✦ The Ojai Outpost

Dispatches
from the
New Frontier.

BFA Annual Investor Conference 2026.

Dates 7 - 11 September 2026

Location Ojai · Venice · Huntington Beach · Palos Verdes

An invitation

Five Days at the Next Frontier of US Private Markets.

Each year, BFA hand picks a small circle of investors, founders, and managers to spend time with the companies and capital allocators shaping the modern economy - from the infrastructure and application of artificial intelligence, to new frontiers in space and defense and the opportunity in healthcare.

What to expect

Direct conversations between asset allocators and leading investment managers and founders. Insight from sector specialists in closed-door panels and breakouts. More conversation and less presentation. Time to consider new frontiers at the edge of the old frontier.

Speakers

Who you will hear from.

The line-up is built one relationship at a time. Below, the managers and operators already confirmed for the 2026 programme - and the slots still being finalised.

Confirmed Investors and Operators.

27 confirmed

Alex Niehenke Partner Scale LinkedIn

Ankit Ukil CEO Alfred LinkedIn

Arash Rebek Partner, Head of Capital Formation and LP Relations Layer Global LinkedIn

Ben Savage Partner Clocktower Technology Ventures LinkedIn

Cameron Borumand General Partner FUSE LinkedIn

Charlie Flanagan Chief AI Officer Balyasny Asset Management LinkedIn

Craig Piggott CEO Halter LinkedIn

Dugal Bain-Kim CEO & Co-Founder Lifeforce LinkedIn

Dylan Whitmore Head of Finance & Operations TextQL LinkedIn

Eliot Cowan Founder & CEO Autoscience LinkedIn

Ethan Ding Co-Founder & CEO TextQL LinkedIn

Jamie Gull Partner Wave Function Ventures LinkedIn

Jeff Morris General Partner Chapter 1 LinkedIn

Jeffrey Low Partner Averin LinkedIn

Jen Kha Head of Global Partnerships Andreessen Horowitz LinkedIn

Jeremy Suard Co-Founder & CEO Exodigo LinkedIn

Kristin Baker Spohn Managing Partner BAM Corner Point LinkedIn

Michael Smayda Founder & CEO Fortastra LinkedIn

Molly Fowler General Partner Dorm Room Fund LinkedIn

Philip Kirk SVP, Corporate Development & Venture Investments Databricks LinkedIn

Rashmi Gopinath Managing Partner BAM Corner Point LinkedIn

Rohil Gharat Founder Bohr Systems LinkedIn

Spencer Samuels Director Balyasny Asset Management LinkedIn

Sunil Nagaraj Managing Partner Ubiquity Ventures LinkedIn

Ted Feldmann Founder & CEO Durin LinkedIn

Venky Ganesan Partner Menlo Ventures LinkedIn

Willem van den Bosch Principal Triatomic Capital LinkedIn

Programme

The Ojai Outpost Agenda.

Monday07 Sept · Day One

10:00am - 5:00pm

Welcome Saloon Shop · Garden Room

5:30pm

Welcome Reception · The Farmhouse

6:30pm

Welcome Dinner · The Farmhouse

Ojai

Tuesday08 Sept · Day Two

Main TrackAnacapa 4/5

Breakout 1Anacapa 1/2/3

Breakout 2Anacapa 6/7/8

8:00am

Breakfast · Anacapa Terrace

9:00am

Welcome to the New Frontier

Jonathan Belz, Co-Founder & Global CEO, BFA Global Investors · Gavin Ezekowitz, Co-Founder & CIO, BFA Global Investors

Main Track

9:20am

Early Investments in the New Frontier · Finding product market in fast moving technology markets

Jeff Morris, General Partner, Chapter 1 · Sunil Nagaraj, Managing Partner, Ubiquity Ventures

Main Track

10:10am

Corralling the Future: Halter Case Study

Craig Piggott, CEO, Halter · Sunil Nagaraj, Managing Partner, Ubiquity Ventures

Main Track

11:00am

The Power of the Ecosystem

Arash Rebek, Partner, Head of Capital Formation and LP Relations, Layer Global · Cameron Borumand, General Partner, Fuse

Main Track

12:00pm

Lunch · Orchard Pergola

2:00pm

The Next Frontier of Compute

Willem van den Bosch, Principal, Triatomic Capital · Rashmi Gopinath, Managing Partner, BAM Corner Point

Main Track

3:00pm

From Seed to IPO in Biotech

Jeffrey Low, Averin

Hosted by Jeff Pehl

Roundtable

3:00pm

Follow-up Questions

Rashmi Gopinath, BAM Corner Point · Willem van den Bosch, Triatomic Capital

Hosted by Gavin Ezekowitz

Roundtable

3:50pm

The Opportunity in Space

Sunil Nagaraj, Ubiquity Ventures

Hosted by Matt Curtolo

Roundtable

3:50pm

Assessing Product Market Fit

Jeff Morris, Chapter 1

Hosted by Gavin Ezekowitz

Roundtable

6:00pm

Campfire Drinks · The Farmhouse

6:30pm

Smokehouse Dinner · The Farmhouse

Ojai

Wednesday09 Sept · Day Three

Main TrackAnacapa 4/5

Breakout 1Anacapa 1/2/3

Breakout 2Anacapa 6/7/8

7:00am

Morning Social · Choice of Golf, Tennis, or Hiking

Golf - 7:00am & 7:10am tee off

Tennis - 7:00am, open play or clinic

Guided Hike - 7:15am departure

9:45am

a16z Q&A

Jen Kha, Head of Global Partnerships, Andreessen Horowitz

Roundtable

10:30am

The New Frontier: Connecting Founders, Global Capital, and Strategic Relationships

Jen Kha, Head of Global Partnerships, Andreessen Horowitz

Main Track

11:15am

The Future of Healthcare

Kristin Baker Spohn, Managing Partner, BAM Corner Point · Jeffrey Low, Partner, Averin

Main Track

12:00pm

Early Investments in the New Frontier: Going All In on AI

Venky Ganesan, Partner, Menlo Ventures

Main Track

12:45pm

Lunch · Anacapa Terrace

2:15pm

Venture Decision Making

Alex Niehenke, Partner, Scale Venture Partners · Ben Savage, Partner, Clocktower Technology Ventures · Molly Fowler, General Partner, DormRoomFund

Main Track

6:15pm

Ojai Local Feed, Hosted by Orrick · The Dutchess (Off Property)

Ojai

Thursday10 Sept · Day Four

From 6:30am

Grab-and-go Breakfast · Anacapa Terrace

8:00am

Depart Ojai Valley Inn

10:30am

Site Visit: Sovera Space

Sovera Space is building infrastructure for sovereign access to orbit - spacecraft and on-orbit systems intended to give allied nations independent capability in an increasingly contested domain. A young company operating in one of the most capital- and engineering-intensive corners of the defence-technology market.

*Advanced security clearance required - please see instructions in your inbox.

12:30pm

Lunch · Mach Industries

1:00pm

Site Visit: Mach Industries

Mach is a US defence manufacturer building autonomous, runway-independent systems - including vertical-takeoff drone-missiles, glide munitions, and counter-drone defence platforms - through its vertically integrated in-house manufacturing network. Founded in 2023 and backed by investors including Sequoia Capital, Khosla Ventures, and Bedrock Capital, the company has scaled quickly and is now valued at close to $2 billion.

*Advanced security clearance required - please see instructions in your inbox.

3:00pm

Arrival & Check In · Terranea Resort

4:00pm

Chapter One Roundtable · Crystal Cove Terrace

Jeff Morris, General Partner, Chapter 1 · Rohil Gharat, Founder, Bohr Systems · Ted Feldmann, Founder & CEO, Durin · Ankit Ukil, CEO, Alfred

4:40pm

Harnessing the Power of Physical AI · Crystal Cove Terrace

Jeremy Suard, Co-Founder & CEO, Exodigo

5:20pm

Solving the Most Valuable, Least Usable Data Problem · Crystal Cove Terrace

Ethan Ding, Co-Founder & CEO, TextQL

6:00pm

Dinner · Cove Terrace & Lawn

Rashmi Gopinath, Managing Partner, BAM Corner Point · Philip Kirk, SVP, Corporate Development & Venture Investments, Databricks

Ojai › Venice › Huntington Beach › Palos Verdes

Friday11 Sept · Day Five

8:00am

Breakfast · Cove Terrace & Lawn

8:30am

Breakfast Roundtable · Crystal Cove

Dugal Bain-Kim, CEO & Co-Founder, Lifeforce · Dr. Renae Jacob, MD, MPH, Associate Medical Director, Lifeforce

9:30am

Fireside Chat · Crystal Cove

Jamie Gull, Partner, Wave Function Ventures · Michael Smayda, Founder & CEO, Fortastra

10:15am

Fireside Chat · Crystal Cove

Charlie Flanagan, Chief AI Officer, Balyasny Asset Management · Eliot Cowan, Founder & CEO, Autoscience

11:00am

The Future of AI · Crystal Cove

Charlie Flanagan, Chief AI Officer, Balyasny Asset Management

12:30pm

Closing Lunch · Cove Terrace & Lawn

Jonathan Belz, Co-Founder & Global CEO, BFA Global Investors · Gavin Ezekowitz, Co-Founder & CIO, BFA Global Investors

2:30pm

Afternoon Social · Choice of Golf, Pickleball, Hiking, Yoga

Pickleball - 2:15pm pick up

Guided Hike - 2:30pm

Yoga - 2:30pm

Golf - 2:36pm tee off

5:00pm

End of Programme

Palos Verdes

*Topics, presenters, and final line-up to be confirmed. Final agenda subject to change.

Locations

Four locations. One conversation.

Ojai Valley Inn

The opening days unfold in the Ojai Valley - quiet enough for the conversations that matter, close enough for easy access from Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Venice

A morning at Sovera Space - inside the studios and workshops where frontier hardware is being designed.

Huntington Beach

An afternoon at Mach Industries - on the floor with the companies rebuilding defence and industrial manufacturing.

Palos Verdes

The programme closes on the Pacific bluffs - morning social, final panel, a long lunch, and closing drinks.

From the trail

Previous BFA US Conferences.

Each conference has gathered the people building, funding, and allocating to the companies redefining the modern economy. A look back at where we have been.

2023

The inaugural tour, bringing investors to the heart of private markets.

2024

Continued knowledge exchange with the world's leading funds and operators.

2025

Expanded horizons, deeper conversations, more seats at the table.

Featured at previous conferences.

Selected companies & managers

Investments on the back of previous conferences.

Companies BFA has invested in since 2023

In their words

I've attended my share of conferences. What stuck out about this one was the conversations between sessions, with founders and managers we simply couldn't reach on our own. I left with a far clearer picture of why these are the companies and managers BFA continues to back.

- Sydney-based Family Office · Attended 2025 Conference