(S20) GOAB Learns: Pax Silica & Our Tech Startup Community

(S20) GOAB Learns: Pax Silica

and What It Means For Our Tech Startup Community. You're invited to a community conversation—not a lecture—to dive into this hot topic together.

📅 Date & Time: Thursday, August 20 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PHT (GMT+8)📍 Location: Online🎙️ Guests: Tim Santos (Project Lead, PhilippineAIReport.com) & Paul Pajo (Director, TBI at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde)🎧 Hosted by: GOAB Beach Club (Tina Amper)

Pax Silica is everywhere right now—in the news, in group chats, and across social media. Reactions are all over the place: excitement, suspicion, confusion, and a lot of "wait, what is this, actually?"

GOAB is doing what we always do: bringing the community together for an honest conversation. To make the most of our 60 minutes, we’ll focus on three core questions:

Does the Philippines need its own data center, and why?What is Sovereign AI?What potential opportunities or questions does Pax Silica raise for Philippine tech startups and builders?

We aren't Pax Silica insiders or policymakers. We simply want to demystify what it is, explore what it means for Philippine tech and startups, and weigh the opportunities alongside the risks—so our community can show up informed, not just reactive.For background: Pax Silica is a global initiative between the US and partner nations to build secure economic zones and resilient supply chains for AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and semiconductors. See links below for more info about it.🎙️ Why These Guests?

Tim Santos

Tim leads PhilippineAIReport.com and brings 16+ years of experience bridging cutting-edge AI research with real-world applications. He is an AI technology leader, investor, and former Product Director at a UK-based AI cloud services firm. Through his regular work with frontier AI companies globally and domestically, Tim excels at translating complex tech trends into plain, actionable insights you can actually build on.

Paul Pajo

Paul is a passionate innovation advocate, super-connector, and long-time GOAB instigator who has been discussing Pax Silica in group chats since day one. As a Certified Claude Architect and Director of the Technology Business Incubator at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, he brings a rich mix of technical, academic, and hands-on incubation perspectives to the table.

👥 Who Should Attend

This session is for startup founders, tech and business leaders, investors, and builders who want to cut through the noise and make informed decisions for their own roadmap.

We aren't looking for passive listeners. Whether you're an engineer, product lead, or ecosystem supporter, bring your real-world experience and questions to help our community make sense of what's coming next.📗GOAB Learns

GOAB Learns is an interactive online working room by GOAB Beach Club in partnership with The Philippine AI Report. We bring together startup builders, operators, and ecosystem leaders for candid, honest dialogues on complex tech topics.

📖 The Format: 10-Minute Silent Reading Room (inspired by Amazon/AWS meeting culture)

We begin the session with 10 minutes of quiet reading to review a short, curated baseline document together. This levels the playing field so everyone enters the discussion with the exact same context before we open the floor.

Bring your real-world experience, curious minds, and sharp questions. Let's #GrowTogether!

💡 Agenda

09:00 AM – 09:10 AM: Silent Reading Room (10-minute document level-set)09:10 AM – 09:35 AM: Guided Discussion with Tim Santos & Paul Pajo09:35 AM – 10:00 AM: Open Community Q&A & Dialogue

📚 Recommended Homework Before Joining

Wikipedia: Pax Silica OverviewRappler: "What is Pax Silica? What are its goals, and what concerns does it raise?" (April 2026)Business 360 / BCDA: PH eyes bigger role in AI, semiconductors through Pax Silica (May 2026)Atlantic Council: "Three elements 'Pax Silica' needs to succeed" (July 2026)Political Beat: "Ligot: Pax Silica not just data centers, it's an entire supply chain" (July 2026)

Come with questions! This isn't a formal briefing—it's an open dialogue, and your question might be the one that helps us all learn something valuable.

Can't make it live? We'll be sending the recording to registrants only, so be sure to register to secure your access.⎯🏖️🤓Organizers: GOAB Beach Club in partnership with the Philippine AI Report.About The Philippine AI Report: A landmark research initiative led by AI technology leader Tim Santos alongside cross-industry experts. Based on benchmark research across 175 local organizations, the report provides data-driven analysis on AI adoption, enterprise execution, and ecosystem readiness—offering a clear, real-world baseline for how Philippine businesses, builders, and leaders are navigating technology today.

About GOAB Beach Club (GBC): A year-round community for startup builders, movers, and shakers. If the GeeksOnABeach.com (GOAB) conference left you fired up and ready to build, this is where yo