TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is positioning its largest stage around the central question facing technology companies right now: how to build, fund, and scale in the age of AI.
The event runs from October 13–15 in San Francisco at Moscone Center. Across three days, founders, investors, and technologists are set to hear from leaders working across software, infrastructure, finance, security, computing, hardware, and transportation.
The Disrupt Stage puts AI at the center
The Disrupt Stage has a long history as a place for major technology conversations. Past names associated with the stage include Zuckerberg, Benioff, Musk, Kalanick, Mayer, and Dorsey.
For TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, the programming is aimed less at distant predictions and more at the operational questions founders are dealing with now. The event’s framing is about practical answers: what changes when AI affects product design, software creation, enterprise work, public safety, payments, and computing infrastructure.
The current speaker lineup includes Amazon's Panos Panay, Replit's Amjad Masad, Tether's Paolo Ardoino, Flock Safety's Garrett Langley, the full partnership at Benchmark, and more. TechCrunch also says more announcements are still to come.
What the featured sessions will cover
One of the headline conversations asks what comes after the smartphone. With Panos Panay, SVP, Devices and Services, Amazon, the session focuses on how AI may change the products people use to interact with technology after nearly two decades of the smartphone sitting at the center of digital life.
Benchmark is also getting a major slot. For the first time on the Disrupt Stage in San Francisco, all five Benchmark partners are scheduled to appear together. Their conversation will examine where the next generation of startups may come from, what founders are getting wrong, and which opportunities remain visible but underused.
Software creation is another major theme. Amjad Masad, Founder and CEO, Replit, will appear in a session built around the idea that AI is allowing millions of people to create software for the first time. The discussion is expected to explore programming, entrepreneurship, and what happens when more people can turn an idea into a product.
Finance will be represented by Paolo Ardoino, CEO, Tether. The session focuses on Tether as a company that processes hundreds of billions of dollars in transactions and remains one of the most debated names in finance. The conversation will cover stablecoins, regulation, global payments, and whether crypto is finally going mainstream.
From public safety to enterprise work
The event also plans to examine AI as it moves beyond software interfaces and into physical systems. Garrett Langley, Founder and CEO, Flock Safety, will join a session on AI, surveillance, and the future of public safety. The topic centers on privacy, security, and the trade-offs that emerge when AI becomes part of everyday infrastructure.
Enterprise AI is another part of the program. Winston Weinberg, Co-founder and CEO, Harvey AI, will discuss how AI is changing knowledge work across law firms and Fortune 500 companies. Harvey has been described in the source as one of the breakout enterprise AI companies of the last two years, and the session is framed around what enterprises actually want from AI as software begins handling work once reserved for highly trained experts.
Compute and infrastructure will get their own stage time through Andrew Feldman, Founder and CEO, Cerebras. The session asks whether AI can keep scaling, given the boom’s demand for compute, energy, and infrastructure. Cerebras is presented as challenging conventional assumptions about how AI systems should be built and what happens if today’s hardware reaches its limits.
Beyond screens, and into harder company building
Another session moves into new forms of human-computer interaction. Max Hodak, Founder and CEO, Science Corp, will discuss technology that adapts to humans, including brain-computer interfaces and new ways of interacting with machines.
Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe is also scheduled for a conversation on building a company that combines AI, software, robotics, manufacturing, and transportation. The session is framed around the difficulty of building a breakthrough software company while also designing, manufacturing, and delivering world-class hardware.
Together, the sessions point to a broad definition of the AI era. The subject is not limited to chat interfaces or model performance. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, AI is tied to devices, startup investing, software creation, payments, public safety, enterprise workflows, compute infrastructure, brain-computer interfaces, and transportation.
What attendees get beyond the main stage
The Disrupt Stage is only one part of the event. Over the full three days, passes also unlock access to other stages, the biggest Startup Battlefield yet, networking opportunities, and the exhibition floor.
The event is expected to bring together more than 10,000 startup, tech, and VC leaders. TechCrunch is also nearing the end of its current pricing window, with a chance to save up to $300 on a number of ticket types ending in just a few weeks.
For founders and investors trying to understand where AI is changing the rules, the Disrupt Stage lineup shows how wide the discussion has become. The central issue is not whether AI matters, but how companies turn it into products, infrastructure, businesses, and markets that can last.