Where LA Street Culture Meets Venture Backed Tech: Inside Bonfire’s Upfront Summit Party 2025
At the 2025 Upfront Summit held at the Intuit Dome, Bonfire hosted a vibrant Day 1 afterparty blending LA street culture with venture-backed tech, featuring live art by Pezer, street food, and a reunion-like atmosphere among tech leaders and influencers, while also celebrating the LA Tech Community Cares fund's $1.2M milestone and highlighting the city's resilience and innovation.
Upfront Summit has evolved from LA's premier tech conference into arguably the nation's best. This year's gathering at the tech-forward Intuit Dome showcased LA's resilience and innovation when it mattered most. The lineup included tech visionaries like Dara Khosrowshahi (Uber), Aravind Srinivas (Perplexity), and David Baszucki (Roblox), alongside Chelsea Clinton, Olympian Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Rick Caruso, Gavin Newsom, Prince Harry, and Serena Williams, among others—proving that LA truly sits at the intersection of tech, culture, and influence.
Bonfire was thrilled once again to play a small part in the week's festivities by hosting the Day 1 afterparty. Each year, the goal is to make this event better than the last, creating the perfect atmosphere for summit conversations to evolve into something more personal. The interactions had the easy flow of old friends catching up—more reunion than business function, exactly the vibe intended.
Leaning into the LA street culture that the summit embraced, Bonfire brought in Pezer, the LA-based street artist, who created live art throughout the evening. Street tacos, churros, and graffiti transformed a networking event into a night to remember.
A massive thank you to partners - Gunderson, Stifel Venture Banking, Aduro Advisers, AWS, and Countsy. Their dedication to founders and the venture community goes beyond just this event, and Bonfire is grateful for their partnership in making nights like these happen. Special thanks also to Upfront Ventures for creating such a remarkable summit year after year.
Beyond the night's festivities, Bonfire is proud to share that the LA Tech Community Cares fund has now raised $1.2M and counting. Thank you to everyone who contributed—you're helping make a real impact.
In a year marked by both challenge and opportunity for Los Angeles, gatherings like these remind us why this city is so special. The conversations, connections, and creative collisions that happen when we come together aren't just good for business—they're what drive innovation and progress.