/ About this event
Join us for an afternoon celebrating the next generation of builders using vibe coding and AI-assisted development to turn ideas into real products.
Builders Beyond Barriers brings together students, recent graduates, first-time founders, emerging builders, first-time founders and early-stage startups during SF Tech Week — creating a space to show what people can build when AI lowers the barrier from idea to product.
The event will feature two showcase tracks based on how far a project has progressed:
Emerging Builder Showcase For students, recent graduates, high school builders, first-time founders, and other emerging builders using vibe coding to explore an idea, solve a problem, or see what they can build for the first time. Projects may be early experiments, working prototypes, or simple tools — they do not need to be fully formed products or startups.
Startup and Product Showcase For those who have taken an idea beyond the initial experiment and begun developing it into a more complete product or startup. Projects should have meaningfully used vibe coding or AI-assisted development to build, test, or iterate. Students and recent graduates with more developed products are especially encouraged to apply to this track as well.
Projects do not need to have been built entirely through vibe coding, but AI-assisted development should have played a meaningful role in the building or iteration process.
Participation is open to builders of all backgrounds, with particular encouragement for students, women, non-binary builders, underrepresented groups, first-time founders, and teams building for underserved communities.
The showcase will recognize standout projects across both tracks, with prizes and additional builder resources to be announced.
This event is a part of #SF TechWeek—a week of events hosted by VCs and startups to bring together the tech ecosystem. Learn more at www.tech-week.com.
