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AI hasn\u2019t just changed how startups build; it\u2019s broken how they sell, secure their data and customers, and scale it more rapidly than ever before. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026<\/a>, the AI Stage is back to dig into the single hottest topic in the community for the past few years, presented by Google for Startups. This time around, we\u2019re exploring the business models AI is rewriting, the wealth of unsolved security gaps, and the entirely new job categories AI has created from scratch.<\/p>\n From October 13\u201315 in San Francisco at Moscone Center, join leaders from across the AI industry as they get into the real questions founders are facing right now. We\u2019re talking about the matter of how to price AI products when models become commoditized, why agent security has to be rebuilt from the infrastructure up, and what it actually means to have a go-to-market plan in an AI-native world.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also closing in on the end of our current pricing window, so your chance to save up to $200 is ending soon, so grab your ticket here before it\u2019s gone<\/a>. Without further ado, let\u2019s see what\u2019s on deck for the AI Stage, with more announcements to come:<\/p>\n Most enterprise AI conversations happen before deployment. This one starts after. As Head of Applied AI at Anthropic, Cat de Jong works directly with the enterprises putting Claude to work across their most critical workflows \u2014 and sees patterns that never make it into press releases. Where deployments succeed immediately. Where they stall. What separates the organizations extracting real value from the ones still running pilots eighteen months in. This session pulls back the curtain on what applied AI actually looks like inside the world\u2019s most closely watched AI company \u2014 and what it reveals about where enterprise AI is really headed.<\/p>\n With Cat de Jong, Head of Applied AI, Anthropic<\/em><\/p>\n Two years ago, GTM engineering did not exist. Today, it is one of the fastest growing roles in the industry, with independent practitioners building million-dollar businesses. This session traces how AI collapsed the traditional go-to-market stack and created an entirely new discipline in its place. Walk away knowing what AI-native GTM looks like in practice and how it\u2019s changing the way companies grow.<\/p>\n With Tara Seshan, Head of Productivity, OpenAI<\/em><\/p>\n AI is now making autonomous decisions inside the most sensitive enterprise systems in the world, at a speed traditional security frameworks weren\u2019t built for. This session breaks down what enterprise AI security actually requires in 2026 \u2014 from observability and governance to the architecture that separates deployments enterprises can trust from ones they can\u2019t afford to touch.<\/p>\n Agentic AI is powerful, but it was never built to be secure. Now, enterprises trying to harness that are learning to rebuild the basic elements of cybersecurity from scratch. This session is a candid technical conversation about what agent security actually requires at the infrastructure level, why application-level permission models are fundamentally flawed, and the architectural decisions that really matter when deploying agentic AI.<\/p>\n With Ric Smith,\u00a0President of Product & Technology at Okta<\/em><\/p>\n Visual AI has moved past attention-getting demos into real-time inference and physical reasoning. Founders building at the frontier discuss what happens when generation crosses into genuine intelligence.<\/p>\n With Dean Leitersdorf, Co-founder and CEO, Decart, and Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO, Luma AI<\/em><\/p>\n Is the SaaS playook dead, or is it just evolving? This session brings together founders and platform leaders who are grappling with that question in real time \u2013 and coming away with real answers. Walk away with a sharper understanding of how to price AI products sustainably, how to build defensible moats when models are commoditizing, and how to make SaaS work in the AI era.<\/p>\n With Arvind Jain, Founder & CEO, Glean, Barr Moses, Co-founder & CEO, Monte Carlo, Cathy Gao, Partner at Sapphire Ventures, and Aaron Jacobson, Partner, NEA<\/em><\/p>\n GTM engineering didn\u2019t exist two years ago \u2014 now it\u2019s one of the fastest-growing roles in tech, with independent practitioners building million-dollar businesses. Walk away knowing what AI-native GTM looks like in practice and how it\u2019s reshaping growth.<\/p>\n AI is running inside the most sensitive enterprise systems in the world, making autonomous decisions at a speed and scale that traditional security frameworks were never designed to handle. This session delivers the infrastructure-level view of what enterprise AI security actually requires in 2026, from observability and governance to the architectural principles that separate deployments enterprises can trust from ones they cannot afford to touch.<\/p>\n With Chet Kapoor, VP, Security Services & Observability, AWS, Katie Moussouris, Luta Security, Wendy Nather, 1Password<\/em><\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re rethinking your pricing model, closing the security gaps in your AI stack, or building the go-to-market playbook that doesn\u2019t exist yet, the AI Stage is where the builders shaping this next wave get specific.<\/p>\n Plus, you\u2019ll be doing all this alongside 10,000+ startup, tech, and VC leaders, with access to every other stage, Startup Battlefield, a wealth of networking opportunities, and the exhibition floor. Register today<\/a>!<\/p>\n Check out Disrupt\u2019s headline speakers<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Everything Founders should know about Disrupt<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Get the best hotel deals ahead of Disrupt<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n How to host your own Side Event at Disrupt<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Take part in Disrupt and learn how to exhibit your startup<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\nWhat Anthropic Sees When Enterprises Actually Deploy Claude<\/h2>\n
What Building AI Native Actually Means. Join the Conversation with OpenAI\u2019s Head of Productivity<\/h2>\n
The Enterprise Isn\u2019t Broken. Your Assumptions About It Are.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Agent Security Problem Nobody Is Talking About<\/h2>\n
The Video Intelligence Race: Real-Time, Reasoning, and What Comes Next<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Rewriting SaaS: Why AI Breaks the Old Business Model<\/h2>\n
The GTM Engineer: How AI Created Tech\u2019s Next Big Job Category<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Securing the AI Enterprise: Why the Cloud Just Got a Lot More Complicated<\/h2>\n
\nLearn more about Disrupt 2026\u00a0<\/h2>\n