TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s biggest stage features leaders from Amazon, Replit, Tether, with much more to come

TechCrunch Disrupt has always been a bellwether for where tech is heading, and the guest list for its 2026 edition tells you exactly what everyone wants to talk about: AI, and how to actually build a business around it before the hype curdles. The conference runs October 13 through 15 at Moscone Center, and organizers just released the first wave of names for the Disrupt Stage, with more still to be announced.

The headline draw is probably Amazon's Panos Panay, who oversees Devices and Services and will take on the question of what replaces the smartphone now that AI is reshaping how people interact with their gadgets. Replit's Amjad Masad follows a similar thread from a different angle, talking about what happens to software development when AI lets essentially anyone build an app without knowing how to code. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino is also on the bill, which is notable given his company moves hundreds of billions of dollars a year and still draws more scrutiny than praise from regulators and skeptics alike.

A few other sessions stand out for how uncomfortable they could get. Flock Safety founder Garrett Langley will field questions about AI-powered surveillance infrastructure and where the line sits between public safety and privacy erosion. And for the first time at a San Francisco Disrupt, all five Benchmark partners will appear together, presumably to hash out where they think the next wave of startups is coming from and what today's founders are missing.

Rounding out the roster: Harvey's Winston Weinberg on AI eating into knowledge work, Cerebras founder Andrew Feldman on whether compute and energy constraints could actually cap AI's growth, Science Corp's Max Hodak on brain-computer interfaces, and Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe on the brutal difficulty of building hardware and software at the same time. That's a wide spread — surveillance, semiconductors, stablecoins, smartphones — but the throughline is the same question posed from different industries: what does it take to build something durable while AI rewrites the rules underneath you.

Beyond the main stage, Disrupt is running four additional tracks covering SaaS security, stablecoin payments, fusion energy and grid capacity for AI, and the nuts-and-bolts of fundraising, plus a Startup Battlefield and an expo floor expected to pull in over 10,000 attendees. Early-bird pricing saves up to $300 on tickets, but that window is closing in the next few weeks.