Pricing, security gaps, and a job that barely existed two years ago: what's on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
The AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt is back this October, tackling the questions founders are actually losing sleep over: how to charge for AI products, how to secure them, and who the new people running them are.
Key points
- TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 runs 13 to 15 October at Moscone Center in San Francisco.
- The AI Stage, presented by Google for Startups, covers AI pricing, enterprise security, and a new job category called GTM engineering.
- Early-bird tickets offer up to $300 off, with the discount window closing soon.
- Speakers include executives from Databricks, Luma AI, Decart, and Clay.
AI has quietly broken a few things startups assumed were settled: how you price a product, how you keep it secure, who you hire to grow it. This October, the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 spends three days on exactly those problems.
The event runs 13 to 15 October at Moscone Center in San Francisco, with the AI Stage presented by Google for Startups. More than 10,000 founders and tech leaders are expected on site. We've been watching TechCrunch Disrupt's programme take shape since July, including an earlier look at its AI energy crisis sessions filed on 27 July 2026.
What sessions are actually on the schedule?
Three confirmed sessions show where the real conversations are heading.
First is enterprise AI security. Arsalan Tavakoli, co-founder of Databricks (a data and AI platform used by large companies), will dig into why today's security frameworks weren't built for AI systems that make decisions on their own, at speed, inside sensitive corporate infrastructure. The session covers observability (the ability to see what an AI system is actually doing), governance, and how to tell a trustworthy deployment from a dangerous one. That framing will feel familiar to anyone who's read the IT leaders' confidence survey we covered on 22 July, where security gaps were a running theme.
Second is visual AI. Dean Leitersdorf of Decart and Amit Jain of Luma AI will talk about what happens when AI stops generating images and starts reasoning about the physical world in real time. Both companies work at the frontier of video intelligence, the kind of technology that powered viral demos last year and is now showing up in real products.
| Session | Speaker(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise AI Security | Arsalan Tavakoli | Databricks |
| Video Intelligence | Dean Leitersdorf | Decart |
| Video Intelligence | Amit Jain | Luma AI |
| GTM Engineering | Kareem Amin | Clay |
Third is the GTM engineer, a role that stands for go-to-market engineer: someone who uses AI tools to handle the sales pipeline and outreach tasks that used to need an entire team. Kareem Amin, co-founder of Clay (a tool that automates sales research and outreach), will explain how solo practitioners are already building million-dollar businesses. The role essentially didn't exist two years ago.
Should I bother going if I'm not a founder?
The sessions are clearly aimed at builders. The security and pricing questions on the AI Stage do affect anyone who uses or buys AI-powered software, whether that's a small business owner or a team manager evaluating new tools. Every ticket also gets you Startup Battlefield (where early-stage companies pitch live), the exhibition floor, and all other stages.
Common questions
How much do tickets cost?
Prices aren't listed in the announcement, but the event is offering up to $300 off while the current pricing window lasts. After that, the price rises. The TechCrunch Disrupt site has current ticket options.
What is GTM engineering in plain English?
A GTM (go-to-market) engineer uses AI-powered tools to automate the work of finding customers, personalising outreach, and tracking sales, jobs that traditionally required a whole team of salespeople and analysts.
