Open Atlas, ASAN plan second annual Silicon Valley summit for high-skilled immigrants

Open Atlas and the American South Asian Network will host their second annual summit Aug. 21-22 in Milpitas, California, bringing together more than 1,000 immigrants, founders, investors, students and employers for career, startup and immigration programming. The event adds a job fair, hackathon, legal consultations and a founder-investor mixer as both groups expand their national communities.

Why it matters: - The summit is designed to connect high-skilled immigrants with employers, investors, attorneys, mentors and co-founders in one place. - Organizers say the event is meant to turn networking into concrete outcomes, including jobs, funding, legal guidance and long-term career support. - The gathering also reflects growing national communities around immigrant entrepreneurship and South Asian professional networks.

What happened: - Open Atlas and the American South Asian Network will host the second annual Open Atlas Summit on Aug. 21-22, 2026, at the India Community Center in Milpitas, California. - More than 1,000 high-skilled immigrants, founders, engineers, students, investors, employers, attorneys and community leaders are expected. - The summit will include more than 50 speakers, three programming tracks, a startup job fair, a hackathon, founder networking, legal consultations and access to professionals in technology, entrepreneurship, investment and immigration. - Friday, Aug. 21, will feature the startup job fair and hackathon. - Saturday, Aug. 22, will include keynotes, fireside conversations, workshops and tactical sessions on immigration, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, admissions, personal finance, professional visibility and alternative career paths.

The details: - The three tracks are Founders and Builders, Career and Craft, and Visas and Belonging. - Founders and Builders will cover fundraising, go-to-market strategy, company building and immigration issues facing immigrant entrepreneurs from idea stage through institutional investment. - Career and Craft will focus on technology careers, management, compensation, hiring, layoffs, professional visibility and career mobility under immigration-related constraints. - Visas and Belonging will include immigration attorneys, former government officials and immigrants who have navigated O-1, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW and other pathways. - The summit will offer a Legal Lounge with one-on-one consultations on starting a company, protecting intellectual property, founder interests, immigration strategy and major career or personal decisions. - Manifest Law is sponsoring the 2026 summit. - Additional speakers, sponsors and programming are still being added. - Registration for VC x Founder Connect is available for a San Jose gathering aimed at early-stage founders, venture capital investors and startup ecosystem leaders. - Summit registration is available at Open Atlas Summit 2026 registration. - More information is available at Open Atlas and ASAN.

Between the lines: - Open Atlas has grown to more than 10,000 high-skilled immigrants, including founders, engineers, students and creators. - ASAN says it now reaches more than 45,000 people and positions itself as a national platform for young South Asian creators, entrepreneurs, executives and students. - The two groups are using the summit to combine Open Atlas’s niche immigrant community with ASAN’s broader national network. - Organizers frame the event as a response to a common problem for high-skilled immigrants: scattered information and limited access to trusted relationships. - ASAN’s broader event strategy includes Investor–Founder Connect events in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York Tri-State, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. - ASAN also runs SANGAM, which connects students and early-career talent with mentors, employers and career opportunities. - A speaker and attendee from last year’s summit said the inaugural event provided practical guidance, meaningful connections and greater confidence in navigating careers.

What's next: - Open Atlas and ASAN are continuing to add speakers, sponsors and programming before the summit. - The organizations will use VC x Founder Connect to extend the event calendar for founders and investors in San Jose. - Attendees can expect more opportunities to connect across career stages, industries and generations as both communities expand their national footprint.

The bottom line: - The second Open Atlas Summit is shaping up as a dense two-day career and startup convening for immigrants and South Asian professionals who want direct access to jobs, capital, legal guidance and community.