501(c)(3) non-profit since 2008

Work With the Best Founders
From Berkeley & Stanford

Join 50,000 early-stage founders. Bi-weekly newsletter, monthly dinners, quarterly events.

Companies built by our community

Databricks
$134B
Agora
IPO
Alluxio
Series C
Slope
Series C
FlowGPT
Series A
Smarking
Acquired
Openmart
YC W24
TeachShare
PearX S24

Get Involved

Three ways to build better, faster

Our bi-weekly newsletter, monthly dinners and quarterly events are designed to help you build deep relationships with top founders and tech leaders in Silicon Valley.

Michael Seibel, Managing Director at Y Combinator, on Building a Minimal Viable Product. From a DECODE Event session.
Every 2 Weeks
Tactical Tips
The no-fluff playbook for founders in the earliest stages. What to do, what to avoid, and what to think about next. Free, every two weeks.
Read the latest issue →
50,000+ subscribers
DECODE Dinner with Arvind KC, Chief People Officer at OpenAI. Full table of founders mid-discussion.
Monthly
Dinners
Intimate dinners. Honest conversations with founders and investors. Curated by stage and topic so the conversation is actually useful.
Apply to join a dinner →
5.0 stars8–15 founders per table
A full room of founders at a DECODE Event.
Quarterly
Events
Quarterly events with founders, investors, and operators. Keynotes, roundtables, and real introductions. Anchored by a flagship gathering each fall.
See upcoming events →
Sold out in 2025Quarterly across the Bay Area

Who you'll learn from

Founders, investors, and operators who've done what you're trying to do

We've hosted the best minds in Silicon Valley. They share what they built, what broke, and what they'd do differently.

Founders

Steve Huffman
Steve Huffman
Co-Founder & CEO · Reddit
Ion Stoica
Ion Stoica
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman · Databricks
Eric Yuan
Eric Yuan
Founder & CEO · Zoom
Daphne Koller
Daphne Koller
Founder & CEO · insitro · Co-founder, Coursera

Investors

Barry Eggers
Barry Eggers
Co-Founder · Lightspeed Venture Partners
Michael Seibel
Michael Seibel
Partner Emeritus and former MD · Y Combinator
Niko Bonatsos
Niko Bonatsos
Founder & MD · Verdict Capital · Former MD, General Catalyst
Raghu Raghuram
Raghu Raghuram
General Partner · a16z · Former CEO, VMware

Operators

Kevin Weil
Kevin Weil
VP, OpenAI for Science · OpenAI
Sophia Velastegui
Sophia Velastegui
Former Chief AI Officer, Business Applications · Microsoft
Teresa Briggs
Teresa Briggs
Board of Directors · ServiceNow, Snowflake, DocuSign & Warby Parker
Ya Xu
Ya Xu
VP Research · Google DeepMind · Former VP Engineering & Data, LinkedIn
View all speakers →

Who is running DECODE

Led by operators, investors, and educators for founders

Our executive team and board consists of builders, operators, and investors behind some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley.

Jerel Lim CEO
Jerel Lim
CEO · DECODE
William Allison Board of Directors
William Allison
CTO · UC Berkeley
Reza Behforooz Board of Directors
Reza Behforooz
VP of Engineering · Google
Shuo Chen Board of Directors
Shuo Chen
General Partner, IOVC ·
Faculty, UC Berkeley & Stanford
Keith Enright Board of Directors
Keith Enright
Chief Strategy Officer, Harvey ·
Former Chief Privacy Officer, Google
Mike Grandinetti Board of Directors
Mike Grandinetti
Faculty · Brown, Harvard, Rutgers
Gina Loften Board of Directors
Gina Loften
Former CTO · Microsoft US
Mayank Mehta Board of Directors
Mayank Mehta
Cofounder & CEO, Beheard ·
Former Group VP, Gartner Peer Insights
Esther Wojcicki Board of Directors
Esther Wojcicki
Founder, Moonshots in Education · Godmother of Silicon Valley
Meet the full team →

What makes DECODE unique

Deep connections to the organizations that support founders across Berkeley and Stanford

Our network spans 30+ academic departments, student organizations, and professional associations across Berkeley and Stanford.

Academic Departments
Berkeley SCET
Stanford Business
Berkeley SkyDeck
Stanford Accelerator for Learning
StartX Stanford
Stanford GSE
Bakar Labs
Stanford Continuing Studies
Fung Institute
Berkeley Haas
The Hub
Student Organizations
ASES
Berkeley Entrepreneurs Association
BASES
Enactus UC Berkeley
Free Ventures
SENSA
AIEB
Cardinal Ventures
Female Founders & Funders
Entrepreneurs@Berkeley
HBSA
The MBA Fund
Professional Associations
Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs
CITRIS Banatao Institute
Stanford Founders
SRI
Berkeley Frontier Fund
Health Engine
Big Ideas
Built By Berkeley
Center for Humane Technology
Founder Institute
AAAIM
Startup Grind

What people say

The community speaks for itself

We didn't ask for the polished version. Here's what people actually say.

“The questions from the founders were nuanced and insightful.”

Arvind KC, Chief People Officer at OpenAI

“They help you DECODE your startup problems into clear, actionable next steps.”

Shreya Agrawal, Co-Founder at Highfy.ai

“No fluff, no polished narratives, just real experiences.”

Rahul Singh, Data Science Manager at Adobe
Testimonial themes word cloud
Arvind KC: thoughtful conversations
Shreya Agrawal: one of the best
Shergaun Roserie: probably one of the best
Community: insightful and inspiring
Hendrika: engaged audience
Speaker thread: great energy and vibe
Chian Gong: exceptional talent
Nicole Bao: great energy
Community thread: insightful
Danesh: quality conversations
Vanloon Nguyen: inspiring to meet founders and investors
Hendrika: one of the best events all year
Yin Noe: stand out event, left energised
DECODE Conference · Bay Area

Sold out in 2025.
Back in 2026.

One full day of keynotes, fireside chats, and roundtables. Founders, investors, and operators. Unfiltered.

See upcoming events →
DECODE Conference 2025 keynote speaker on stage with packed audience

Resources

Everything we know, open to you

Tactics from the field, talks from the stage, and research from the community.

Newsletter
Tactical Tips Archive
Every issue in one place. Tactics, traps, tools, trends, and thesis. Every two weeks.
Browse the archive →
Videos
Speaker Sessions
Recordings from past DECODE events and dinners. Unfiltered advice from founders, investors, and operators.
Watch sessions →
Research · 2024
The State of AAPI in Venture Capital
The first study of its kind. AAPI funds outperform, yet control only 2.9% of all venture capital. Co-published with AAAIM and Berkeley SCET.
Read the report →

Tactical Tips