Most of what people want to know about Open Future Forum, Forum Select, Forum Events and Murray Newlands. Cannot find what you are looking for? Reach out via the apply page.
Open Future Forum is a Silicon Valley executive community for the AI era, founded in 2019 by Murray Newlands. It runs two tiers: Forum Select (private, invitation-only dinners for C-suite leaders and board directors) and Forum Events (open public gatherings for the broader AI and tech community). Both are built on Adam Grant's Give and Take philosophy.
Murray Newlands, a Silicon Valley investor and operator. Partner at IASV Seed Ventures. Former C-level executive at Turing.com, where the team scaled the company to a $4B valuation. Contributor to Forbes, Inc. and Time. 1.4M+ followers on X and 50,000+ subscribers on Substack.
Forum Select is the private invitation-only tier. Quarterly off-the-record dinners in San Francisco and Palo Alto for C-suite executives and board directors. 8 to 30 guests per dinner. No membership fee. Membership is by invitation from Murray Newlands or by referral from an existing member.
Forum Events is the open public tier. Panels, firesides, mixers and summits in Silicon Valley for the broader AI and tech community. 50 to 200+ guests per event. Open registration via Luma. Free or low cost. Also serves as the on-ramp to Forum Select.
Three paths in: attend a Forum Event and behave generously (Murray attends most events and scouts for the next generation of givers), get a referral from a current member, or apply directly via openfutureforum.com/apply. Murray reviews every inquiry personally. There is no fee.
Forum Select has no membership fee. Forum Events are free or low cost. Open Future Forum is not a paid network. The selection criterion is generosity, not ability to pay.
CEOs, CFOs, COOs, CTOs, CISOs, CMOs, Chief AI Officers and board directors actively working through the AI era. Specifically: AI company founders, enterprise C-suite leading AI inside their organisations, public-company board directors with AI governance responsibility, and senior investors. The common thread is seniority and generosity, not industry or function.
Forum Select dinners are held at distinctive venues in San Francisco and Palo Alto, including private clubs and member spaces. Forum Events are primarily in San Francisco and Palo Alto, with specific venues listed on each Luma event page.
Yes. Forum Select runs strict off-the-record norms. Nothing is repeated, attributed or paraphrased outside the room. That is what makes the conversations worth having. The norm is enforced socially: people who break it do not get invited back.
It is the framework from Adam Grant's book of the same name. Givers create more long-term value than takers or matchers. The most successful people in any field are not the best networkers, they are the most generous ones. Open Future Forum exists to gather givers in Silicon Valley and put them in the same rooms.
Forum Select is private and invitation-only, for C-suite and board, with 8 to 30 guests per dinner. Forum Events is open and public, for the broader AI and tech community, with 50 to 200+ guests. Both share the same philosophy. Forum Events feeds Forum Select: Murray identifies generous leaders at Forum Events and invites the best of them privately.
Yes, for Forum Events. Sponsorship is available for companies whose product or service is genuinely relevant to senior AI leaders. Forum Select is not sponsored. Inquire via the apply page.
No. They share a founder (Murray Newlands) but operate independently. Open Future Forum is a community and events platform. IASV Seed Ventures is a venture capital fund. Members of one are sometimes also relevant to the other, but the conversations are kept separate.
Murray Newlands writes weekly on Substack at murraynewlands.substack.com. 50,000+ senior AI and tech leaders subscribe. Topics include AI, venture, enterprise strategy and the architecture of executive networks. Upcoming Forum Events are noted in the standing intro of each issue.
Forum Select inquiries via the apply page. Forum Events registration via Luma. Press and speaking inquiries via the press page. IASV Seed Ventures inquiries via LinkedIn. Murray reviews every inquiry personally but cannot respond to every cold note.
Murray reviews every inquiry personally. The fastest way to reach the right answer is to ask.