Uber CTO joins StrictlyVC SF — more scale talk, less fluff

StrictlyVC San Francisco just got a bit more interesting. The event, happening April 30 at the Sentro Filipino Cultural Center, is adding Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga to an already stacked speaker list.

I’ve been to a few StrictlyVC events over the years. They usually deliver on the promise of real, unfiltered conversations — not the polished, PR-approved nonsense you get at most tech conferences. This year’s lineup was already solid, but Neppalli Naga’s addition bumps it up a notch.

Uber’s CTO will talk about operating at scale in the age of AI. That’s a topic that sounds buzzwordy on paper, but Uber is actually a good case study. They’ve been dealing with massive scale for years — real-time routing, dynamic pricing, logistics optimization — and now they’re layering AI on top of that. I’m curious to hear what’s actually working versus what’s still hype.

The event kicks off TechCrunch’s 2026 events lineup, which is earlier than previous years. Maybe they’re trying to capture more attention before the summer lull. Either way, the timing feels right. AI infrastructure and operational scale are the two things every tech company is wrestling with right now, and Uber has been in the trenches longer than most.

If you’re in SF and can make it, this is probably worth your time. Just don’t expect any corporate hand-holding — StrictlyVC tends to keep it real.