AI hasn’t just changed the way startups are built; The way we sell, protect our data and customers, and scale faster than ever before is disrupted. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, AI Stage returns to dig into the hottest topics in the community in recent years, presented by Google for Startups. In this article, we explore the business models that AI is rewriting, the wealth of unresolved security gaps, and the entirely new jobs AI is creating from the ground up.
From October 13th to 15th, join AI industry leaders at San Francisco’s Moscone Center to explore the real questions founders are facing today. We talk about how to price AI products when models become commoditized, why agent security needs to be rebuilt from the infrastructure up, and what it actually means to have a go-to-market plan in an AI-native world.
We’re also nearing the end of the current pricing period, so your chance to save up to $200 will end soon. Get your tickets here before it ends. Let’s take a look at the contents of the AI stage. Further announcements are expected.
What Anthropic sees when companies deploy Claude in the wild
Most conversations about enterprise AI occur before deployment. This starts after that. Cat de Jong, Head of Applied AI at Anthropic, works directly with companies leveraging Claude across their most critical workflows to see patterns that don’t make it into press releases. If the deployment succeeds immediately. Where they got stuck. What separates the organizations that are unlocking real value from those that are still piloting after 18 months? This session reveals what applied AI actually looks like within the world’s hottest AI companies, and where enterprise AI is really heading.
With Cat de Jong, Head of Applied AI at Anthropic
What building AI native actually means. Join the conversation with OpenAI’s Head of Productivity
Two years ago, GTM Engineering didn’t exist. It is currently one of the fastest growing professions in the industry, with independent practitioners building multi-million dollar businesses. This session tracks how AI disrupts the traditional go-to-market stack and creates entirely new disciplines in its place. Understand what AI-native GTM really is and how it’s changing the way companies grow.
With Tara Seshan, Head of Productivity at OpenAI
Enterprise isn’t broken. Your assumptions about that are correct.
AI is now making autonomous decisions within the world’s most sensitive corporate systems at a speed that traditional security frameworks could not build upon. This session will dive into what enterprise AI security actually needs in 2026, from observability and governance to architectures that separate deployments that enterprises can trust from those that they can’t control.
With Arsalan Tavakoli, Co-Founder and SVP of Field Engineering, Databricks
Agent security issues that no one is talking about
Agentic AI is powerful, but it wasn’t built to be secure. Companies looking to take advantage of this now are learning to rebuild the fundamentals of cybersecurity from the ground up. This session will be a candid technical conversation about what agent security actually requires at the infrastructure level, why application-level permission models are fundamentally flawed, and the architectural decisions that really matter when deploying agent AI.
With Ric Smith, President of Products and Technology at Okta
Video Intelligence Race: Real Time, Inference, and What Happens Next?
Visual AI has moved beyond high-profile demonstrations to real-time and physical reasoning. Founders building on the frontier discuss what happens when true intelligence emerges across generations.
With Dean Leitersdorf, Co-Founder and CEO of Decart, and Amit Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Luma AI.
Rewriting SaaS: Why AI is disrupting old business models
Is SaaS playik dead, or is it just evolving? This session will bring together founders and platform leaders who will tackle that question in real time and come up with real answers. Finish with a deeper understanding of how to price AI products sustainably, how to build a defensible moat as your model becomes commoditized, and how to make SaaS work in the age of AI.
Speaks with Glean Founder and CEO Arvind Jain, Monte Carlo Co-Founder and CEO Barr Moses, Sapphire Ventures Partner Cathy Gao, and NEA Partner Aaron Jacobson
GTM Engineer: How AI is creating the tech industry’s next big job category
GTM Engineering didn’t exist two years ago, but today it’s one of the fastest growing roles in the technology industry, with independent practitioners building multi-million dollar businesses. Walk away knowing what AI-native GTM really is and how it’s reshaping growth.
With Kareem Amin, Clay co-founder and CEO
Securing your AI enterprise: Why the cloud has become more complex
AI runs inside the world’s most sensitive corporate systems, making autonomous decisions at a speed and scale that traditional security frameworks were never designed to handle. This session will provide an infrastructure-level perspective on what enterprise AI security actually needs in 2026, from observability and governance to architectural principles that separate deployments that enterprises can trust from those that they can’t afford.
Chet Kapoor, VP of Security Services and Observability, AWS, Katie Moussouris, Luta Security, Wendy Nather, 1Password
Whether you’re rethinking your pricing model, closing security gaps in your AI stack, or building a go-to-market playbook that doesn’t exist yet, the AI Stage provides the specifics of the builders shaping this next wave.
Plus, you’ll do it all alongside over 10,000 startup, technology, and venture capital leaders, and you’ll have access to all the other stages, the Startup Battlefield, a wealth of networking opportunities, and the exhibit floor. Register now!
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