AI hasn’t just changed the way startups are built; It’s unclear how they sell, protect their data and customers, and scale faster than ever. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, AI Stage returns to delve into the hottest topic in the community in recent years, brought to you by Google for Startups. This time, we’re exploring the business models that AI is rewriting, the vast number of unresolved security gaps, and the entirely new job categories that AI has created from the ground up.

From October 13-15 in San Francisco at the Moscone Center, join leaders from across the AI ​​industry to address the real questions founders are facing right now. We’re talking about how to price AI products when models become commoditized, why agent security needs to be rebuilt from the infrastructure, and what it really means to have a go-to-market plan in an AI-native world.

We’re also nearing the end of our current pricing window, so your chance to save up to $300 will end soon, so buy your ticket here before it’s gone. Without further ado, let’s see what’s at stake for AI Stage, with more announcements to come:

The company is not broken. Your assumptions about this are.

AI is now making autonomous decisions within the world’s most sensitive enterprise systems, at a speed that traditional security frameworks were not built for. This session looks at what enterprise AI security really requires in 2026: from observability and governance to the architecture that separates implementations that enterprises can trust from those they can’t afford to touch.

With Arsalan Tavakoli, Co-Founder and SVP of Field Engineering, Databricks

The video intelligence race: real time, reasoning and what comes next

Visual AI has moved from attention-grabbing demonstrations to real-time inference and physical reasoning. Founders building on the frontier discuss what happens when a generation transitions to genuine intelligence.

With Dean Leitersdorf, co-founder and CEO of Decart, and Amit Jain, co-founder and CEO of Luma AI

The GTM Engineer: How AI Created Tech’s Next Big Job Category

GTM engineering didn’t exist two years ago; It’s now one of the fastest-growing roles in technology, with freelancers building million-dollar businesses. Come away knowing what AI-native GTM looks like in practice and how it is reshaping growth.

With Kareem Amin, Co-Founder and CEO of Clay

Whether you’re rethinking your pricing model, closing security gaps in your AI stack, or creating the go-to-market playbook that doesn’t exist yet, the AI ​​stage is where the builders shaping this next wave get specific.

Plus, you’ll do all this alongside over 10,000 startup, tech, and venture capital leaders, with access to all other stages, the Startup Battlefield, a wealth of networking opportunities, and the show floor. Sign up today!