A new species of I/O speaker: VCs who can code

With Google I/O less than 2 weeks away, we’re working hard on putting the finishing touches on the 85+ technical sessions we have in store for developers. We’re thrilled for the 180+ speakers who’ll be joining us at I/O, all of whom are talented, technical, and brilliant in their own right. One group of speakers I’m particularly excited about and would like to shine the spotlight on: the venture capital crowd.

This is the first time we’re having VCs speak at I/O. We’re excited about the ones who’ll be participating in I/O sessions. Not only are their insights on technology highly regarded, but most of them are also programmers by trade, have been in the shoes of many I/O attendees (as a developer or entrepreneur), and still tinker with code in their spare time. They’ve got strong opinions on developer tools and technology and often don’t agree with each other, which should make for exciting sessions:

• Technology, innovation, computer science, & more: VC panel
  Albert Wenger (Union Square Ventures), Chris Dixon (Hunch), Dave McClure (500 Hats), Brad Feld (Foundry Group), Paul Graham (Y Combinator), Dick Costolo (Twitter; moderator)
  
  What do notable tech-minded VCs think about big trends happening today? In this session, you'll get to hear from and ask questions to a panel of well-respected investors, all of whom are programmers by trade. Albert Wenger, Chris Dixon, Dave McClure, Paul Graham, and Brad Feld will duke it out on a number of hot tech topics with Dick Costolo moderating. **Check out Albert’s recent guest post on the “Business of Code”
  
  
• Making Freemium work - converting free users to paying customers
  Brad Feld (Foundry Group), Dave McClure (500 Hats), Jeff Clavier (SoftTech VC), Matt Holleran (Emergence Capital Partners), Joe Kraus (Google Ventures), Don Dodge (Google; moderator)
  
  A panel of prominent venture capital leaders will help you understand how to build free apps that can be upgraded to paid & how to build products that can be profitable.

We're looking forward to adding the VC perspective to I/O this year. With just 9 days left, the countdown continues!

Posted by Christine Tsai, Google Developer Team