San FranciscoVisit completed
Brex
Eight lessons on AI, product, judgment, leadership and reliable automation.
>mission_Program · October 2026
The Valley, up close.
Four days between San Francisco and Silicon Valley, with visits and Q&As to explore the Silicon Valley mindset and how AI has changed the landscape of opportunities.
OCT 06 to 09NewHack International Mission
Read the visit insightsExplore the itinerary
California · United StatesInsights from the mission
What stays with us after each conversation.
Palo AltoVisit completed
Stanford
Campus history and facts, our conversation with Giselle at the Law School and connections to Silicon Valley and AI.
Santa ClaraVisit completed
Agora.io
From communication infrastructure to voice agents: product, distribution and developer relationships.
HillsboroughVisit completed
AGI House
History, communities, new formats and controversies: what a house of builders reveals about the AI ecosystem.
Foster CityVisit completed
Replit
History, data and recent developments. How community, culture and Free Mode connect AI building and distribution.
Los GatosVisit completed
Netflix
Culture, context and judgment. How AI accelerates implementation and makes review a decisive part of delivery.
Mountain ViewVisit completed
Circuit Launch
Customers, shared manufacturing, project-based learning, physical AI, humanoids, agents and the questions the future of work raises for founders.
Mountain ViewVisit completed
Bay View, culture and distribution through partners. Community, investors’ operational support and practical lessons for founders.
SunnyvaleConversation completed
Plug and Play: debriefing
The group’s takeaways on AI adoption, community, distribution, autonomy and opportunities. A guide to turning learning into experiments.
Plug and Play, SunnyvaleConversation completed
Martin Lima, Cubo Itaú
Competitive advantage, distribution, corporate needs and execution. How to prepare meaningful connections and build AI businesses.
San CarlosVisit completed
ElectricFish
A team formed at a hackathon, development in San Carlos and the path to operations. Energy infrastructure, battery-integrated charging, distribution and grants.
San JoseVisit completed
Adobe
Culture, values and more than 40 years of reinvention. Creativity, documents, subscriptions, marketing and distribution in the age of artificial intelligence.
Pear VC, San FranciscoConversation completed
Hexagon e Milo
Leaving stealth, founding again and building through relationships. Our meeting at Pear VC connected work context, adoption, distribution and the Stanford alumni community.
San FranciscoConversation completed
Firecrawl
YC, product and growth. How documentation, integrations, community and developer relations connect discovery and adoption, alongside Alexandria and the US$75 million Series B.
Photo albums
The mission, in pictures.
Brex
San Francisco · October 6 · 33 photos
Stanford
Palo Alto · October 6 · 58 photos
Agora.io
Santa Clara · October 6 · 18 photos
AGI House
Hillsborough · October 6 · 35 photos
Replit
Foster City · October 7 · 26 photos
Netflix
Los Gatos · October 7 · 34 photos
Circuit Launch
Mountain View · October 7 · 41 photos
Bay View, Mountain View · October 8 · 34 photos
Plug and Play
Sunnyvale · October 8 · 29 photos
ElectricFish
San Carlos · October 8 · 17 photos
Adobe
San Jose · October 8 · 33 photos
Hexagon e Milo
Pear VC, San Francisco · October 9 · 16 photos
Firecrawl
San Francisco · October 9 · 30 photos
Cursor
San Francisco · October 9 · 19 photos
San Francisco and Bay Area
San Francisco and Bay Area · October 2026 · 31 photos
California local time. All times are in the San Francisco time zone (PDT, UTC−7). Additional travel windows are estimates and depend on final addresses and traffic. Any changes will be shared with the group.
01 / Itinerary
Four days. Four perspectives on the ecosystem.
06Oct · Tuesday
Fintech, research and community
Universities, companies and community: different perspectives to begin understanding how the Valley works.
- Meeting pointMacy’s San Francisco Union Square
- toTransfer to BrexUnion Square → Brex, San Francisco. Planned travel window; departure after the group meets.
- toBrex San FranciscoVisit completedAn encounter at Brex to meet people in the ecosystem and hear their perspectives on the Valley and the current AI moment.With Hercules G.
- toTransferSan Francisco → Palo Alto
- toStanford CampusVisit completedA campus walk and a brief conversation with Giselle Corujas at the Law School about student life, admissions and campus curiosities.With Giselle Corujas
- toTransferPalo Alto → Santa Clara
- toLunch and visit to AgoraVisit completedAn encounter at Agora to understand the experience of building technology in the Valley and exchange perspectives on the current AI moment.
- toCoffee and transferTo AGI House
- toAGI HouseVisit completedA visit to the community of AI founders, researchers and builders.
- toReturn to San FranciscoMacy’s Union Square
- Free time
07Oct · Wednesday
Building and scaling
A day to explore different working environments, exchange perspectives and observe the mindset of people building in the Valley.
- Meeting pointMacy’s San Francisco Union Square
- toTransferSan Francisco → Foster City
- toReplitVisit completedAn encounter at Replit to learn about the environment, meet people and hear their view of the current moment in artificial intelligence.
- toTransfer to lunchTo San Jose
- toLunch in San JosePlanned lunch break before the Netflix visit.
- toTransferSan Jose → Los Gatos
- toNetflixVisit completedMeet Marlon Parizzotto at Netflix to explore the environment and exchange perspectives on Silicon Valley and the current AI landscape.With Marlon Parizzotto
- toTransferLos Gatos → Mountain View
- toCircuit LaunchVisit completedA visit to Circuit Launch to meet the community and understand how people and ideas connect in the Valley.With Alex Dantas
- toReturn to San Francisco
- Free time
08Oct · Thursday
Platforms, creativity and connections
Different organizations, new connections and room to compare perspectives on the current moment in artificial intelligence.
- Meeting pointMacy’s San Francisco Union Square
- toTransferSan Francisco → Bay View, Mountain View
- toGoogleVisit completedA visit to Bay View and a conversation with Isabella Canazza about culture, community, distribution and support for companies in the ecosystem.With Isabella Canazza
- toTransferTo Plug and Play
- toPlug and Play and debriefingVisit completedGroup debriefing and a conversation with Martin Lima, from Cubo Itaú, at Plug and Play.With Martin Lima
- toLunch at Plug and Play
- toTransferTo San Carlos
- toElectricFishVisit completedA visit to ElectricFish in San Carlos and a conversation about the startup’s journey, energy infrastructure and battery-integrated charging.With Nélio Batista Jr.
- toTransferSan Carlos → San Jose. Planned travel window after ElectricFish.
- Time not recordedAdobeVisit completedA visit with Núbia Mota and a conversation about Adobe's culture, values, creativity, marketing and reinvention.With Núbia Mota
- To be confirmedTransferAdobe → Link Lodge, Atherton. Departure to be set after the Adobe visit is confirmed.
- toLink Lodge Palo AltoEvent window in Calendar. BBQ with Headline, NewHack and Agora. The group arrives after Adobe and leaves at 20:00 to return to San Francisco.
- toReturn to San Francisco
- Free time
09Oct · Friday
Startups, AI tools and next steps
More encounters to broaden our understanding of the ecosystem. Closing at Pier 39 to bring together insights and next steps.
- Meeting pointMacy’s San Francisco Union Square
- toTransfer to HexagonUnion Square → Hexagon, San Francisco. Planned travel window; departure after the group meets.
- Time not recordedHexagon and Milo at Pear VCVisit completedA meeting at Pear VC in San Francisco on Milo, building a new startup, the Stanford network, adoption and distribution.
- toKick Coffee on the roadTransfer with a coffee stop between Hexagon and Firecrawl; the exact stop is to be confirmed.
- toTransfer to FirecrawlSan Francisco. Planned travel window, to be checked once the coffee stop is confirmed.
- Time not recordedFirecrawlVisit completedA conversation with Nicolas Camara about data infrastructure for AI, the team's YC journey, product, community and distribution.With Nicolas Silberstein Camara
- toLunch in San FranciscoPlanned lunch break after Firecrawl.
- toTransfer to Cursor / SpaceXAISan Francisco. Planned travel window; the exact meeting address is to be confirmed.
- toCursor / SpaceXAIAn encounter in San Francisco to hear perspectives on the Valley and the current AI moment. Topics will be agreed with our hosts.
- toTransfer to Pier 39A 30-minute travel window, to be checked against the previous visit’s address.
- toWrap-up at Pier 39Mission wrap-up, takeaways and next steps.
Also on the itinerary · time to be confirmed
Salesforce ParkA walk through the elevated park in downtown San Francisco.
Apple Park Visitor CenterA visit to the public store in Cupertino. Does not include access to the Apple campus.
02 / Understanding the region
More than a place: a network of connections.
Silicon Valley is not a single city. Universities, startups, laboratories, capital and large companies are spread across the Bay Area. The movement of people and ideas between these places helps explain how the region keeps reinventing itself, from semiconductors to AI.
US$92Bin venture capital, according to the Silicon Valley Index 2026
23,000+new patents covered by the same index
The Silicon Valley Index 2026 provides these regional indicators. The Mapping Innovation Environments Abroad: San Francisco and Silicon Valley, published by the Consulate General of Brazil in San Francisco (2nd edition, March 2024), informs the historical and institutional context on this page. Figures from 2024 are not presented as current statistics.
03 / Before each meeting
What to look for.
Q&As about the Silicon Valley mindset and how AI has changed the landscape of opportunities. Each host’s perspective and experience guide the conversation.
Brex
Source ↗A financial management platform with corporate cards, expenses, payments and AI automation. An opportunity to see how software simplifies operations for growing businesses.
Stanford
Source ↗A research university in Palo Alto. The proximity of laboratories, talent, investors and companies is part of Silicon Valley’s history.
Agora
Source ↗An API platform for voice, video, interactive streaming, chat and real-time AI interactions.
AGI House
A place where founders, researchers and people working at the frontier of AI meet and build together.
Replit
Source ↗A platform for building apps and websites with AI agents. The visit offers a chance to explore the environment and hear perspectives from people building in the Valley, with topics agreed with the host.
Netflix
Source ↗A global entertainment service combining technology, recommendations and local creative production.
Circuit Launch
Source ↗A community and shared infrastructure for hardware, electronics and robotics startups, with labs and prototyping facilities.
A global technology company working in research, products and artificial intelligence. The encounter aims to broaden our understanding of the Valley through perspectives from people in this environment.
Plug and Play
Source ↗Connects startups, investors and corporations through programs, partnerships and growth opportunities.
ElectricFish
Source ↗Builds fast EV charging infrastructure with battery storage, software and grid services.
Adobe
Source ↗A software company for creativity, documents and digital marketing. The visit is an opportunity to meet people and hear their perspectives on the ecosystem and the current AI moment.
Hexagon
Source ↗Hexagon develops Milo, an AI assistant that brings together context from emails, meetings and team decisions to support tasks, plans and presentations. It is the product we are using at NewHack.
Firecrawl
Source ↗Infrastructure for searching and turning web content into data that AI applications and agents can use.
Cursor / SpaceXAI
An encounter planned in San Francisco on Friday. An opportunity to meet people and hear their views of the ecosystem, with topics agreed with the hosts.
Scale indicators come from the linked sources and are dated where available. Inclusion in the itinerary does not imply institutional partnership, endorsement or access to restricted areas.
04 / Hosts
People who can broaden the conversation.
Meet our hosts throughout the mission. Hercules G. at Brex, Giselle Corujas at Stanford Law School, Marlon Parizzotto at Netflix and Núbia Mota at Adobe are part of our conversations. Explore the profiles below to learn about our hosts’ backgrounds.
05 / Our group
Meet the group.
Entrepreneurs and professionals exploring the Valley, sharing perspectives and building connections throughout the mission.
06 / Making the most of it
Arrive with a question. Leave with a hypothesis.
- BeforeChoose a real challenge from your business and prepare a specific question for each type of organization.
- DuringCompare how each team makes decisions, measures learning and turns technology into products.
- AfterWrite down a testable hypothesis, a person to follow up with and a practical next step.
Allow for travel between San Francisco, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Cupertino. Bring an extra layer: the weather can change throughout the day. Follow each host’s guidance on photos and recordings.