Athletes and Keith Rabois headline StrictlyVC NYC return
StrictlyVC, TechCrunch's boutique evening series, returns to New York's West Village on September 10, 2026, putting athletes and Keith Rabois at the center of the lineup. Rabois opens the night on AI and venture capital; a sports-investing panel with D.C. United CEO Jason Levien follows.
Investors, founders, and sports executives will gather for fireside conversations, networking, drinks, and hors d'oeuvres. Collaborative Fund is co-hosting with TechCrunch, making the evening one of the season's most closely watched gatherings where artificial intelligence, professional sports, and venture capital intersect.
Key Takeaways
- StrictlyVC returns to New York's West Village on September 10, its first NYC event in two years.
- Keith Rabois opens with views on AI bets, OpenAI, and founders who raise excess capital.
- Craig Shapiro and D.C. United CEO Jason Levien discuss sports organizations as business investments.
- Founders Tristan Walker and Brynn Putnam explore AI's impact on craftsmanship and physical play.
- Insight Partners co-leader Deven Parekh shares how the firm competes as capital scales.
What brings StrictlyVC back to New York?
After a strong 2026 run in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Athens, TechCrunch is bringing StrictlyVC to the real West Village — brownstones and cobblestones, not Silicon Valley's "Vest Village" VC corridor. The September 10 event is the first New York installment in two years.
Attendees can expect fireside chats with TechCrunch writers including Connie Loizos and Rebecca Bellan, plus networking before and after sessions. For broader coverage of AI and venture trends, see our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.
Why is Keith Rabois headlining the night?
Keith Rabois recently relocated east from Silicon Valley and rarely holds back on what works in venture — and what does not. He has backed Ramp four times and invested repeatedly in State Affairs, a company using AI and local journalists to track statehouse news and policy data across all 50 states.
Rabois is expected to weigh in on founders who raise more capital than they need simply because they can. He will also discuss Khosla Ventures' early $50 million check into OpenAI in 2019, when the company had no clear business model, and share his take on whether OpenAI faces more headwinds today than its rivals. Details are in TechCrunch's event announcement.
How do athletes fit into the StrictlyVC lineup?
After Rabois, Craig Shapiro of Collaborative Fund joins Jason Levien, CEO of D.C. United, for a conversation you will not find at a typical tech conference. The pair will explore sports organizations as business investments and the increasingly tangled intersection of sports, fandom, commerce, and community.
That session ties the athletes and Keith Rabois theme together: Rabois opens on AI and venture capital, then the room shifts to how professional sports franchises operate as investable assets in an era when fan engagement drives revenue far beyond ticket sales.
Which founders round out the speaker roster?
Tristan Walker, who sold Walker & Company Brands (maker of Bevel) to Procter & Gamble in 2018, returns with Heirloom Craft, a startup focused on reshoring American fine craftsmanship and training a new generation of artisans.
Brynn Putnam sold connected-fitness startup Mirror to Lululemon for $500 million three years after launch. Her newest venture, Board, blends physical play with AI-powered creation tools as an antidote to tech-driven isolation. Deven Parekh, who has co-run Insight Partners for more than 25 years, closes the program with a look at how the New York powerhouse competes when capital is abundant but massive returns remain elusive.