The 6 stages at Disrupt 2026 — built for today’s tougher startup market |

The biggest risk for founders and investors right nowisn’tmoving too slowly.It’sreacting too late to where the marketalreadyshifted.

The new stages atTechCrunch Disrupt 2026help founders and investors make faster, more informed decisions in today’shighly complex, volatile markets.

FromOctober 13–15 at Moscone West in San FranciscoDisrupt brings together 10,000+ founders, investors, and operators for 250+ sessionsacross six stagesfocused on the operational pressures reshaping startup innovation, from AI-native competition and infrastructure bottlenecks to changing venture dynamics and enterprise adoption.

Explore the six stages planned for 2026 andsecure your pass before prices increase.Right now, save up to $410 with Early Bird rates, plus 50% on a second ticket.

Explore all six stages at Disrupt

Without further ado, get to know thesix stagesat Disruptdesigned for a hands-on approach to launching,building, and selling in today’s tech industry.

Disrupt Stage: See where the market is headed

TheDisrupt Stageremainsthe center of gravity forTechCrunch Disrupt,bringing together headline founders, major technology leaders, and top-tier investors to discuss the broader shifts reshaping the market.

Startup Battlefield 200also takes place here, giving attendees direct visibility into which startups investors and media believe have breakout potential before the rest of the market catches up. Think your startup has what it takes to compete? Nominate and apply by May 29.

Conversations focus on:

• The future of AI and technology.

• How companies get built and funded now.

• Leaders shaping global industries.

• What’snext across tech’s biggest shifts.

For founders, investors, and operators alike, itbrings tolight the signals shaping opportunity: where attention is concentrating, which categories are accelerating, and how successful companies are positioning themselves in a much tougher market.

For a limited time, bring your community to Disrupt and save up to 30% on tickets.Register here.

Builders Stage: Tactical answers for founders under pressure

TheBuilders StageatDisruptedfocuses on the operational realities of building a company right now: fundraising, hiring, product-market fit, go-to-market execution, and scaling in a more demanding environment.

Unlike traditional founder content, these sessions are built around current pressurepointshaving a real impact.

Sessions like“How to Win When You’re Not Building AI”tackle one of the defining challenges in today’s market: how non-AI startups compete for attention and capital while investors chase AI-first companies.

Other programming explores:

• Fundraising before product-market fit.

• Moving from seed to Series A.

• AI-native hiring strategies.

• The new expectations around growth and revenue.

Speakers includeNina Achadjian, partner atIndex Ventures;Rajeev Dham, managing partner atSapphire Ventures;Josh Reeves, CEO and co-founder ofGusto;Grant Lee,CEO and co-founder ofGamma;Robby Stein,headof product atGoogle; andMo Jomaa, partner atCapitalG.

For founders trying to move faster with fewer mistakes, this is one of the most tactical environments at Disrupt.

Lock in your Disrupt ticketso you can tackle your biggest growth challenges.

Smart Money Stage: Follow where capital is going

As fintech markets mature and investor scrutiny increases, startup success hinges on knowing which financial technologies are still creating durable growthand which models are losing momentum.

TheSmart Money StageatDisruptedfocuses on how financial infrastructure is evolving beyond the hype cycle and toward digital financial systems.

Sessions examine where real-time payments are gaining traction, why some embedded finance models struggled, and where founders are still building durable fintech businesses despite tighter investor scrutiny.

Programming centers on:

• Stablecoins.

• Embedded finance.

• Paymentsinfrastructure.

• Fraud prevention.

• Modern fintech systems.

These conversations are grounded in what’s actually surviving in a more skeptical market, not speculation.Speakers on this stageincludeJack Zhang, founder and CEO ofAirwallex,andLotti Siniscalco, general partner atEmergence Capital.

For fintech founders and investors, the value is understanding where capital still sees long-termopportunityand where market enthusiasm is starting to disappear.

Register for Disrupt and get direct access to the investors, founders, and operators shaping the next generation of financial infrastructure.

Smart Systems Stage: The infrastructure powering AI

As AI expansion accelerates, demand for data center capacity, energy, grid connectivity, and industrial systems is increasing just as quickly.

TheSmart Systems StageatDisruptedfocuses on one of the biggest constraints facing the technology industry: physical infrastructure needed for energy, climate, and industrial systems.

This stage focuses on the operational systems that modern software companies increasingly depend on but often overlook. Sessions explore:

• The AI data center energy crisis.

• Grid infrastructure bottlenecks.

• Infrastructure automation.

• Robotics and industrial systems.

• Climate and energy scalability.

A couple of leadersin this sectorto take center stage includeJeff Lawson, co-founder and CEOofInertia, andDavid Kirtley, CEO ofHelion.

For founders and investorsbuilding inenergy, robotics,logistics, infrastructure, or climate tech, this stage offers a clearer understanding of where physical-world constraints could create the next major opportunities — or new barriers.

Get your Disrupt ticketto see where infrastructure innovations are becoming the next competitive advantage.

AI in theReal WorldStage: Where AIhas towork

Once AI enters physical systems, reliability becomes a business issue, not just a technical one.

TheAI in theReal WorldStageatDisruptedtackles what happens when AI systems move beyond demos and into environments where reliability matters, from robotics and autonomous systems to manufacturing and drug discovery.

Programming explores how AI is being deployed across:

• Robotics.

• Autonomous systems.

• Manufacturing.

• Defense.

• Industrial operations.

The focus on this stage shifts away from AI hype and toward operational reality, including how trustworthy systems are built, what happens when cloud access is limited, how physical AI products scale, and where deployment failures createrealfinancial and operational risk.

For founders and investors evaluating the next generation of AI companies, this stage offers a clearer picture of which businesses canactually survivethe transition from prototype to production.

Explore the Disrupt ticket optionsfor founders, investors, operators, and startup teams.

AI Stage: How AI is rewriting software in real time

TheAI InternshipatDisrupted,presented byGoogle Cloud, focuses on how generative AI and AI agents are changing software companies at every level.

Programming on this stage, like“Rewriting SaaS: Why AI Breaks the Old Business Model,”reflects a growing reality across the software industry: Traditional SaaS advantages are eroding quickly as AI changes user expectations and product economics.

Sessions explore:

• AI-native SaaS models.

• LLM applications.

• Enterprise AI adoption.

• AI agents and automation.

• DevSecOpsand AI security.

• How software pricing and workflows are changing.

For founders and operators, the value is understanding how software companies are adapting right now — and where competitive advantages are likely to disappear next.

Find your ticket matchand experience Disrupt in person before prices increase.

Save up to $410 and gain insights from today’s top tech leaders

Threejam-packeddays featuring200+ sessions across six stagesled by250+ tech leadersshaping the industry today, only atTechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Save up to $410 on your pass and get 50% off a second ticket so you can bring a plus-one and experience Disrupt together.Register now.