Tonight Is Your Last Shot to Apply for a TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Side Event

Key points

• TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Side Event applications close tonight, September 11, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
• Hosting puts your team directly in front of founders, investors, and decision-makers attending Disrupt week.
• Approved Side Events may be promoted across TechCrunch's Side Events page, agenda, app, newsletters, articles, and social channels.
• Hosts can offer their guests a 25% discount on Disrupt tickets.

The deadline is tonight. September 11, 11:59 p.m. PT. TechCrunch has confirmed there will be no further extensions for Side Event applications at Disrupt 2026.

We first covered the Side Events programme on 4 September, when the window appeared to be closing then too. It did not. This time it is.

Should you host a Side Event?

Hosting is worth it if you have a specific audience you want in a room together. The practical upside is access: your team gets direct time with founders, investors, and partners who are already at Disrupt and already primed to talk business. Approved events also get promotional reach through TechCrunch's own platforms, which is distribution most brands cannot buy directly. Hosts can also hand their guests a 25% ticket discount, which lowers the friction of getting the right people to show up.

What hosting will not do is substitute for a clear purpose. A Side Event built around a vague theme is just a party with a logo on the wall. The format rewards organisations that own a specific conversation their audience actually wants to have.

What happens after tonight?

For those not hosting, attending Disrupt on a regular ticket is still a practical option. Regular ticket pricing holds until September 26, after which prices rise. The conference itself runs October 13 to 15 in San Francisco, as we reported when the initial lineup was announced on 30 July.

Marcus's read: the repeated deadline extensions have diluted the urgency here, but the 25% guest discount is a detail worth paying attention to. It shifts some of the ticket-cost barrier from attendee to host, which changes the calculus for anyone trying to bring a specific community to the event.

Common questions

What benefits do Side Events offer?

Approved Side Events get promotional placement across TechCrunch's platforms and give hosts a structured way to put their brand in front of Disrupt's attendee base. Hosts also get a 25% discount code to share with guests.

Is attending Disrupt without hosting still valuable?

Yes. A standard ticket gets you into the main conference, running October 13 to 15 in San Francisco. Regular pricing ends September 26.