AI Demo Day: Startups Building with Open-Weight Models

Watch startups pitch what they've built with models they can actually control, practical look at where open source AI is heading.

The startups pitching here are building with open-weight models they can actually deploy and modify, not relying on closed APIs or vendor lock-in. You'll see practical applications of tools like Llama and Mistral, not theoretical AI hype. The event cuts through the noise by focusing on teams who've made real technical choices about data sovereignty and model control, which means you'll hear about actual tradeoffs rather than marketing narratives. This is useful whether you're evaluating open source tools for your own work, looking to invest in startups with defensible moats, or just curious what builders are doing when they step outside the major model providers. Expect a mix of technical founders and the Sydney engineers who care about how these systems actually work.