We did it! Photos: Llama Lounge 26 was hosted last week. We were graciously hosted by Microsoft in the heart of Silicon Valley in their newly renovated, state-of-the-art theatre.

We packed the house with 300+ attendees, and in fact hit capacity and had to turn people away. That included about 220 founders, dozens of investors, and dozens of corporate AI buyers who purchase technologies from founders, I try to assemble an ecosystem of leaders.

I kicked things off with a lightning talk on “How startups can win in AI when code is free”. I emphasized that business strategy and access to proprietary data and community are critical.

We then had a panel with our hosts, moderated by me, featuring the Microsoft for Startups team, including Patrick Cook, Zain Gulamali, and Shaloo Garg to hear how they help early-stage, midsize, and enterprise-class companies.

The key aspect of Llama Lounge is the AI pitches on stage by top founders emceed by Silicon Valerie Bertele ?.…