TiE Silicon Valley Off the Record: Navigating AI

Off the Record is TiE Silicon Valley’s candid practitioner series. The Wednesday, September 23, 2026 edition runs 5:30 to 7:30 PM PDT at the TiE SV office, 480 South California Ave, Suite 201 in Palo Alto, with hybrid options for remote guests. Curators Smita Hashim and Shivani Govil frame a conversation on navigating AI and the changing software development lifecycle. Speakers on the public listing include Mu Han, Chief Development Officer at Zoom, and Allen Hutchison of Vycari, formerly a Distinguished Engineer at Google DeepMind. The agenda is networking from 5:30 to 6:00, conversation from 6:00 to 6:45, Q&A from 6:45 to 7:15, then closing networking from 7:15 to 7:30.

Where Investors Day the night before is deal-flow theater, Off the Record is the chapter’s conversation format: operators and founders who already trust the TiE room trading what is working without a pitch stack. That is useful when you want peer density after a heavy capital night, or when you are not seeking checks this week. Hybrid seating means confirm whether you are in Suite 201 or on the remote link before you commute down 101.

This is right for TiE members and aligned AI operators who can contribute a real implementation question about shipping, data, or SDLC change. Skip it if you need investor meetings or a public gala. Bring one concrete AI adoption problem from your product or ops stack so Q&A is not only audience applause. Parking and California Avenue evening traffic still matter for the in-person path; remote guests should test login early.

If you attend in person, treat the 5:30 networking block as the soft open and aim to be seated before the 6:00 conversation starts. Hybrid guests should mute distractions and use the Q&A window with one crisp question rather than a product pitch. The chapter’s Off the Record brand rewards candor; leave the fundraising deck at home unless someone asks for a follow-up.

If Investors Day is your capital night, use this as the follow-up conversation room rather than stacking two pitch events. RSVP on tiesv.ai and confirm hybrid versus in-person details in the confirmation note before you leave the city. Re-check the live listing if speaker or hybrid notes shift closer to September 23.