TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Final Stage Lineup: Speakers, Themes, and Startup Battlefield

TechCrunch says the Disrupt Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will run from October 13 to 15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The stage is positioned around conversations with founders, CEOs, investors, and operators shaping areas including AI, robotics, transportation, social media, biotech, public safety, and venture capital.

For readers deciding whether to follow the agenda, the key takeaway is breadth: the program mixes established tech leaders with emerging founders competing through Startup Battlefield 200.

The lineup highlighted by TechCrunch includes Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman, Science Corporation founder Max Hodak, Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley, Amazon’s Panos Panay, Bluesky CEO Toni Schneider, Bluesky COO Rose Wang, Replit CEO Amjad Masad, and Mark Wahlberg with Keebeck’s Bruce K. Lee.

Benchmark’s five partners — Jack Altman, Peter Fenton, Chetan Puttagunta, Everett Randle, and Eric Vishria — are also slated to appear together. Ricursive Intelligence co-founders Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini are scheduled to discuss AI systems that can design the hardware they run on.

Startup Battlefield will run alongside the main-stage conversations, with founders competing live across areas including space and physical AI, energy and manufacturing, health tech and life sciences, and enterprise and security. TechCrunch says finalists will face questions from leading investors while competing for a place in the final.

The program also brings back Cellino co-founder and CEO Nabiha Saklayen, a 2021 Startup Battlefield winner, plus Battlefield alumni Piotr Byrski of Molecule.one, Demetri Maxim of Nephrogen, and Kevin Damoa of Glīd. The 2026 winner is set to receive $100,000 in equity-free funding and the Disrupt cup.

TechCrunch frames Disrupt 2026 as a gathering of more than 10,000 founders, VCs, operators, and tech enthusiasts, with more than 200 sessions, more than 250 tech leaders, six industry stages, roundtables, breakouts, and more than 300 exhibiting startups.

For founders, the agenda offers a snapshot of where investor and operator attention is moving next. For investors and tech teams, the Disrupt Stage and Startup Battlefield provide a concentrated look at emerging products, market narratives, and the founders trying to define the next wave.