Eight women from different backgrounds and expertise have come together to form FoundHer House, a unique all-female hacker house in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood. The residents are working on various AI start-ups, aiming to create a supportive community to build their companies.
Despite the growing interest in AI, women are underrepresented in the field. According to Navrina Singh, chief executive of Credo AI, there is an “absolutely” disparity in the number of women versus men leading AI firms. Fewer than 20% of venture capital deals with AI start-ups have female founders.
FoundHer House aims to defy this trend. Founded by Miki Safronov-Yamamoto and Anantika Mannby, the house has six other members, including Sonya Jin, Danica Sun, Fatimah Hussain, Naciima Mohamed, Ava Poole, and Chloe Hughes. The residents are working on various AI start-ups, such as training A.I. agents, detecting medical billing mistakes, and creating an online mentoring program for high schoolers.
The house has been a hot spot for dinners, panel discussions, and sponsorships from venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Ventures. Recently, Kleiner Perkins sent a hibachi chef to cook dinner on the back patio for its female summer fellows and FoundHer’s residents.
On August 19, the residents hosted a demo day, showcasing their start-ups to investors and raising awareness about the lack of women in AI. The event was a huge success, with Aileen Lee from Cowboy Ventures describing it as one of the better demo days she has ever attended.
The residents are now preparing to disband, but they hope to create a lasting impact. They believe that by supporting each other and creating a community, they can make a difference in the industry.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/business/ai-female-hackers-foundher-house.html