Today, Day 1, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 goes full throttle — 10,000 founders, investors, and builders flooding Moscone West for a nonstop run of ideas, demos, and deals. The energy is electric, the conversations are everywhere, and the breakthroughs are only just beginning.
From the Startup Battlefield to the AI Disruptors 60, from space entrepreneurs to the founders redefining how and when startups go public, this is where the next decade of tech is being written — live. Every hallway conversation, every roundtable, every coffee chat can spark a new partnership or the next big company. Check out the list of speakers.
Haven’t registered yet? You still can — but don’t wait. Grab your ticket now and walk straight into the action: five powerhouse stages, hundreds of exhibiting startups, investor meetups, Braindate networking, and side events lighting up San Francisco all week long.
Expo Hall
Doors open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Explore 300+ exhibiting startups showcasing cutting-edge technologies across industries. See who is exhibiting.
Stage sessions
The stages are set — and today’s speakers are tackling everything from space tech and startup growth to scaling strategies and going public. Here’s a look at what’s happening across Disrupt’s stages today. Check out the full agenda.
Disrupt Stage
The spotlight stays on the Startup Battlefield 200, the “World Series of pitch competitions.” TechCrunch has vetted the top 20 early-stage startups to pitch in front of the world’s most seasoned VCs for a $100,000 equity-free prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup.
The Startup Battlefield – Session 1: Judges include Allison Baum Gates (SemperVirens VC), Cathy Friedman (GV), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures), and Nicolas Sauvage (TDK Ventures).
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October 27-29, 2025
The Startup Battlefield – Session 2: Eryk Dobrushkin (Index Ventures), Jen Hoskins (NVIDIA), Thomas Krane (Insight Partners), Jon McNeill (DVx Ventures), and Katie Stanton (Moxxie Ventures).
The Self-Driving Reality Check — Tekedra Mawakana (Waymo)
What Sequoia Sees Coming Next — Roelof Botha (Sequoia Capital).
Moonshots, AI, and the Future of Alphabet — Astro Teller (The Moonshot Factory).
Space Stage
At the intersection of technology and exploration, startups are reimagining the future of space.
Aerospace Startup Showcase: Solving the Hardest Problems in Space — Dr. Tom Cwik (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Dr. Debra Emmons (The Aerospace Corporation), Katelin Holloway (Seven Seven Six), and Mandy Vaughn (GXO, Inc.).
From Robinhood to Aetherflux: Baiju Bhatt’s Next Frontier — Baiju Bhatt (Aetherflux)
Investing at the Edge of Space — Morgan Beller (NFX), Celeste Ford (Stellar Ventures), and Chris Morales (Point72 Ventures).
Made in Space: Varda’s Plan to Build the Next Great Supply Chain — William Bruey (Varda Space Industries).
AI at the Edge: Startups Powering the Future of Space — Dr. Debra L. Emmons (The Aerospace Corporation), Dr. Lucy Hoag (Violet Labs), and Adam Maher (Ursa Space Systems).
Laying the Groundwork for a New Space Economy — Max Haot (Vast), Kelly Hennig (Stoke Space), Bridgit Mendler (Northwood Space), and Even Rogers (True Anomaly).
Going Public Stage
For founders at every stage, this track dives into the frameworks and strategies driving IPO readiness and post-exit success.
How Long Should a Startup Stay Private? — David George (Andreessen Horowitz)
Rethinking the Exit: Kodiak AI’s Founder on Going Public — Don Burnette, (Kodiak AI)
What Comes After Breakout Success? — Santi Subotovsky (Emergence Capital) and Eric Yuan (Zoom).
How AI Is Forcing Late-Stage Startups to Rewire GTM — or Be Left Behind — Jane Alexander (CapitalG), Vanessa Larco (Premise), and Nirav Tolia (Nextdoor).
Everything You Need to Know Before an Exit — Jai Das (Sapphire Ventures), Dan Springer (Ironclad), and Roseanne Wincek (Renegade Partners).
Builders Stage
The raw, unfiltered reality of startup life — lessons in scaling, fundraising, and thriving through the chaos.
How to Raise a Series A in 2026 — Thomas Krane (Insight Partners), Katie Stanton (Moxxie Ventures), and Sangeen Zeb (GV).
Flying into the Future: AI Is Fueling Aviation — Natasha Del Toro (Del Toro Productions), Tanya Eves, and Doug King (Epic Aircraft).
How Much Salary and Equity Should You Really Offer Early Employees? — Randi Jakubowitz (645 Ventures), Rebecca Lee Whiting (Epigram Legal), and Yin Wu (Pulley).
Build What’s Next: Startups, DeepMind & Google Cloud — Tulsee Dosah (Google DeepMind) and Darren Mowry (Google Cloud)
Building a GTM Engine that Actually Works — Max Altschuler (GTMfund), Marc Manara (OpenAI), and Alison Wagonfeld (Google Cloud).
Who’s Defining AI’s Future in 2025? The AI Disruptors 60 Unveiled — Shay Grinfeld (Greenfield Partners) and Renen Hallak (Vast Data).
What VCs Really Want to Hear in Your Pitch — Medha Agarwal (defy.vc), Jyoti Bansal (Harness), and Jennifer Neundorfer (January Ventures).
Building in a Time of Uncertainty — Ryan Petersen, ( Flexport)
Pitch Showcase Stage
Head over to the Expo Hall to catch some of our exhibiting startups as they present their pitches.
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.: Startup Battlefield 200 Sustainability Pitches
11:30 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.: Pavilion Pitch Session – KOSME
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Pavilion Pitch Session – Japan — JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization)
1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Startup Battlefield 200 Built World Pitches
3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.: Pavilion Pitch Session – Korea — KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency)
4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.: Pavilion Pitch Session – Sultanate of Oman
Breakout Stage
Engage with a panel in a 50-minute Q&A session. This is on a first-come, first-served basis. All ticket types are welcome. See the full agenda for times and session details.
The Untapped Opportunity Hidden in Business Workflows — Umair Bashir (Signal), Umair Javed (tkxel), and Marcus Torres (Quickbase)
From Vibes to Velocity: How AI Tools Can Help You Achieve Your Development Goals — Tim Rogers (GitHub)
Build First, Fund Later: The Founder’s Guide to Bootstrapping Breakout Startups — Tarun Raisoni (Gruve)
How to Get Acquired in Tech (Without Selling Out): M&A Tips for Founders and Builders — Yonas Beshawred (StarSling) and Aklil Ibssa (Coinbase)
Fundraising Mistakes That Will Kill Your Round, and How to Avoid Them — Kamila Khasanova (On Top Strategy), Sam Li (Thoropass), Dr. Richard Munassi (Tampa Bay Wave), and Ashley Paston (General Catalyst)
Fundraising Process Workshop with TC Editor Turned VC Josh Constine — Josh Constine (SignalFire)
AI at the Brink: Strategic Playbook for National Security — Daniel Hendrycks (Center for AI Safety)
Startup Lessons You Won’t Find in a Playbook — Santi Subotovsky (Emergence Capital) and Melissa Wong (Zipline).
Roundtables
These small-group sessions give founders and investors the chance to tackle real-world challenges up close. Remember: pre-registration on the event app is required for entry.
The Future of Banking and Fintech: the AI Wave — Nnamdi Okike (645 Ventures)
Prototyping, Tuning & Scaling GenAI Applications with Open Models — Aishwarya Srinivasan (Fireworks AI)
The Winning Formula: Turning Your Business Into a Trusted, Scalable Community to Drive Growth — Tasneem Amina (Kindred) and Justine Palefsky (Kindred)
From Inception to Enterprise: Selling AI Agents that Scale — Allison Baum Gates (SemperVirens Venture Capital)
Future of Construction: The Role of AI and Data in the Field and the Office — Austin Yount, Brick & Mortar Ventures.
Berkeley Connect: Experience the World’s #1 Startup Ecosystem — Siwen Deng (Evergreen Saponins) and Keith McAleer (UC Berkeley Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology)
How to Train Your Model: Taming AI Agents Without Breaking Them — Kyla Guru (Anthropic)
Community IS the Product — Brian Hamachek (Vently), Gargi Kand (Vently), and Nick Khonaysser (Vently)
Physical AI: Designing, Funding, and Scaling the Future — Kahini Shah (Obvious Ventures)
Future of Space Economy in the Low Earth Orbit — Abhi Kumar (UC Berkeley).
Investor Insights — Itamar Novick (Recursive Ventures) and Brian Sparkes (Silicon Valley Venture, LLC)
Future of Space Economy in the Low Earth Orbit (encore) — Abhi Kumar (UC Berkeley)
IPO Success: Charting the Course from Private to Public — Charly Kevers (Carta) and Daniel Tay (Morgan Stanley)
Building in the Line of Fire: What It Takes to Win in Public Sector AI — Ross Fubini (XYZ Venture Capital) and Ben Van Roo (Legion Intelligence)
Building AI-Ready Data Infrastructure with a Lean Team — Michel Tricot (Airbyte)
Your EQ is your AI — Alex Malebranche (Cloudflare)
Networking Opportunities
Networking Lounge powered by Braindate: Open 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Find your next co-founder, investor, or mentor through curated or spontaneous meetups.
Deal Flow Cafe: Opens at 9:00 a.m. Exclusive to founders and investors, providing a quiet space to make deals over coffee.
Equity Live
From 9:00 to 9:30 a.m., start your morning with Equity Live, a special onstage recording of TechCrunch’s flagship podcast. Join the TechCrunch team for a lively dive into the business of startups, tech, and venture capital — all unfolding in real time from the Builders Stage.
Disrupt 2025 Side Events
Company-hosted Side Events are happening throughout San Francisco this week, extending the Disrupt energy well beyond Moscone West. Here’s what’s happening tonight — panels, parties, and meetups designed to connect founders, investors, and innovators across every corner of tech. Make sure to RSVP your spot to any of these.
Pitch&Drink with P2S.VC: Hosted by Pre-seed to succeed (AltaIR Capital, Yellow Rocks!, Smart Partnership Capital, I2BF Global Ventures)
Unlock Your Investor Potential: How Tech Workers Can Become LPs Using Vested Stock Units: Hosted by Musa Capital
Future Shock Deep Tech Meetup w/ SOSV & KIAC: Hosted by SOSV
The “Unofficial TechCrunch Disrupt 2025” Afterparty at Werqwise SF: Hosted by Silicon Valley Venture, LLC
Exclusive Gathering of Founders beyond Seed and Series A, Accredited Investors and VCs – Side Event at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Hosted by Equity X Investments, Vataseason and Plus Ultra Capital Partners
South Asian Collective @ Disrupt Week: Hosted by American South Asian Network (ASAN)
Beyond the Hype: Voices from the Future of Humane AI – Short Film Screening & Panel: Hosted by Building Humane Tech
Ping Pong After Panels: Hosted by Scrut Automation
TechCrunch Disrupt Unofficial Welcome Party: Bullish or Bust? A Rooftop AI Debate with Baseten, Premji Invest, and Treble PR: Hosted by Treble PR
Founders Happy Hour and Fireside Chat: Avoiding Identity and Compliance Scope Creep 👻: Hosted by Descope & Delve
JetBrains Night in San Francisco: Hosted by JetBrains
Night Zero: Unofficial Opening Party at TechCrunch Disrupt Week: Hosted by Fox Rothschild and Silicon Valley Bank
Still time to join Disrupt 2025
Think it’s too late to join? Not a chance. Get your ticket here. There’s still so much more to experience at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 — including more Startup Battlefield pitches, game-changing sessions, and unforgettable connections. Tickets are available through the final day. Secure yours now and be part of the future of tech.
