Silicon Gardens Debuts in the Bay Area With a Full House at Stanford

Silicon Gardens has officially arrived in the Bay Area, and we couldn’t have asked for a stronger beginning.

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Last night, we brought together the Adria community at Stanford University for our first-ever Silicon Gardens event in the United States. The result was a full room, transformational conversations, and a clear signal that something important is taking shape.

As we expand our presence in San Francisco, this event marks the start of a much larger ambition: to create a long-term bridge between Central & Eastern Europe and Silicon Valley, connecting talent, ideas, investors, and opportunities across both ecosystems.

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A Collaboration That Set the Tone

The evening was hosted in partnership with Professor Jure Leskovec, a leading Slovenian AI researcher, Stanford Computer Science professor, and co-founder of Kumo.ai., and the American Slovenian Education Foundation (ASEF).

Their support helped bring together a rare mix of people:
founders, researchers, operators, engineers, diaspora leaders, MBA students, investors, and people simply curious about what comes next for the Adria region in the US.
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Three Founders Shaping the Future of AI

The spotlight of the evening belonged to three exceptional founders whose work is already influencing the next generation of AI-led industries:

• Yuanhao Qu (Biomni) – Building AI agents for biomedical research
• David Hallac (Viaduct) –Using AI to lower warranty expenses, prevent downtime, and enhance customer experience
• Gregor Žunič (Browser Use) – Building the AI browser agent that automates repetitive online tasks

Each founder shared insights into the rapid shifts happening in their industries, the challenges of scaling globally, and what they see emerging next from AI-driven innovation.

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A Gathering That Revealed Something Big

The turnout was far beyond what we anticipated. The room brought together people from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and the broader CEE diaspora. What stood out most was the energy: conversations continued long after the event ended, and many attendees shared how much they’d been missing a gathering like this.

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But what stood out most wasn’t the number of people — it was the feedback:

• “I didn’t know a community like this even existed here.”
• “We need more of this — regularly.”
• “This feels like the beginning of something important.”
• “This might be the push I needed to finally start my own company.”

The message was clear: there is demand, momentum, and hunger for connection, and no one has been consistently providing it.

All that’s been missing is a catalyst.

We intend to be that catalyst.

If you’re an Adria or CEE founder, operator, investor, or student based in the US, we’d love to meet you!

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