Berkeley BCS 2026 AI + Recruiting Summit

Berkeley BCS | AI + Recruiting Summit

AI leaders. Founders. Investors. TikTok recruiters. Lunch + boba. One Saturday at Berkeley.

Berkeley BCS is back on Saturday, October 3, bringing together hundreds of students, founders, researchers, investors, recruiters and industry leaders at UC Berkeley.

Join us for a full day exploring how AI is transforming work, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate, finance and entrepreneurship—while meeting the people building what’s next.

🎟️ Tickets are $15 and availability is limited.

Your registration includes:

• A full day of AI talks and conversations

• TikTok recruiting and career opportunities

• Afternoon boba

• Speaker, founder, investor and recruiter networking

• Sponsor and recruiting activations

Lunch can be added separately for $10 for Berkeley students and affiliates or $15 for industry guests.

🎫 TikTok Recruiting at BCS + Golden Tickets

TikTok recruiters and AI leaders will be onsite to meet attendees, discuss open opportunities, share career advice and connect directly with potential candidates.

BCS × TikTok Golden Tickets

A limited number of selected attendees will receive special recruiting access and priority résumé review for relevant TikTok opportunities.

Interested in working at TikTok? Submit your résumé when you register so we can share your profile with the recruiting team before the summit.

🎤 Speakers and Program

9:00–9:30 AM | Opening Remarks

Ann Hsu
Founder & Head of School, Bert Hsu Academy
Founding Board Member, Berkeley China Summit

Jike Chong
Executive & Author of How to Lead in Data Science
UC Berkeley EECS PhD & Board Chair, Berkeley China Summit

Ann and Jike will open the summit with reflections on the Berkeley community, the AI-native era and the opportunities ahead.

9:30–10:30 AM | Beyond the Headlines: AI Agents and the Future of Work

Marco Casalaina
VP, Microsoft Core AI

What happens when AI agents move beyond the headlines and into how we actually work? Through live demonstrations and audience Q&A, Marco will share a practical look at the next generation of AI-powered work.

10:30–11:00 AM | Building Infrastructure for the AI-Native Era: From Manual Design to Automated Hardware Discovery

Dr. Zhibin Xiao
Founder & CEO, ZFLOW AI
Former Founding Team Member, Alibaba Cloud Chip Unit

Explore the shift from manual hardware design to automated discovery—and the infrastructure required to support an AI-native future.

11:00 AM–12:00 PM | The AI-Native Venture Fund: Why Human Judgment Matters More

Bryce Gilleland
General Partner, Cal Innovation Fund II

How does a venture fund built to run on AI actually operate? Bryce will share how AI is changing fund operations, startup evaluation and portfolio support—and why trust, conviction and human judgment matter more than ever.

12:00–1:00 PM | Lunch + Networking 🍱

Grab lunch and meet fellow students, founders, speakers, investors and recruiters before the afternoon program begins.

Lunch is available as an optional add-on for $10 for Berkeley students and affiliates or $15 for industry guests.

1:00–2:00 PM | Investing in the AI Era

Serephina Ha
General Partner, Axci Capital

Timothy Chen
General Partner, Essence VC

Sam Wang
CFO, Fish Audio & 39.AI
Board Member, Berkeley China Summit

Moderated by Aria Yang
Head of Marketing, YouLand
Former Head of Platform, AGI House

A candid conversation about how investors are evaluating AI companies, where they see durable opportunities and what gives them the conviction to back a founder with audience Q&A.

2:00–2:50 PM | AI in the Real World: Reinventing Real Estate with Sidekick

Michael Martin
Co-Founder & CEO, Sidekick

Moderated by JL (Jialing Xie)
Founding U.S. GTM, AI Models at TikTok/ByteDance
President, Berkeley China Summit

A real-world look at how vertical AI is transforming one of the world’s largest and most traditional industries—from building AI-native products to driving adoption in an established market.

3:00–3:20 PM | AI-Powered Anti-Money Laundering Solution

Dr. Ling Huang
Founder, CEO & Chief Scientist, AHI Fintech

How can AI help financial institutions fight increasingly sophisticated financial crime? Dr. Huang will explore the application of AI to anti-money laundering and the next generation of financial risk technology.

3:20–4:10 PM | Entrepreneurship in Semiconductor and AI

Jianfei Zhu
Founding Managing Director, Omnibay AI

Tianhao Zhu
CFO, Magic Lifescience

Moderated by Grace Li
Co-President, AI Infra @ Berkeley

A conversation spanning AI, finance, entrepreneurship, global markets and the opportunities emerging across industries.

4:10–4:30 PM | Berkeley’s Innovation Ecosystem + Marketing in the AI Era

Keith McAleer
Chief Marketing Officer, UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET)

Learn about opportunities to build and grow startups within Berkeley’s innovation ecosystem—plus a practical look at how marketing is changing in the AI era.

4:30–4:35 PM | Closing Remarks

JL (Jialing Xie)
President, Berkeley China Summit

A short closing reflection before we move into recruiting and community networking.

4:35 PM onward | Boba, Recruiting + Networking 🧋

Stay for afternoon boba, TikTok recruiting, sponsor activations and more time to connect with speakers, founders, investors, recruiters and the Berkeley community.

All times are Pacific. Schedule and speaker lineup are subject to change.

🧋 One ticket. The whole summit.

Your registration includes every session, light breakfast and snacks, afternoon boba, TikTok recruiting, Golden Ticket opportunities, sponsor activations and networking with speakers, founders, investors, recruiters and the Berkeley community.

Optional lunch is available for $10 for Berkeley students and affiliates or $15 for industry guests.

Come for the conversations. Stay for the boba. Leave with new ideas, new opportunities and a few people you’re really glad you met—maybe even your next investor, co-founder, customer or colleague.

📅 Saturday, October 3, 2026
⏰ Sessions: 9:00 AM–4:35 PM | Networking afterward
📍 East Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley
🎟️ Tickets: $15 | Limited availability

See you at Berkeley 💙💛