A16z’s Power Move at Tech Week Causes Headaches for Organizers
Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) pulled a power move at this year’s New York Tech Week by making Partiful the only official events platform, sparking controversy among organizers and attendees. The venture capital firm is an investor in Partiful but not in its competitor, Luma.
Tech Week, which A16z launched in 2022, returned to New York City with a full calendar of events. While the conference is “decentralized,” allowing anyone to throw an event and apply to have it added to the official calendar, this year’s new rule requiring the use of Partiful has drawn criticism.
The 2025 Tech Week guide states, “The only official events platform this year is Partiful.” This move has left Luma, a popular events platform in previous Tech Week iterations, out of favor. Previous versions of Tech Week’s events FAQ allowed events to use either Luma or Partiful.
Olivia O’Sullivan, partner and COO at Forum VC, criticized the change on LinkedIn, saying, “I get the Partiful push this year. It’s a portfolio company. Of course they’re gonna try to make it the default.” She suggested that next year, organizers should “take back NY Tech Week and bring back Luma as the default platform.”
Some organizers have faced challenges due to the change. Daniel Oberhaus, founder of PR firm Haus, couldn’t get his defense tech rooftop party listed on the formal Tech Week schedule because he used Luma to invite guests. Tech Week organizers asked him to delete the Luma invite and recreate it on Partiful, but Oberhaus decided to keep the initial Luma invite since hundreds of people had already signed up.
“Perhaps it’s egg on our face in the sense that we should have just made a Partiful to begin with, but we were just using the platform we were familiar with,” Oberhaus said. The event had good attendance, but being off the official Tech Week page was “a bit of a bummer for a distributed conference.”
Luma cofounder Victor Pontis acknowledged the power dynamics at play, stating, “With successful initiatives like this, people naturally try to claim ownership since it’s valuable and well-known. Having control over what qualifies as a Tech Week event gives some power.”
Partiful, founded in 2020, has become popular among young people hosting events and offers customizable event pages and update features. While some Tech Week attendees found Partiful new and not necessarily preferable for RSVPs, others saw its promotion as an opportunity. Natalie Neptune, founder of GenZtea, used Partiful for her Tech Week events, which were listed on the official calendar. She noted that A16z’s focus on Partiful could increase its user base.
The controversy highlights the influence of major venture capital firms in shaping the tech conference landscape. As Tech Week continues to evolve, the impact of A16z’s move on future events remains to be seen.
