USV Demo Day

Over the course of this summer, I've been working at Union Square Ventures (usv.com) — a leading early-stage venture capital firm in New York City — researching how Gen Z actually uses AI today and where the biggest unmet opportunities sit over the next five years, through direct survey data, industry research, and testing existing tools firsthand.This event is the next layer of that research, run live. We invited Gen Z builders and gave them two weeks to build a working AI-powered prototype addressing a real gap they see in a specific industry: financial guidance, mental health, identity and data ownership, education, and more.Each builder will present for 4–6 minutes on what they built and why, followed by open Q&A from the room. It's a chance to sit in on the venture process itself — to hear real pitches, and hear the actual questions VCs ask of young entrepreneurs — while getting an authentic, direct account of where Gen Z sees real limitations across these industries, how they're actually using AI day to day, and where they think current and near-future AI could close those gaps. It's also a chance for direct dialogue with Gen Z in a format that doesn't often exist in professional settings.September 8th · 6:30–8:30 PM · 817 BroadwayFood, drinks, and networking throughout.