OPEN · SILICON VALLEY · AI

The public AI gatherings

Published 15 Jan 2026 · Updated 17 May 2026 · By Murray Newlands

Open gatherings.
One philosophy.

Forum Events is the open public tier of Open Future Forum. Panels, firesides, mixers and summits in Silicon Valley for the broader AI and technology community. 50 to 200+ guests per event. Open registration on Luma. Free or low cost, never gatekept.

The same philosophy as Forum Select runs through every Forum Event. Members give first and keep score never. Nobody is working an angle. The reason the rooms feel different is not the dress code or the venue. It is the people in them, and the unspoken rule about how to behave once you are.

Forum Events also serves as the on-ramp to Forum Select. Murray attends most events personally and watches for the next generation of givers. The best guests at a Forum Event often receive a quiet invitation to something more private.

50–200+
Guests per event
Bay Area
San Francisco & Palo Alto
Open
Registration via Luma
Curated
Speakers & guest lists

Four ways
to be in the room

Panels

Multi-speaker conversation

Three to five senior speakers on a single theme. The format is conversational, not presentational. Moderated to keep the talk between speakers and the room.

Firesides

One-on-one with a senior leader

A single guest in conversation with Murray or another moderator. Long-form, slower-paced, room for the contradictions and the half-formed thoughts.

Mixers

Network without the networking

No stage, no agenda. Just a room of senior AI and tech leaders with a reason to be there. The rule is the same as Forum Select: lead with what you can give.

Summits

Longer-form gatherings around a single theme

Quarterly or semi-annual. Multiple panels and firesides across a half-day or full day. Themed around an AI strategy question that needs more than 90 minutes. Past themes have included AI and board governance, Chief AI Officer roles, agentic security, and enterprise AI buying.

Senior, technical,
and showing up to give

Forum Events are open to the broader AI and tech community, but they are not undifferentiated. The team works the guest list. Speakers are recruited not booked. The result is a room where most people in it are senior and substantive.

Typical attendees:

  • AI company founders and CEOs
  • Enterprise C-suite leading AI transformation
  • Chief AI Officers, CTOs, CISOs and CFOs
  • Board directors with AI governance responsibility
  • Senior investors: VC partners, PE principals, family office principals
  • Senior operators at AI infrastructure, data, security and applied AI companies
  • Founders, partners and senior researchers from the academic and research community

See the calendar.
Register on Luma.

All Forum Events are listed, updated and registered on Luma. The link below opens the live calendar.

See the Luma calendar

If you would prefer to receive a quarterly email with upcoming events rather than check the calendar, subscribe to Murray's Substack. Events are noted in the standing intro of each issue.

How Forum Events feed
Forum Select

Forum Select is invitation-only. Most invitations come from Forum Events.

The process is not formal. Murray attends most events. He watches who asks the sharpest questions, who other senior leaders gravitate toward, who behaves generously without performing. The best guests at a Forum Event often receive a quiet message a few weeks later inviting them to something more private.

If you want to be considered for Forum Select, the most reliable path is to show up to a Forum Event and behave like someone who already belongs in a smaller room. That is also the most reliable path in to most rooms worth being in.

Learn about Forum Select

Things people
usually ask

How do I attend a Forum Event?+

Register on Luma at lu.ma/OpenFutureForum. Most Forum Events are free or low cost. Some are application-only.

What is the difference between Forum Events and Forum Select?+

Forum Events are open and public, for the broader AI and tech community, with 50 to 200+ guests. Forum Select is private and invitation-only, for C-suite executives and board directors, with 8 to 30 guests per dinner. Both are part of Open Future Forum and share the same Give and Take philosophy.

How are speakers chosen?+

Speakers are recruited, not booked. The team works backward from a theme that matters to senior AI leaders and approaches people who have something specific and substantive to say about it. There is no speaker bureau pipeline.

Can my company sponsor a Forum Event?+

Yes. Sponsorship is available for companies whose product or service is genuinely relevant to senior AI leaders. The room is too valuable to sell to companies that would not survive scrutiny from the people in it. Reach out via the apply page.

Where are Forum Events held?+

Primarily San Francisco and Palo Alto. Some events are held at distinctive venues including private clubs, member spaces and partner offices. Specific venue details are on each Luma listing.

Be in the Room

See you
at the next one

The next Forum Event is on the Luma calendar. Registration takes 30 seconds.

See the Luma calendar