside individual event listings on Eventbrite and Partiful.
What should I bring to SF Tech Week side events?
A charged phone and a fast way to exchange contact details — a digital business card works better than paper cards when you're moving between an invite-only happy hour one night and an all-day summit the next.
