Tech for Impact:
San Francisco
A lunch on the energy behind AI. Roundtables under the Chatham House Rule, then a fireside chat over lunch, with founders, investors and the people who run the plants, grids and data centres.
Tech for Impact holds a summit in Tokyo every May and smaller gatherings through the year. In September it filled an Oktoberfest tent in Munich with investors and founders. On 18 November it comes to San Francisco for the first time.
It starts at small roundtables. Each table has a chair and one question, and there are no slides. The tables run under the Chatham House Rule, so nothing is written up and people say what they actually think. Then everyone sits down to lunch and listens to a fireside chat while they eat.
This time the subject is the energy behind AI. A new data centre in the US can wait years for a grid connection. Cooling, chips and the materials underneath them all carry a carbon bill. Who is building the clean version of that supply chain, and who pays for it?
Wednesday, 18 November 2026
Doors and coffee
Roundtables
Each table has a chair and its own question.
Lunch and fireside chat
A conversation while we eat. We name the speakers once they confirm.
Close
Those who want to keep talking usually do.
One question per table
A peer chairs each table. We open a table once its chair confirms.
- Power and the grid. A data centre can wait years for a connection. Who pays to make that faster, and who carries the risk?
- Cooling and chips. Every gain in compute shows up as heat. What does the clean version of the server hall look like?
- Materials and capital. Copper, rare earths and gallium sit under all of it. Who finances supply outside China?
Three kinds of people at every table
The tables stay small so everyone gets to speak. We confirm seats directly.
- Founders building power, cooling, chips and materials for AI.
- Investors: family offices, private investors, fund-of-funds and corporate LPs.
- Operators from energy, data-centre and semiconductor companies.
San Francisco
The address goes to confirmed guests.
Tell us who you are
The tables are curated and seats are limited. Request a seat and we'll confirm by email once the tables are set.
Questions in the meantime? Email [email protected]