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The AI agents have arrived in OC. "Survivor 13" is open to all startups, with a special judging focus on autonomous workflows and the rise of the "1p1b" founder.
IRVINE, Calif. - Californer -- Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN), a four-decade-old pillar of the Orange County entrepreneurship community, has announced CloneForce as the presenting sponsor for Survivor 13.
This partnership pivots the 13th annual pitch competition into an "Agentic AI" community arena. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 22, at 5:00pm at The Cove at UC Irvine, serving as the radically inclusive pitch event of OC Innovation Week led by Octane.
The 2026 competition marks a pivot toward the Agentic AI era, specifically seeking disruptive AI startup founders and investors building autonomous agentic AI systems capable of complex reasoning and valuable execution.
"As pioneers like OpenAI's OpenClaw, Claude CoWork, Perplexity Computer, and Meta's Manus redefine the frontier, our event sponsor CloneForce is delivering the enterprise-grade security that allows the agentic community to scale with absolute trust," said Tony Crisp, President of TCVN. "We are now seeing the very real promise of the '1p1b'—the one-person, one-billion-dollar startup. Seeing what trailblazers like Peter Steinberger are achieving proves this is happening right now. With this massive shift, I invite every founder, investor, and AI enthusiast in our community to come together for one pivotal night during OC's biggest innovation week. Join us at Survivor 13 to connect, gain crucial exposure, and build our agentic future together."
"Survivor 13 is a radically inclusive stage where every ticket holder can pitch for free to find their next co-founder, investor, or customer in one high-impact night. No one succeeds alone," said Aaron Klein, Executive Director of TCVN. "If cost is a barrier, reach out to our community partners for a discount or sponsored ticket. We just want to get everyone interested in building Agentic AI in one room for one night to find capital and talent... because when people connect, magic happens."
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The high-energy, elimination-style competition will see founders defend their multi-agent orchestration systems and autonomous workflows through three rigorous rounds. The winner receives the "Golden Skull" trophy, a cash prize from the TCVN Fund-a-Founder initiative, and a suite of executive services valued at over $10,000.
"We're seeing a shift from tools that assist humans to systems that act on their behalf," said Bill Carpou, CEO of Octane. "What excites us about Survivor 13 is its focus on real agentic capability: companies building scalable, defensible AI platforms. That's where long-term enterprise value will be created."
Survivor 13 is strategically held alongside the Born in California UC Demo Day and the Innovators & Investors Forum (I&IF), completing a full pipeline of over 100 investors looking for the next wave of startup investments.
TCVN believes the best ideas don't always come from a curated list, so the organization has removed the gatekeepers. Founders can access the 'Open Mic' Lightning Pitch Round for free with a standard general admission ticket, and for those in need, community sponsors are providing complimentary and discounted passes.
The future is agentic; don't build it in isolation. Whether you are a founder stepping up to the mic to pitch or an investor looking to back the next breakout Agentic AI platform, join the architects of the Agentic AI frontier on Wednesday, April 22, at Survivor 13. Secure your ticket in the AI arena or apply for sponsored entry or reserve a demo table at https://luma.com/survivor.
About CloneForce
CloneForce builds advanced AI automation systems designed to scale decision-making and operational intelligence. By enabling organizations to deploy intelligent AI agents capable of autonomous execution, CloneForce is helping define the next generation of software infrastructure. cloneforce.com
More on The Californer
About TCVN
Founded in 1984, Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) is a founders-first nonprofit entrepreneur support organization on a mission to get more founders funded. Hosting signature events like PitchPolish™ and InvestorReady™ workshops, Survivor™ pitch events, Investor Dating Game™, Wingz™ become an angel investor program, and Rocky™ founders choice awards. Join our mission and become a lifetime member at www.tcvn.org/join.
TCVN is Proudly Sponsored by Reed Smith LLP
Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. With an inclusive culture and innovative mindset, we deliver smarter, more creative legal services that drive better outcomes for our clients. Our deep industry knowledge, long-standing relationships and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for complex disputes, transactions and regulatory matters. Our team of 3,000 people (including more than 1,600 lawyers) operate across more than 30 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia to drive progress for our clients, for ourselves and for our communities. Our Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice is a trusted partner for innovators at every stage of the venture life cycle, and we partner with founders, start-ups, and investors to help build the next generation of market leaders. Learn more at www.reedsmith.com
This partnership pivots the 13th annual pitch competition into an "Agentic AI" community arena. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 22, at 5:00pm at The Cove at UC Irvine, serving as the radically inclusive pitch event of OC Innovation Week led by Octane.
The 2026 competition marks a pivot toward the Agentic AI era, specifically seeking disruptive AI startup founders and investors building autonomous agentic AI systems capable of complex reasoning and valuable execution.
"As pioneers like OpenAI's OpenClaw, Claude CoWork, Perplexity Computer, and Meta's Manus redefine the frontier, our event sponsor CloneForce is delivering the enterprise-grade security that allows the agentic community to scale with absolute trust," said Tony Crisp, President of TCVN. "We are now seeing the very real promise of the '1p1b'—the one-person, one-billion-dollar startup. Seeing what trailblazers like Peter Steinberger are achieving proves this is happening right now. With this massive shift, I invite every founder, investor, and AI enthusiast in our community to come together for one pivotal night during OC's biggest innovation week. Join us at Survivor 13 to connect, gain crucial exposure, and build our agentic future together."
"Survivor 13 is a radically inclusive stage where every ticket holder can pitch for free to find their next co-founder, investor, or customer in one high-impact night. No one succeeds alone," said Aaron Klein, Executive Director of TCVN. "If cost is a barrier, reach out to our community partners for a discount or sponsored ticket. We just want to get everyone interested in building Agentic AI in one room for one night to find capital and talent... because when people connect, magic happens."
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The high-energy, elimination-style competition will see founders defend their multi-agent orchestration systems and autonomous workflows through three rigorous rounds. The winner receives the "Golden Skull" trophy, a cash prize from the TCVN Fund-a-Founder initiative, and a suite of executive services valued at over $10,000.
"We're seeing a shift from tools that assist humans to systems that act on their behalf," said Bill Carpou, CEO of Octane. "What excites us about Survivor 13 is its focus on real agentic capability: companies building scalable, defensible AI platforms. That's where long-term enterprise value will be created."
Survivor 13 is strategically held alongside the Born in California UC Demo Day and the Innovators & Investors Forum (I&IF), completing a full pipeline of over 100 investors looking for the next wave of startup investments.
TCVN believes the best ideas don't always come from a curated list, so the organization has removed the gatekeepers. Founders can access the 'Open Mic' Lightning Pitch Round for free with a standard general admission ticket, and for those in need, community sponsors are providing complimentary and discounted passes.
The future is agentic; don't build it in isolation. Whether you are a founder stepping up to the mic to pitch or an investor looking to back the next breakout Agentic AI platform, join the architects of the Agentic AI frontier on Wednesday, April 22, at Survivor 13. Secure your ticket in the AI arena or apply for sponsored entry or reserve a demo table at https://luma.com/survivor.
About CloneForce
CloneForce builds advanced AI automation systems designed to scale decision-making and operational intelligence. By enabling organizations to deploy intelligent AI agents capable of autonomous execution, CloneForce is helping define the next generation of software infrastructure. cloneforce.com
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About TCVN
Founded in 1984, Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) is a founders-first nonprofit entrepreneur support organization on a mission to get more founders funded. Hosting signature events like PitchPolish™ and InvestorReady™ workshops, Survivor™ pitch events, Investor Dating Game™, Wingz™ become an angel investor program, and Rocky™ founders choice awards. Join our mission and become a lifetime member at www.tcvn.org/join.
TCVN is Proudly Sponsored by Reed Smith LLP
Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. With an inclusive culture and innovative mindset, we deliver smarter, more creative legal services that drive better outcomes for our clients. Our deep industry knowledge, long-standing relationships and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for complex disputes, transactions and regulatory matters. Our team of 3,000 people (including more than 1,600 lawyers) operate across more than 30 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia to drive progress for our clients, for ourselves and for our communities. Our Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice is a trusted partner for innovators at every stage of the venture life cycle, and we partner with founders, start-ups, and investors to help build the next generation of market leaders. Learn more at www.reedsmith.com
Source: Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN)
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