Today, day 1, TechCrunch Disrupts 2025 goes full throttle – 10,000 founders, investors and builders flood Moscone West for a non-stop flow of ideas, demos and deals. The energy is electric, the conversations are everywhere and the breakthroughs are just beginning.
From the Startup battlefield to the AI disruptors 60From space entrepreneurs to the founders redefining how and when startups go public, this is where the next decade of technology is being written – live. Every hallway conversation, every roundtable, every coffee conversation could lead to a new partnership or the next big company. View the list of speakers.
Not registered yet? That’s still possible, but don’t wait. Grab your ticket now and walk straight into the action: five powerful stages, hundreds of exhibiting startups, investor meetings, Braindate networking and side events lighting up San Francisco all week long.
Expo hall
The doors are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Discover more than 300 startups demonstrating cutting-edge technologies from different industries. Look who’s exhibiting.
Stage sessions
The stages are set – and today’s speakers cover everything from space technology and startup growth to scaling strategies and the IPO. Here’s a look at what’s happening in the stages of Disrupt today. View the full agenda.
Interrupt phase
The spotlight remains focused on the Startup Battlefield 200, the ‘World Series of pitch competitions’. TechCrunch vetted the top 20 early-stage startups to pitch to the world’s most seasoned VC firms 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 happening 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 redefining the future of space travel.
Aerospace Startup Showcase: Solving the Toughest 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 Driving the Future of Space —Dr. Debra L. Emmons (The Aerospace Corporation), Dr. Lucy Hoag (Violet Labs) and Adam Maher (Ursa Space Systems).
Laying the foundation for a new space economy — Max Haot (Vast), Kelly Hennig (Stoke Space), Bridgit Mendler (Northwood Space) and Even Rogers (True Anomaly).
Going to the public stage
For founders at any stage, this journey dives into the frameworks and strategies that drive IPO readiness and post-exit success.
How long should a startup remain private? —David George (Andreessen Horowitz)
Rethinking the exit: Kodiak AI’s founder goes public —Don Burnette, (Kodiak AI)
What comes after a breakthrough 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 (building) and Nirav Tolia (Nextdoor).
Everything you need to know before you go — Jai Das (Sapphire Ventures), Dan Springer (Ironclad) and Roseanne Wincek (Renegade Partners).
Builders podium
The raw, unfiltered reality of startup life – lessons in scaling, fundraising, and thriving in 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 fuels aviation —Natasha Del Toro (Del Toro Productions), Tanya Eves and Doug King (Epic Aircraft).
How Much Pay 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 and Google Cloud — Tulsee Dosah (Google DeepMind) and Darren Mowry (Google Cloud)
Building a GTM engine that really works — Max Altschuler (GTMfund), Marc Manara (OpenAI) and Alison Wagonfeld (Google Cloud).
Who will determine the future of AI in 2025? The AI Disruptors 60 revealed — Shay Grinfeld (Greenfield Partners) and Renen Hallak (Vast Data).
What VCs really want to hear in your pitch — A Galwat (deffy.vc), Agriculture (Harness (Harness), the Neuntorres Jennifer (Plate Ventuary).
Building in a time of uncertainty —Ryan Petersen, (Flexport)
Pitch Showcase stage
Head to the Expo Hall to see some of our exhibiting startups as they present their pitches.
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Startup Battlefield 200 sustainability pitches
11.30am – 12.05pm: Pavilion Pitch Session – KOSME
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM: Pavilion Pitch Session – Japan — JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization)
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM: Startup Battlefield 200 Built World pitches
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM: Pavilion Pitch Session – Korea – KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency)
4:15 PM – 4:45 PM: Pavilion Pitch Session – Sultanate of Oman
Breakout phase
Join a panel during a 50-minute question and answer session. This is done on a first come, first served basis. All types of tickets are welcome. View 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 speed: how AI tools can help you achieve your development goals —Tim Rogers (GitHub)
Build First, Fund Later: The Founder’s Guide to Launching Breakout Startups — Tarun Raisoni (mining)
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 on the Brink: Strategic Playbook for National Security — Daniel Hendrycks (Center for AI Safety)
Start-up lessons you won’t find in a playbook — Santi Subotovsky (Emergence Capital) and Melissa Wong (Zipline).
Round tables
These small-group sessions give founders and investors the opportunity to tackle real-world challenges up close. Please note: pre-registration via the event app is required to participate.
The future of banking and fintech: the AI wave — Nnamdi Okike (645 companies)
Prototyping, tuning, and scaling GenAI applications with open models — Aishwarya Srinivasan (Fireworks AI)
The winning formula: turn your business into a trusted, scalable community to drive growth — Tasneem Amina (related) and Justine Palefsky (related)
From seed 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 in 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: Tame 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, Financing, and Scaling the Future – Kahini Shah (Clear Ventures)
Future of the Space Economy in Low Earth Orbit – Abhi Kumar (UC Berkeley).
Investor insights — Itamar Novick (Recursive Ventures) and Brian Sparkes (Silicon Valley Venture, LLC)
Future of the Space Economy in 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 AI in the public sector — Ross Fubini (XYZ Venture Capital) and Ben Van Roo (Legion Intelligence)
Building an AI-ready data infrastructure with a lean team — Michel Tricot (Airbyte)
Your EQ is your AI — Alex Malebranche (Cloudflare)
Networking capabilities
Network lounge made possible by Braindate: Open 9am – 5pm Find your next co-founder, investor or mentor through curated or impromptu meetings.
Deal Flow Café: Opens at 9am Exclusively for founders and investors, offering a quiet space to close deals over a cup of coffee.
Stock life
Start your morning from 9am to 9:30am with Stock lifea special on-stage recording of TechCrunch’s flagship podcast. Join the TechCrunch team for a lively dive into the business of startups, technology, and venture capital – all in real time from the Builders Stage.
Disrupt the 2025 side events
Company hosted Side events are taking place across San Francisco this week, expanding the Disrupt energy far beyond Moscone West. Here’s what’s happening tonight: panels, parties and gatherings designed to connect founders, investors and innovators from all corners of technology. Make sure you list your spot on one of these.
Pitch&Drink with P2S.VC: hosted by Pre-seed to success (AltaIR Capital, Yellow Rocks!, Smart Partnership Capital, I2BF Global Ventures)
Unlock Your Investor Potential: How Tech Workers Can Become LPs Using Established Equity Units: Hosted by Musa Capital
Future Shock Deep Tech Meetup with SOSV & KIAC: hosted by SOSV
The “Unofficial TechCrunch Disrupt 2025” Afterparty at Werqwise SF: Hosted by Silicon Valley Venture, LLC
Exclusive Gathering of Non-Seed and Series A Founders, Accredited Investors and Venture Capital Funds – 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 and panel: organized by Building Humane Tech
Ping Pong After Panels: Hosted by Scrut Automation
TechCrunch Disrupts Unofficial Welcome Party: Bullish or Bust? An AI rooftop debate with Baseten, Premji Invest and Treble PR: organized by Treble PR
Happy Hour and Fireside Chat Founders: Avoiding Identity and Compliance Scope Creep 👻: Hosted by Descope & Delve
JetBrains Evening in San Francisco: organized by JetBrains
Night Zero: unofficial opening party during TechCrunch Disrupt Week: hosted by Fox Rothschild and Silicon Valley Bank
Still time to participate in Disrupt 2025
Do you think it’s too late to join? No chance. Order your ticket here. There is so much more to experience TechCrunch Disrupts 2025 – including more Startup Battlefield fields, groundbreaking sessions and unforgettable connections. Tickets are available until the last day. Secure yours now and be part of the future of technology.
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