The best singles events in San Francisco for 2026, ranked

San Francisco singles events in 2026 are basically a subgenre of tech events. The run clubs skew tech, the AI houses run mixers, the bouldering walls have singles nights, and the actual founders are dating each other through curated dinners.

This list is the working ranking — events I have actually been to, plus a couple of the curated dinners that I have heard consistent reports about from people I trust. If you do not work in tech, the run clubs and the wine nights are still fine, but you should know what you are walking into.

For the broader schedule of tech and AI events in SF this week, the AI events feed is the place to scan (city filter on the main feed).

1. AI House SF Singles Mixers

Hayes Valley AI house, monthly singles mixers, properly the best ratio of any tech-leaning event in the city. The crowd is AI-leaning — researchers, ML engineers, early-stage AI founders — and the format is light enough that you can have actual conversations rather than working the room.

The mix is genuinely 50/50 hetero/queer which is rare in this category in SF.

2. November Project Singles Run

Run club crossover. November Project itself is the largest free run club in the city and the singles-tagged Friday morning edition is the most consistent. Mostly tech, mostly 25-35, the post-run breakfast at the cafe is where most of the actual conversation happens.

Pro tip: stay for the second coffee. That is when people actually talk.

3. Founders Singles Dinners

Curated dinners for founders and operators. Eight to twelve people, application-based curation, monthly editions in the Mission and Hayes Valley. The conversations are properly real — there is something about the small-table format that does the work for you.

Skews 26-34 and is genuinely one of the best singles events in the city if you can get in.

4. Cerebral Valley Singles

Monthly mixer for the Cerebral Valley AI-research crowd. Researchers from OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral and the rest, a chunk of independent ML engineers, properly nerdy in the best way. Skews 26-34, the ratio is what it is.

5. YC Singles Drinks

Quarterly Y Combinator-alumni-adjacent drinks. Mountain View and SF locations. Skews 24-30, properly serious about building, and the conversations tend to be more "what are you working on" than "where do you live". You either love that energy or you don't.

6. Climbing Wall Singles

Dogpatch Boulders runs the best singles nights in the bouldering category. Shared "I am bad at this" energy is the icebreaker, the climbing gives you something to do with your hands, and everyone is too tired by the end to be performative.

7. Wine + Coding Night

Wine tasting plus a casual code-pairing exercise on a side problem. Sounds gimmicky, actually works because the code-pairing format puts you next to someone you have to talk to about something concrete for an hour. Mission venues, monthly.

8. SF Run Club for Engineers

Engineer-specific run club, Embarcadero start, 5K strict conversational pace, beers afterwards. The non-singles version is also great if you just want to make engineer friends. The Tuesday singles edition is the one to clock.

9. Board Game Singles Night

Cooperative board games at a bar in the Mission, structured rotation every twenty minutes so you change tables. Best low-pressure option, the games carry the conversation, you do not have to talk about your startup.

10. Pottery for Singles SF

Throwing pots together. Dogpatch and Potrero studios run monthly editions. Skews 28-38 and the ratio is the most balanced of anything on this list.

What did not make the list

The standard speed-dating events that have been rebranded as "AI speed dating" are still speed dating with a chatbot. Pass.

The "founder dating apps" hosting events are mostly lead-generation exercises and the few I have been to felt transactional. Pass.

I have also avoided the events that explicitly skew super-young-Twitter — they are great for that crowd but not what most readers are looking for.

How I use the list

If you are AI-research-leaning: AI House SF or Cerebral Valley. If you are an engineer not founder: SF Run Club for Engineers or Climbing Wall. If you are a founder: Founders Singles Dinners or YC Drinks. If you are not in tech: November Project Singles Run or Pottery for Singles. If you are properly nervous: Board Game Singles Night.

For the wider tech and AI event schedule in SF — which is where a lot of the actual dating happens — the AI events feed is the way to scan it.