CED’s Venture Connect 2026: Two Packed Days At DPAC

CED’s annual Venture Connect conference took place this week here in the Bull City, taking over the Durham Performing Arts Center for the first time. Following a handful of Monday kick-off gatherings, the bulk of the event was spread across a jam-packed Tuesday-Wednesday agenda.

GrepBeat was honored to be on site as a media partner, and while our team is still catching its collective breath (along with much of the NC startup and tech community, I’m sure), it’s now time to recap the action.

So without further ado, for those who want to relive the event or catch up on whey missed, here’s our look back at Venture Connect 2026.

Tuesday (Day 1)

Opening Remarks

After an hour or so of breakfast, coffee, and networking, attendees filed into the DPAC auditorium to see the program get rolling. That started by way of a chain of introductions and brief remarks: CED’s marketing maestra Katelin Wheeler (who will now presumably update her title on LinkedIn) welcomed the crowd and introduced (jokingly, a production of “Wicked” starring) Jay Bigelow, who, after a few words on CED and the conference, brought on Durham Mayor Leo Williams with a Bull City welcome for out-of-town guests.

New(-ish) CED CEO Alex Bloom next took to the stage to introduce himself at his own first-ever Venture Connect, as well as to go over a string of impressive conference numbers (over 1,000 registered, over 100 presenting companies, and roughly 200 investors and 400 founders on site). At roughly 8:39, nine minutes into the opening session, he mentioned AI, setting a verified* global record for restraint on such mentions at tech conferences since January 1, 2025.

*unverified

Opening Keynote

From there we rolled into the opening keynote, delivered by Robert Tercek and his resplendent silver mane, the likes of which even theatrical productions on the DPAC stage cannot hope to match. Tercek’s (excellent) talk revolved around the theme of dematerialization leading to rematerialization, and where in that process we are.

Key Insights:

• Whatever can be vaporized will be vaporized (he uses the word interchangeably with dematerialization)
• Current AI is a “brain in a jar,” unable to fully understand the world
• For forward-looking innovations in physical AI, he recommends the pitch, “We replace what is physical with intelligence and then we harness that to create a better world.”

Robert Tercek’s session continued with a conversation with Chloë Domergue, Principal Human Capital at Deloitte, who spoke primarily about human roles amidst AI integration, and the need for intentionality regarding the subject.

Startup Presentations: Human Health – Biotech & Medtech

• Bairitone Health — Pitching a sleep apnea solution in the form of a facial patch and guides therapeutic approaches specific to each individual user.
• Corit Medical — Presenting a “single-use mechanical device” that brings about safe, clean, controlled bone reduction to clear nasal airways.
• excelENT, Inc. — Providing a range of products (both physical items and software tools, such as automated insurance verification) to assist ENTs.
• Galaxy Diagnostics — Supporting faster and more accurate detection of flea/tick-borne illnesses (such as Lyme disease).
• Redbud Labs — Addressing the fact that as molecular testing is “moving well beyond the lab,” so too must adequate sample prep; the product, the Redbud NA1, provides a portable sample prep automation solution.
• RESTEC Solutions, LLC — Providing automated, point-of-care solutions that kill germs “on pretty much anything” and reduce risk of infections stemming from shared patient care items (blood pressure cuffs, etc.).
• SonoVascular — Aiming to “redefine clot management” with ultrasound-facilitated treatments for venous thromboembolism (VTE).
• VQ Biomedical — Using “tiny artificial lungs” to treat Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) by pumping oxygen directly into a patient’s bloodstream in a minimally invasive fashion.

Startup Presentations: Early-Stage Technology Companies

• Afuse — Supporting a mobile app that helps incoming college freshmen connect and build networks before starting school. (GrepBeat story here)
• Trinitite — Using Test-Driven Governance (TDG) to prevent recurring failures in AI systems, ensuring compliance and turning AI into a “managed asset.” (GrepBeat story here)
• Citrus Oncology — Providing “AI-powered triage at enterprise scale,” specifically to help cancer patients better manage secondary conditions or treatment side effects. (GrepBeat story here)
• DayOf — Building bookable marketplaces in conjunction with events (for example, partnering with Discover Durham so Venture Connect attendees can enjoy perks on nearby food orders).
• FlightSuite.ai — Building a “universal” AI agent specifically for CRM systems, helping businesses manage clients and revenue.
• Home Dock — Providing real estate professionals and homeowners with AI-driven recognition of and repair plans for issues in a home (with 70 Triangle service providers on board). (GrepBeat story here)
• Meridian Performance Systems — Bringing AI into the physical world via strategically applied, advanced computer vision, first applied to assist golf putting and now applicable across sectors and industries. (GrepBeat story here)
• Mindr — Pitching an expert-backed digital platform guiding “lifestyle interventions” for the purpose of minimizing the risk of Alzheimer’s and similar conditions. (GrepBeat story here)
• Nearby Nearby — Using local data and engagement to provide distance-based search results for businesses, parks, events, and more at rural destinations. (GrepBeat story here)
• Boundless Science — Pitching “next generation,” tech-driven solutions designed to treat heart and lung failure.
• Anatra — Designing autonomous, amphibious aircraft for the purpose of transporting heavy cargo, largely for military purposes. (GrepBeat story here)

Startup Presentations: Software Innovation

• Beam Dynamics — Presenting cloud-based solutions to help enterprises streamline complex asset management (and kicking off a $4M seed raise right on stage). (GrepBeat story here)
• Futureproof — Pitching automated financial management solutions for startups, amounting to “the mind of a CFO” via the “power of AI” for founders.
• Jobvious — Helping automotive specialists (those doing tinting, detailing, etc.) automate the tedium of acquiring work and managing payment, so they can focus on the work itself.
• Kilsar, Inc. — Boosting aviation engineering (DoD and commercial) through automated workflows and 3D technology, moving engineers “from chaos to structured knowledge.”
• OneCare — Providing “a full operating system for independent healthcare practice,” streamlining billing, scheduling, patient communication, and more within a single platform.
• Roboro — Delivering AI-driven insights into legislation in order to provide organizations with efficient, proactive methods for analyzing and influencing policy. (GrepBeat story here)
• Scale Social AI — Using AI to help businesses turn user-generated content into authentic marketing material, addressing the bottleneck, not of content creation, but of how to repurpose experience with confidence. (GrepBeat story here)
• Solvrays — Providing the “AI orchestration layer for modern insurance operations” with a founder who “lives and breathes insurance,” which I don’t think anyone has ever claimed to do before.

Startup Presentations: Early-Stage Life Science Companies

• Artemis Immersive (VoxScan) — Using interactive 3D technologies to bring about more comprehensive visualization of injuries (with other applications as well). (GrepBeat story here)
• Coprata — Helping to diagnose gut health via an at-home “microbiome activity tracker” (MAT) that gives immediate results and can be used repeatedly. (GrepBeat story here)
• Quellios — Arming smartphones with technology to assess nutrients in food—alongside a finger scan to test your body’s reaction to said food—with the primary goal of reducing problems stemming from inflammation.
• Scyntek — Presenting non-invasive solutions for early detection and/or prevention of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients at home.
• SonoVoice — Providing solutions for voice assessment (for speech-language pathologists and others) via clinical SaaS tools. (GrepBeat story here)
• Tessefi Medical Solutions — Pitching smart medical devices, in particular a catheter that automatically alerts clinicians if and when necessary.
• Totality Bio-Sciences — Using genetically engineered plants to produce human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) to meet infant nutrition needs.
• Challenging Forces — Building modular, vertical “climate gardens” for commercial spaces known to be stressful (such as airports).
• Nuvai Medical Technologies — Using machine learning and other technologies to monitor practices (such as IV preparation or sterility) in pharmacy environments.

Startup Presentations: Science for a Healthier Planet

• Druid Agriculture — Presenting the Serra Farmcam, a smart camera that makes it easier for famers to monitor their crops remotely and in real time. (GrepBeat story here)
• Rooted-in-Tech — (present on initial agenda but moved to later category)
• Soteria Formulations — Aiming to improve agricultural crop yield and quality by way of “up-cycling crop residue.”
• Upstream Biotechnology — Pitching “SwitchBlade” platform that effectively infuses plant genomes with disease-resistant traits to healthily breed more resilient crops.
• ALORA — Using gene editing to “shift plants’ energy from defense to yield” in the face of challenges brought on by climate change.
• Atlantic Fish Co. — They literally make fish. Or at least seafood. Specifically, they’re pitching “cellular agriculture” that develops high-quality seafood we can use in lieu of over-farmed wild fish. (GrepBeat story here)

Speaker Session: “From Scale to Sale: Building Leverage Before You Need It”

This session was delivered in the DPAC President’s Club by five-time exited founder Tyson Nargassans, who most recently served as CEO of Slope Software (and is a Founder in Residence at CED). Presented as “One Founder’s Learnings,” the session was an opportunity to learn about that “scale to sale” process in the title, as well as simply to glean nuggets from Nargassans’s specific experience securing five exits.

Key Insights:

• “There’s a moment in every deal where I’ve thought it was going to fall apart.”
• “I celebrate the win for the night and then the next day I get up and get back to work,” Nargassans said, essentially recommending a common sports mentality (and, indeed, characterizing himself as a “sports guy.” Fun fact, Nargassans is also a basketball coach at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, a once hated rival of yours truly but that’s neither here nor there).
• Nargassans also offered some advice that’s wise for everyone—not just scaling founders: Don’t mentally spend money before it is in your account.

Speaker Session: “Is Your Board Keeping You Up at Night?”

Held at NanaSteak (connected to DPAC), this session took the form of a conversation with and between Teamworks Co-Founder Mitch Heath and Jenn Summe, of our own (sister company) Primordial Ventures. From the founder side and the investor side, respectively, they offered their advice to founders and investors on how to run an effective board. Each of them provided a “top five,” with some of the most interesting takeaways being the following:

Key Insights:

• In addition to setting up your board to add value, Heath recommended questioning why they’re involved and playing to their reasons strategically.
• Summe noted that if founders are enthusiastic and don’t raise red flags, she’ll not only be personally interested but also more likely to keep you top of mind when speaking with other investors.
• “Invest in board member onboarding.” (Heath)
• “Reward honesty, don’t bark at people, and respect and be okay with them telling you things that are hard to hear.” (Summe)

Startup Presentations: Next-Gen Hardware & Deep Tech

• AxNano — Bringing about clean, efficient, safe, and on-site destruction of PFAS “forever chemicals” for military, industrial, and municipal clients. (GrepBeat story here)
• Blue Sky Robotics — Leveraging computer vision, AI, and robotics to solve complex problems and “automate systems that until recently were thought impossible to automate.” (GrepBeat story here)
• Carolina Instruments — Building the “first camera-free eye-tracking system” capable of capturing the ~30,000 movements eyes go through in five minutes—a solution faster than the best headsets and more affordable and longer-lasting than existing infrared cameraas.
• CrossFire Technologies — Addressing a range of issues keeping Chiplets (tiny, modular chips serving specific functions) from widespread adoption.
• Extellis Incorporated — Aiming to deliver “reliable satellite imagery at an industrial scale” using new antenna technology developed at Duke University and capable of taking up to 10,000 images a day (more than 100 times what today’s providers can do).
• iOrganBio — Pitching the “digitization of cell biology,” using AI and other technologies to engineer and manufacture human cells.
• MITHRILAI CORP. — Identifying the problem that “AI must be secured at the silicon level” by designing the first un-hackable AI chips, protected against threats at the hardware level.
• Natural Negative Ltd. — Presenting DropFormTM, a platform using advanced modeling and digital twins to bring the predictability and reliability of plastics into alternative, sustainable materials.

Startup Presentations: Early-Stage Technology Companies

• NexStratus — Pitching AI-driven solutions for intelligence and predictions relating to critical infrastructure, with a flagship product called Deep-SKAI.
• OpenScope — Using AI to turn patient symptoms and insurance details into actionable next steps, giving patients more efficient care and helping doctors operate more independently.
• Path Intelligence — Providing immersive 3D renderings and AI-guided tours to help homebuyers assess properties and provide real estate operators with valuable data. (GrepBeat story here)
• REAP AI — Presenting new solutions for investor relations, essentially through AI agents fostering communication between companies and investors; “surfers on the tsunami” of the AI revolution. (GrepBeat story here)
• Luxar AI — Providing intelligent detection of black ice for roads, bridges, and runways using AI and advanced photonics.
• Swik AI — Pitching solutions to help the small business lending process operate as smoothly as that of an individual applying for a credit card.
• Valuable — Delivering new ways to confidently assess heirlooms and secondhand assets, with the note that some $84 trillion in such assets is set to be transferred from Boomers to Gen X’ers in the coming years. (GrepBeat story here)
• VS Connects & Virtual Storefronts by USpace — Inventing “Main Street 2.0” through various processes designed to support verifiably human and locally relevant business listings.
• CareHome Health Solutions — Assisting seniors and caregivers through automated medication management, primarily through the flagship product, the “Graciela,” which automatically dispenses medication and tracks compliance. (GrepBeat story here)
• Genesis 1 — Presenting a new recycling incentive system for institutions (such as universities) whereby users scan items to see if they’re recyclable and receive gamified perks and rewards for their engagement.
• Squadies — Presenting the “Bathroom Trust Score” to help consumers identify clean and reliable public bathrooms, noting that 71% of people return to a location where they know the bathrooms are clean (and the business locations where those bathrooms are located benefit from the traffic). (GrepBeat story here)

Tech Investor Panel

This was an insightful session moderated by Peter Franconi (Fulcrum Equity Partners) and featuring four investors: Kevin Mosley (Jurassic Capital), Colin Connolly (Singlewire Software and PSG), Paige Soya (K Street Capital), and Nolan Young (Nashville Capital Network). These panelists went layers deeper than the generic or surface-level bits of advice one often hears, speaking from experience and revealing, ultimately, what they do and don’t want to hear from founders they’re assessing.

Key Insights:

• “If you have all the answers, you probably don’t have all the answers.” (Our old pal Kevin Mosley)
• “Founders try to imply that the amount of time they’ve spent on something is why it’s better.” (Soya, explaining that this is something founders often harp on that is not a relevant factor to her)
• “We’re looking for a founder type who can be the primary salesperson [for the product] for the foreseeable future.”
• “TAM. Spend a little less time on that slide.” (Mosley, responding to the question of what founders think investors care about more than the investors actually do)

Speaker Session: “Early Exits & Transaction Ready”

This session in the DPAC President’s Club was run by Kelli Luginbuhl (former CEO of Isolere Bio, Founder in residence at CED), Giles Shih (former CEO of BioResource International Inc.), and Sara Townsend (Founder, Willow Tree Strategic Life Solutions). The three of them tapped into their combined professional experiences to discuss, not only exits in general but, as Shih put it, “selling your life science company with intention and clarity.”

Key Insights:

• “My team had to navigate not being able to come to me directly with problems and instead had to deal with it. That’s the shift in culture you need to be ready for.” (Luginbuhl)
• Shih shared that it was jarring, following an exit, to suddenly not have a job, and to watch the company culture evolve from the outside. He also discussed having had a “number” going in that he wanted to sell for in order to secure his family’s future.
• “I felt like I had two jobs: I was running the company and was also embedded in the suite of another,” Townsend said, discussing what she learned about handling post-transaction integration.

GrepBeat’s Venture Connect After-Party

Following all that Day 1 action, it was time for GrepBeat to play its part by hosting the After-Party just around the corner at Tobacco Road Sports Café. We were thrilled to see 200-plus of you show up (most straight from the conference but some simply joining us for the Happy Hour).

A final thank-you to the sponsors who helped us organize (and covered the first drink for many of you), Big Pixel, JP Morgan, and Lavoie CPA. Thanks as well to Corey Truesdale, who was once again on hand to photograph the event. Here’s a look at some of the excellent, as always, photos he captured (Day 2 recap below).

Wednesday (Day 2)

Day 2 Kickoff: Dealroom Sizes Up the Triangle Ecosystem

Fresh off his Day 1 production of “Wicked,” Jay Bigelow was back on the main stage to rally the crowd (a portion of which may have been a wee bit snoozy following what may have been some late-running after-parties the night before). He also offered an introduction of Dealroom before welcoming the company’s Founder, Yoram Wijngaarde, and Bill Spruill (First Speaker, 2ndF) for a kind of info session-slash-fireside chat.

Wijngaarde jumped right into a breakdown of some of the Triangle growth figures measured by Dealroom, covering some general statistics and trends before sitting for a chat with Spruill and welcoming a little bit of audience Q&A.

Key Insights:

• “We would put this region in the breakout stage… on part with Seattle and Los Angeles, kind of on its way up.” (Wijngaarde)
• Wijngaarde listed space, defense, robotics, energy, and cybersecurity as sectors breaking through in the Triangle.
• “Startups are companies designed to grow fast.” (Wijngaarde, in response to Spruill’s prompt to define what exactly differentiates a startup)
• “The conversion from startup to scale-up to breakout is really good here.” (Wijngaarde)
• “The number of allumni startups [in the Triangle] that ultimately start a startup is extremely high; it’s basically in the top eight in the country.” (Wijngaarde)

Startup Presentations: Next-Gen Hardware & Deep Tech

• Morphos AI — Pioneering “Green Vectors” technology to drastically reduce vector storage and thereby enable better AI performance and cheaper storage.
• Onda Vision Technologies — Presenting a commercialized wearable solution for monitoring dehydration risk and preventing related infections (such as UTIs). (GrepBeat story here)
• PolyPV — Making solar power more versatile (particularly for remote, off-grid needs) via more flexible, durable, and efficient panel designs. (GrepBeat story here)
• NALA Membranes — Addressing water shortages with technology designed to filter wastewater using (spoiler alert) membranes that are up to 1,000 times more effective than existing solutions. (GrepBeat story here)
• SwabBot Solutions, Inc. — Providing robotic solutions for swabbing and decontamination of difficult-to-reach locations (such as large vessels for production), eliminating inefficiencies and physical risk to human swabbers (which might not be a word, but that’s on me, not them).
• Utilyst — Pitching on-premises, AI-driven solutions for utilities running on old infrastructure, enabling things like efficient training and predictive maintenance.
• Uviquity — Presenting a “new class of chip” in the form of far-UVC light, which is safe for human skin and eyes, but deadly to viruses, bacteria, and fungi, bringing about new disinfectant possibilities.
• Windlift — Filling the gap between “what can be seen from Earth and what can be seen from Space” via tethered, autonomous drones that can stand up to high winds and monitor conditions at borders, along coastlines, etc. (GrepBeat story here)
• SkyMul — Pitching robotic construction solutions and digital twins to reduce the need for commutes and dangerous working conditions, effectively bringing about tele-construction.

Around the same time that this startup presentation session was going on, there was concurrent programming in both the DPAC President’s Club and at NanaSteak. In the former, CED facilitated a meet-up between attending students and startup talent; in the latter, Chloë Domergue returned after her Day 1 opening chat to lead a discussion titled “Collaborative Intelligence: Designing the Human x AI Workforce for Maximum Value.”

Startup Presentations: Software Innovation

• Clinware — Automating insurance- and admission-related aspects of healthcare, optimizing processes so that “nurses can focus on the work they do.”
• Coworks — Providing the operating system for modern coworking spaces, solving complex processes of scheduling, reservation, payments, etc. (GrepBeat story here)
• Ooga Technologies — Delivering new efficiencies for non-destructive testing (NDT) of infrastructure, effectively connecting customers in the field with digitally delivered expertise. (GrepBeat story here)
• PETE — Pitching AI solutions for workforce training, covering everything from general onboarding to customized courses.
• Rozie Synopsis — Providing a range of tools designed to help events make a lasting impact with audiences—through reminders, transcripts, fostered connections, and more.
• Sunlight — “Upgrading the operating system for America’s safety net” with a platform that improves communication and case management in the foster care system. (GrepBeat story here)
• Theralinq — Delivering solutions for pediatric therapy clinics, specifically through methods and tools that extend care beyond clinic walls and appointment hours to drive better outcomes. (GrepBeat story here)

Speaker Session: “How Fundraising Actually Works”

This session took place in the DPAC President’s Club and was led by Quantified Ardor Founder Lesley Ross. She offered advice for fundraising founders from a number of different angles, but spent the bulk of her time on some of the fundamentals, right down to the nuts and bolts, of presenting your startup’s case.

In simple terms the overarching messages were to present with clarity and to keep the audience (and desired relationship with said audience) front of mind. Specifically, here were the….

Key Insights:

• Keep live presentation materials light on text so that you aren’t competing with your own slides. (Have a separate, more text-heavy version available after the fact—and perhaps a third that’s most minimalist to function as a teaser.)
• Don’t hide from investors; show them the warts (the thinking being that they’ll catch them eventually and, to call back to Jenn Summe’s points from a few session descriptions ago, honesty makes an impression).
• “An investor on your cap table is someone you have married without the option of divorce.” So, you know… think about it.

KPMG & Launch Chapel Hill Showcase

If you’re a regular GrepBeat reader, you’ve likely seen some of our past coverage on the Launch Powered by KPMG. This collaboration behind Launch Chapel Hill and, you guessed it, KPMG, started in early 2025 and is, as of this writing, working through its third cohort of primarily (but not exclusively) North Carolina startups.

This session in the DPAC President’s Club functioned as a showcase for that program as well as a specific presentation opportunity for a handful of founders from across all three cohorts to date:

• Blue Sky Robotics — See above, because these clever fellows pitched twice. (GrepBeat story here)
• Layer IQ — Providing real-time intelligence for the circular IT economy.
• Loom3D — Automating the production of (literally) seamless clothing, reducing fabric waste and speeding up production in the process. (GrepBeat story here)
• Trinitite — Here, too, see above, because they also pitched twice. (GrepBeat story here)
• Beakpoint — Helping companies gain comprehensive and actionable insight into their cloud costs, using AI, machine learning, and an exceptionally cool bird logo.
• Pellucid — Helping developers define approved tools and spending limits so that they can pair efficient procurement with clear visibility into spending.
• NavAlytix — Presenting an alternative to lengthy consulting processes by helping enterprise clients determine where and how to deploy AI in order to meaningfully increase efficiency and drive revenue.
• Saku Biosciences — Aiming to reduce the costs of biomanufacturing by focusing on the host sell and providing the means to “shorten cell line development.”
• Swarm — Helping “user” feedback catch up to AI product creation by providing clients with troves of AI users who can test product and flow, answer questions with pure honesty, and reveal problematic patterns in short time.

Startup Presentations: Human Health — Biotech & Medtech

• Lindy Biosciences — Offering patients a way to self-administer a subcutaneous IV so as to cut down on clinic visits, save money, and still get adequate doses as needed.
• Oncurie — Developing targeted radiopharmaceuticals to treat cancer.
• Phase Advance — Delivering “highly predictive” and “clinically actionable” insights concerning new medications during the trial phase.
• Selsym — Presenting new solutions for severe bleeding in the form of “SymClot” technology, which effectively acts like a platelet and controls bleeding.
• Tellus Therapeutics — Pioneering new treatments specifically designed for the “unique biology” of newborn babies.

Presentation Session: North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

As one with Holmesian deductive reasoning skills could glean from the title, this main stage session provided an opportunity from students from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics to present their own ideas, research, and/or budding startups. Attendees in the auditorium heard from four students in particular:

• Julianna Jones (presenting a startup revolving around 3D-printed braces for treating scoliosis)
• Anne Boafo (creating markers using fruit fly hearts to research cardiac arrest)
• Caroline Wang (working on gynecologic cancer research and therapies)
• Lucas Rodriguez Chiappetta (psoriasis research)

Startup Presentations: Science for a Healthier Planet

• Eupry — Automating manual processes in pharmaceutical settings to bring about effective compliance solutions.
• Innatrix — Developing a range of environmentally friendly products that protect crops, eliminating harmful effects and helping them get to market efficiently.
• Meiogenix — Providing chromosome editing to ensure intelligence behind plant breeding in order to strengthen harvests.
• Phytoform Labs — Accelerating crop evolution (and partnering with food brands, processing companies, and seed companies) to ensure a resilient, sustainable future for crops.
• RCOAST — Providing “coastal intelligence” by measuring changes and identifying the interventions that are (or aren’t) working.
• TNT Eco Materials — Pitching a range of construction solutions, revolving largely around 3D printing, meant to bring down costs and improve efficiency.
• Verdia Diagnostics — Addressing the fact that “plants have been talking to us” and we just haven’t been listening—specifically by developing technology that senses (in some cases, “smells”) disease in plants.
• Rooted-in-Tech — Delivering fully enclosed, bio-secure environments for propagation of optimal, disease-free plants in close proximity to growers.

Speaker Session: “From Lean Startup to the One Person Unicorn”

This was another session in the DPAC President’s Club, led by Erkang Zheng. And though Zheng is primarily known for founding JupiterOne and building it to unicorn status, the bulk of the session revolved around some of the things he’s doing with his new startup, Ariso (which GrepBeat recently wrote about).

Described on its LinkedIn profile as “your day-to-day AI player-coach,” Ariso is essentially designed to provide AI productivity assistance that enhances human performance rather than replacing it. For the latter half of this session, Zheng essentially demonstrated some examples of how “Ari,” the startup’s AI work partner, could help with day-to-day busywork. A few of those examples included handling performance reviews and recalling connections.

“We’re going to stop celebrating how busy we are and we’re going to start celebrating being human,” Zheng said as he wrapped up. “Because of AI, we can truly amplify what humans do best.”

Panel Session: “What AI in Biotech is Actually Worth“

This main stage panel was moderated by Dave Ousterout of Cape Fear Biocapital and featured three panelists: Pae Wu (General Partner, SOSV), Marcel Frenkel, PhD (Co-Founder and CEO, Ten63 Therapeutics), and Jason Burke (Chief AI & Strategy Officer, Creo).

They discussed broadly the impact (and to some extent the future, as they see it) of AI in biotech. And somewhat to the surprise of this writer, at least, they revealed some skepticism—not that AI is useful or will have an increasingly vital role in biotech, but in the utility of some of the most popular mainstream tools we see today.

Prompted toward the end of the discussion to name their favorite AI tools—outside of Claude, ChatGPT, or tools they’ve personally helped build—the panelists offered less-than-glorifying responses. Wu described the “nonsense” she’d seen generated in a recent foray into Perplexity and said she has “low trust” for a lot of the models; Frenkel half-jokingly said his “little chess AI robot” was probably his favorite (understandable, to be honest); and Burke said it was hard to choose a favorite but then singled out Cursor for content development.

Ask Me Anything: Go-To-Market

This was a session hosted by Kelly Breslin Wright (Founder and CEO, Culture Driven Sales) and Jed Carlson (CEO, RoundUp—recently covered by GrepBeat) in the DPAC President’s Club. With plenty of success in go-to-market efforts behind them, the pair took questions and ultimately supplied a number of valuable pieces of advice for attendees.

Specifically, they spent a significant portion of the session discussing how AI is changing strategies, and providing opportunities for those thinking ahead.

Key Insights:

• “The biggest thing AI does for product led growth is iteration. It lets people iterate quickly. Everyone’s smart, AI gets you ahead.” (Carlson, on AI as a tool for product development and growth)
• “With AI, switching costs are zero. If you have something someone else has, they can catch up with you more quickly now. Need to think more about customer retention alongside acquisition.” (Wright)
• “If you can’t differentiate, it’s a race to the bottom.” (Carlson)

Once this session concluded, the second full day of programming was down to concurrent “reverse pitch” sessions, during which investors take the stage to offer, in a sense, the flip side of what attendees see during startup presentations. DPAC’s main stage was devoted to early-stage investors, while the President’s Club handled the biotech side of things.

From there it was time for closing remarks. CED CEO Alex Bloom returned to the stage to cap off the conference and, crucially, thank the CED team that put it all together. That meant individual shout-outs to Preet Mankad, JP Maloney, Hunter Young, Yash Mehta, Abha Bowers, Sanjana Bharadwaj, Katelin Wheeler, Jay Bigelow, and, most crucial of all to the conference, Elaina Bade.

Cheers to all of the above for putting on a seamless conference. I talked to way too many a lot of people, and every one of them got a lot out of the experience.

As for the rest of you, it sounds like the plan is to run it back. Per Bloom, we’re looking at something in the March 22-25 range—back in Durham—for Venture Connect ’27.