Want to come to Silicon Valley? See for yourself those AI companies quietly making a fortune.

Linkloud is one of the most influential communities for Chinese AI companies going global. Every quarter, they lead dozens of AI founders and executives on study trips to Silicon Valley and Japan, keeping a long-term watch on Chinese AI's international expansion and serving as a critical bridge for AI exchange between the Chinese and American tech and business worlds.

Linkloud co-founder Ning Gao recently appeared on the "Crossing" podcast to record "The AI Products You Don't Know About Are Quietly Making a Killing Overseas", which received widespread acclaim.

Linkloud's study trips deliver strong value and attract high-caliber participants. If you're planning a trip to Silicon Valley to stay on top of the latest AI developments and want to meet quality peers along the way, we believe this is your best option.

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The following introduction is adapted from Linkloud with minor edits

Go Local, Get Inspired

The most important step in this wave of globalized AI entrepreneurship is — go local, get inspired, create miracles.

This was the overwhelmingly consistent feedback we received from founders already operating in the US and Japanese markets after speaking with them this year. Not just for AI products, but for SaaS and software globalization too, whether your model is PLG or SLG. It's also the central appeal we made in the "Linkloud SaaS Going Global Handbook 2024" we published earlier this year.

When we returned to the US market in April with more than ten SaaS and AI company founders for up-close research, we were pleasantly surprised to run into alumni from last year's trip. They'd been stationed in the Bay Area for some time, with goals that went beyond face-to-face conversations with potential users — they could also present new ideas and MVPs directly to other entrepreneurs they'd met at offline events, facing real "challenges" from strangers.

Compressed Into Four Highly Efficient Days

Our study trips: no tourism, only learning.

After leading more than thirty founders and entrepreneurs on two deep dives into Silicon Valley, we're upgrading the Pioneer Accelerator experience again this September. Over four days, members will experience the highest-efficiency itinerary possible:

• Hear 0-to-1 lessons from more overseas pioneers and bold globalizers of recent years.
• Spar with serial entrepreneurs and rising young stars in local AI/SaaS on how to break through competition.
• Deconstruct growth mechanics with veterans who led growth and product at billion-dollar SaaS companies.
• Sort signal from noise alongside technical talent who've joined emerging AI startups or big tech this past year.
• Finally, join us in "reliving" AI at this year's SaaStr!

One More Thing

For those interested in this study trip, Crossing has prepared a special "gift": those who purchase through the Crossing channel will be invited to a dinner with the Crossing core team and podcast guests after returning (city to be determined based on participants' locations).

We're calling this event a Dinner Workshop — it's dinner and a closed-door workshop. We'll set discussion topics to ensure high-quality sharing and lively idea exchange on site, and we welcome you to bring back your takeaways and curiosity from the trip to share and discuss with us.

Praise From Past Participants

"The most efficient AI and SaaS research trip. Through four days of comprehensive, highly substantive sharing and discussion — from Silicon Valley big tech, excellent startup teams, upstream and downstream ecosystem partners, to primary and secondary market investment institutions — you can elevate your understanding of the North American market and gain practical experience at every level. Highly recommended."

— Sheng Han, Founder, VivaVideo

"I strongly recommend this US study trip for any founder preparing to go global or already in the process. Here you can learn about the latest US AI startup developments, plus the network and services needed to build US operations, and exchange with AI professionals at US big tech. Most importantly, you gain real friendships. After this trip, we further refined our understanding of the US market and could launch US operations more quickly. I recommend Linkloud's US study trip again — perhaps the best currently available for a comprehensive perspective on going global, AI, market, capital, and resources."

— Guang Chen, Founder, QuickCEP

"Two months after Pacdora joined Linkloud's US study trip, we finally launched our US B2B business and quickly built a US sales team — a decision that came from our overall feel for the US market. The US market is software-friendly, massive in scale, and commercially fertile. I hope this assessment becomes lived experience for every founder, not just something heard secondhand."

— Xianfeng Wang, Founder, Pacdora

The Trip Matters, But Fellow Travelers Matter More

The process of finding your ICP (ideal customer profile) is essentially one of sensing the market and gathering information. In Silicon Valley, as entrepreneurs, we can even proactively pitch founders at companies with similar customer bases — even competitors! Reaching out through LinkedIn, X.com, and other channels, most early-stage peers are happy to share their 0-to-1 insights and experience.

Inspired by this, at the last Pioneer Accelerator study trip, Linkloud partnered with the Going Global Alumni Association to hold a closed-door salon for members on "Unlocking GenAI Implementation Across Industries," inviting many active participants from AI startups and big tech AI divisions that have grown rapidly this year. For details, see "Agents, Enterprise AI, and Video Generation: What's Exceeded Expectations and What Hasn't? | Highlights from Linkloud Salon #19". We're doing it again this year!

The Can't-Miss SaaStr Conference

Attend with your peers — sparks of inspiration often come from exchange and collision with fellow travelers

September is a month of nonstop events in the Bay Area. For SaaS founders, investors, and service providers, the most important is the annual SaaStr conference. Most notably, for the first time, the conference is heavily adding a full-day AI Summit! The theme — When SaaS Meets AI: What's Real, What's Not, and What's Next.

Linkloud Pioneer Accelerator Cohort 8 Now Recruiting:

The Program Has Two Parts:

• September 3–6: Study trip, closed-door exchanges.
• September 10–12 (optional): SaaStr Annual 2024. SaaStr tickets require separate purchase; we can help organize group buying.

Location: US Bay Area.

Who it's for: 1) Those interested in AI; 2) Entrepreneurs, practitioners, and investment institutions interested in AI-based Global SaaS.

① Study Trip: September 3–6

Over 20 high-quality closed-door sharing sessions, covering these main areas:

• Representative overseas SaaS companies founded by Chinese entrepreneurs.
• US-native startup SaaS and AI Native companies, with more teams and rising stars founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in recent years!
• Big tech AI business units and SaaS ecosystem platforms such as Google, Meta, and Microsoft.
• Linkloud-exclusive growth and product workshops led by frontline leaders at US-native SaaS companies.
• SaaS/AI-themed salons co-hosted with local Chinese entrepreneur communities.
• Exchanges with Silicon Valley VCs (both US-native and local Chinese firms).
• Essential resources: HR, finance, tax, legal, data compliance, and more.

② SaaStr Annual 2024: September 10–12

SaaStr Annual is the flagship summit of SaaStr.com, the world's largest B2B and SaaS community, attracting thousands of SaaS founders, investors, and executives annually. The three-day event features in-depth keynotes, interactive workshops, and 1v1 networking. Participants will hear genuine insights from industry leaders, understand the latest market trends, explore successful SaaS strategies, and build valuable connections with peers.

This year, SaaStr is adding an AI Summit for the first time, with over 2,500 SaaS and AI company founders, more than 100 of this year's most exciting AI product demos, and over 300 brainstorming workshops — well worth the anticipation!

Registration is now officially open. If you're interested in itinerary details and pricing, please scan the QR code to consult Belulo, community specialist at Crossing:

Looking forward to seeing you in Silicon Valley!