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@harrisonqian / SF Builder Scene / wiki/hacker-houses.md
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--- sources: - web research april 2026 - business insider top 7 2025 - sf standard tags: - housing - residencies - hacker-houses title: hacker houses & residencies type: topic visibility: public-edit --- # hacker houses & residencies SF's hacker house scene is booming — by early 2026, startups are literally competing for mansions. the model: live together, build together, meals and laundry handled so you can focus. some are legendary, some are mid, some are brand new and figuring it out. ## the legendary ones ### AGI House the one everyone's heard of. actually two locations now (that sued each other over the name): **hillsborough mansion** — $68M estate with a koi pond, pool, and movie theater. 8-10 founders/researchers at a time. they have their own venture fund and can cut checks up to $1M. hosted Andrej Karpathy, backed by Index Ventures and Anthropic. **twin peaks SF** — the city location, focused on AI. no cold applications — everything is word of mouth. [[events|referral.bike]] launched here in march 2026. AGI House is the prestige play. the events are worth attending even if you don't live there — they draw the AI research crowd and serious founders. - **link:** [agihouse.ai](https://agihouse.ai/) - **how to get in:** know someone. no application. ### HF0 (Hacker Fellowship Zero) the "Stanford of hacker houses." 12-week live-in residency in a 20,000 sqft SF mansion. everything handled — meals, laundry, the works. $1M check via uncapped SAFE, 5% equity. founded by Dave Fontenot, who lived in monasteries in Thailand, China, and California before applying monastic principles (routine, simplicity, focus) to startup building. backed by a16z's Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, Naval Ravikant, and Google's AI Fund. famous alum: Demi Guo (Pika Labs). the first class produced three unicorns: Ramp, Pave, Fabric. demo day is private, at the house, with a curated group from Sequoia, a16z, Benchmark. the most selective. if you get in, you're set. - **link:** [hf0.com](https://www.hf0.com/) - **how to get in:** application-based, extremely selective ### Mission Control SF's oldest hacker house. 10 rooms, 6,400 sqft in the Mission District. started as summer housing for the 2014 Thiel Fellow class — residents included Vitalik Buterin (Ethereum) and Lucy Guo (Scale AI). still spawning companies 11 years later (Hightouch, Pylon). residents are raising their own venture fund, Mission Street Capital. VCs from Sequoia and a16z have been visiting. rent is ~$1,600/month, about half a normal SF one-bedroom. no cold applications — you need someone in the house to advocate for you, and even then less than 3% get through. this is the OG. proudly no-frills. people have slept in tents and closets here. collectively, residents have raised $2B in VC funding. - **link:** [missioncontrol.house](https://www.missioncontrol.house/) - **how to get in:** referral only, <3% acceptance ## the newer wave ### The Residency / SF Parc live-in incubator with 3-6 month cohorts. housing, meals, compute credits for AI models. but also: therapy, executive coaching, conflict-resolution sessions. residents' projects collectively valued at $200M+. part of a global network of homes for ambitious people. more structured than a typical hacker house — feels like a proper program. - **link:** [sfparc.com](https://www.sfparc.com/) ### Accelr8 3-month cohort in a 15-bedroom house. monthly hackathons and demo days where you pitch VCs and angels. more accelerator than house. ### HackHerHouse / FoundHer House the first all-female hacker houses in the Bay. HackHerHouse launched with 7 inaugural residents. FoundHer House supports female founders in AI. rent is subsidized so founders can focus on building, not housing costs. important addition to a scene that's been overwhelmingly male. ### Capi House a "home (not a hacker house)" for immigrant founders in SF. shared and private rooms, plus a guest room for short-term visitors. named as a nod to the cash assistance program for immigrants. ### Foundry coliving residency for startup founders with dinners, fitness, and demo days. positions itself as the #1 hacker house, which is debatable, but it's a solid operation. - **link:** [foundry.today](https://foundry.today/) ## other notable houses ### Incepto House / SVFounders part of the [[communities|SVFounders]] network. less public profile than AGI House but connected to a real founder community. ## the vibe living in a hacker house is not for everyone. you're giving up privacy and personal space in exchange for density of ambition. the good ones create genuine creative pressure — you're surrounded by people building, shipping, fundraising. the bad ones are just expensive group houses with a Notion page. questions to ask before committing: - who are the current residents? (the people matter more than the house) - what's the acceptance rate? (if everyone gets in, the value is low) - is there a venture fund or investor access? (the real differentiator) - how long has it been running? (longevity = track record) if you want the builder energy without sharing a bathroom, [[spaces|coworking spaces]] get you most of the way there. and [[how-to-plug-in|how to plug in]] has the practical guide to getting connected to these communities. --- **2026-04-11** (from web research): initial compilation. AGI House, HF0, Mission Control are the clear top tier. the scene is expanding fast — SF Standard reported startups competing for mansions by March 2026.