In the startup world, access to cutting-edge tools isn’t the biggest obstacle — it’s knowing how to wield them with precision. At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, taking place on June 5 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, we’re digging into the frameworks and decisions that determine whether an AI startup can scale — or stall. We’re excited to welcome one of the most tactical voices in that conversation: Iliana Quinonez, Director of North America Startups Customer Engineering at Google Cloud.
Impactful conversations are better shared — get up to $300 off your pass and 50% off a guest ticket. Register now to lock in this limited-time deal and secure your seat for pioneer-led discussions like this one.
Scaling AI startups: Quinonez’s tactical approach
Quinonez leads a technical team that partners with high-potential startups across the U.S. and Canada, offering hands-on support as they integrate Google Cloud and AI tools from pre-seed through IPO. Her approach is deeply technical and grounded in the realities of startup velocity — she knows time, capital, and clarity are in short supply — and she helps founders maximize all three.
Startups building with AI agents today face a layered set of questions. What’s the right architecture for scaling intelligent behavior? How do you structure data pipelines to train agents that don’t just react but reason? Where do APIs end and core IP begin? Quinonez will tackle these questions head-on in a session designed to help founders cut through noise and make defensible decisions about infrastructure, model orchestration, and collaboration.
What sets Quinonez apart is her range. With over two decades of leadership experience at Salesforce, SAP, and BEA Systems, she’s helped both enterprise giants and early-stage startups map product ambition to practical execution. Her team also partners closely with accelerators, VCs, and developer ecosystems — giving her a panoramic view of what’s working in AI … and what’s not.
Expect a clear-eyed discussion on the risks and rewards of building with AI agents, the tools startups are relying on, and what it really takes to democratize access to advanced machine learning — without compromising on speed or security.
Get the edge: Low rate locked, AI wisdom unlocked
This is just one of many conversations happening at TC Sessions: AI — where the focus isn’t just on the future of AI, but also on how to build it right now. You’ll hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere, and Google Cloud, in sessions that span everything from foundational model strategy to data stack design.
If you’re building in this space — or planning to — you won’t want to miss it. Tickets are currently $300+ off, and for a limited time, you can get 50% off a second one. Bring your co-founder, your head of product, or your favorite skeptic.
Register your ticket today. AI is moving fast. Founders need to move faster.