Uber CTO Praveen Naga Joins StrictlyVC SF Lineup for AI‑Scale Discussion
StrictlyVC SF Announces Uber CTO Praveen Naga as Key Speaker
StrictlyVC San Francisco, the flagship event series for TechCrunch, has expanded its roster for the April 30 gathering at the Sentro Filipino Cultural Center. The headline addition is Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga, who will sit down with TechCrunch editor‑in‑chief Connie Loizos to explore the challenges of scaling services amid the AI revolution.
Event Logistics and Speaker Lineup
- Date: 2026-04-30
- Venue: Sentro Filipino Cultural Center, San Francisco
- Core audience: founders, investors, AI developers
- Speakers (5 total): Praveen Neppalli Naga (Uber), Lior Susan (Eclipse), Amjad Masad (Replit), Nicolas Sauvage (TDK Ventures), Campbell Brown (former CNN/Meta)
Financial Highlights and Scale Metrics
- $1.3 billion fund recently raised by Eclipse founder Lior Susan for physical‑AI startups
- Uber’s platform serves hundreds of millions of riders, drivers, and couriers worldwide, providing a real‑world testbed for AI‑driven scaling
- Ticket demand is expected to exceed capacity, prompting a “act swiftly” call‑to‑action
Strategic Implications for AI‑Driven Platforms
The conversation will likely surface how large‑scale mobility networks can embed generative AI into dispatch, pricing, and earnings systems—areas where Naga has deep experience since joining Uber in 2015. Insights could influence how other platform companies prioritize AI investments, especially in driver‑earnings algorithms and real‑time logistics.
Looking Ahead: What This Signals for the Startup Ecosystem
By gathering AI pioneers, venture leaders, and media strategists, StrictlyVC positions itself as a nexus for the next wave of AI‑focused funding and product development. Attendees can expect actionable takeaways on capital‑raising tactics from Nicolas Sauvage and on combating AI‑driven disinformation from Campbell Brown, setting the tone for a more mature, responsible AI startup landscape in 2026 and beyond.