There's a 'Burning Man for the 1%,' where the tech elite dance and sleep in luxury pods
Welcome to Further Future.
The event is a hit among tech workers, including Alphabet's (read: Google's) Eric Schmidt.
This is a high percentage of San Francisco entrepreneurs, and they tend to be winners," Schmidt told The Guardian. "It's a curated, self-selected group of adults who have jobs.
A light-up robot stands at the heart of the grounds.
Festival passes feature a drawing of a robot.
Images like this one serve to remind partiers that they make the future possible.
What would a tech gathering be without demos? This guy gives a hug while wearing a VR headset.
Hanson Robotics' humanoid bot Sophia, who was the talk of SXSW this year, made an appearance.
While networking certainly happens, one attendee tells Tech Insider that few people go into the event looking for that kind of interaction. Relationships form organically.
Eamon Armstrong, creative director of festival community site Fest300, says a downpour forced him into a tent with the founders of a successful company.
They cuddled, swapped stories, and clapped along with the thunder. The intimacy of the space and shared vulnerability fostered a personal connection.
Next weekend, he plans to visit the founders in Los Angeles as a result of their serendipitous meeting.
"You come away with a certain type of trust that is far more valuable than something where, I pitched my company and gave you a business card at a conference," Armstrong tells Tech Insider.
Further Future is as much a dance party as a networking opportunity.
Musical performers this past year included Nicolas Jaar, Four Tet, Caribou, and Andy Stott performed.
Unlike Burning Man, where partiers pride themselves on detaching from the digital world and "roughing it," the accommodations at Further Future are ultra-luxe.
Most guests sleep in these nine-foot-by-nine-foot "pods," furnished with two single air mattresses. They cost about $1000 for the weekend.
Airstream trailers are also available for almost $6,000. The reservation comes with access to a 24-hour concierge service.
The food isn't too shabby, either. This year, Nobu hosted a tasting menu dinner where guests sat on floor pillows (cost: $250 a head).
Would you like a side of lobster with your green smoothie?
After a long night of dancing, partiers could pop an Over EZ, a dietary supplement that claims to cure hangovers.
A wellness area offers face-painting and IV drips that pump people full of vitamins.
Others detox with a morning yoga class.
Then you start all over again.
For Armstrong, what's exciting about this event is the chance to shake up his routine and meet new people in a wild, “otherwordly container."
"At Further Future, you might be more likely to have a conversation with someone who built a robot because they brought their robot," he says.
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