Key facts
- TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will host over a dozen interactive roundtables.
- Sessions will cover topics including AI, fundraising, enterprise software, and physical AI.
- The event will take place at Moscone West in San Francisco.
- Early bird discounts are available for passes.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is set to convene over 10,000 founders, investors, operators, and tech leaders at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 13-15. The event will feature a series of interactive roundtables designed to provide practical perspectives on current industry challenges.
Attendees with a Disrupt pass will have the opportunity to participate in these deep-dive sessions, which cover a range of topics including fundraising, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, and physical AI. The roundtables aim to foster connections and share experiences among participants.
Disrupt pass holders can currently save $100 on a single pass, with a 50% discount offered on a second pass. The full roundtable agenda is available on the Disrupt agenda.
Featured roundtable topics and speakers include:
- "Arm Wrestling Your Data: The Physical AI Challenge" with Radha Basu (iMerit), focusing on data challenges in robotics and autonomous systems.
- "Is SaaS Dead? AI Is Exposing What Enterprise Software Got Wrong" with Rajeev Singh (Smartsheet), discussing AI's impact on enterprise software.
- "Can AI Take You Public? The New Playbook for IPO-Ready Finance" with Eléonore Crespo (Pigment) and Sofia Fatakhova (Chime), exploring AI-enabled finance teams for IPO readiness.
- "Specialty Post-Training Data: Powering the Next Wave of AI" with Dani London (Base10 Partners), highlighting the importance of specialized datasets.
- "AI’s Next Frontier: Modernizing Legacy Industries" with Rob Biederman (Asymmetric Capital Partners), examining AI opportunities in underserved industries.
- "The Science of Powerful Introductions: How to Be Remembered in an AI world" with Cal Amir (Introduction Lab), offering advice on making memorable introductions.
- "Atoms vs. bits: Physical AI for the Physical World" with Jackson Feder (MetaProp), discussing AI applications in construction, property, and infrastructure.
- "Beyond the Demo: Building Physical AI That Actually Works" with Logan Farrell (Rugged Robotics) and Austin Yount (Brick & Mortar Ventures), focusing on product reliability and customer adoption.
- "Beyond Inventory: The Commerce AI Playbook for the Intent Era" with Srishti Chaudhary (Walmart eCommerce), exploring AI's role in understanding customer intent.
- "The Quantum Revolution: What Investors Need to Know" with speaker details to be announced, covering quantum computing's commercial relevance.
- "Healthcare Took 40 Years to Adopt EHRs, Then Adopted Generative AI in Three. What Comes Next?" with Brian Butler (Questa Capital), analyzing the rapid adoption of generative AI in healthcare.
- "Beyond the Term Sheet: How to Architect a Great Fundraise" with Alex Li (MVP Ventures), providing guidance on choosing investors and negotiating terms.
- "From Pilot to Production at Scale: Provable, Trusted Agentic AI for the Enterprise" with Dr. Maha Achour (Kodamai) and Pankaj Kedia (2468 Ventures), addressing challenges in scaling enterprise AI projects.
- "Brutal Truth: 12 Critical Mistakes That Nearly Derailed My CISO Career" with Stephen Ward (Brightmind Partners), sharing lessons from CISO experiences.
- "What Comes After ChatGPT? AI for the Physical World" with Jack Hidary (SandboxAQ) and Stacie Calad-Thomson (Nvidia), exploring AI grounded in physics and chemistry.
- "The Rise of SoCal Hard Tech: Why VCs and Founders Are Gravitating to Gundo" with Kevin Hawkins (New York Stock Exchange) and Drew Boyles (El Segundo City Councilmember), discussing El Segundo as a hub for hard tech startups.
- "The Founder Playbook" with Cassie Kozyrkov (Kozyr), an interactive discussion on founder decisions and AI.
- "My Company Is a Rocket Ship.” What Comes After the Landing?" with Vishal Kumar and Tushar Kumar (Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors), covering post-IPO decisions for founders.
- "When Frontier Models Are Not Enough: How to Make AI Capable of Breakthrough Scientific Discoveries" with Piotr Byrski (Molecule.one), exploring AI-driven scientific discovery.