Fictional HBO sitcom Silicon Valley staged its 2014 season one finale at TechCrunch Disrupt for a reason—this real-life conference brings together the world’s brightest tech luminaries and most eminent startup competitions.
A decade later, Disrupt continues to be hugely influential, bringing together 10,000 attendees, 1200 investors, and 3000 founders—almost half from startups—to explore innovations from idea to IPO over three days of sessions and breakouts.
Even if you’re not looking for a partner, a buyer, or funding, Disrupt has something for everyone interested in tech, startups, or venture capital. Whether you’re a Distrupt regular or a newbie, here’s what not to miss.
Go Further, Faster, Together, With Insights From Pioneering Tech Celebs
Disrupt’s diverse roster reads like a who’s who of the tech world, speaking across AI, Builders, Disrupt, Fintech, SAAS, and Space tracks. You’ll hear best practices, how-tos, actionable tips, and pitfalls to avoid as you build your roadmap from industry titans like Colin Kaepernick, Founder and CEO of Lumi and SuperBowl BQ; Mary Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors; and partners from VCs Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Embedded.
You’ll also see familiar faces from CANOPY coworking spaces and events! Listen in as The Chainsmokers producers Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, partners, and co-founders of Mantis VC, a CANOPY alum, share their journey from artists to investors.
We’re also excited to hear from CANOPY Member Marcie Vu (Greycroft) and Greylock Partner Corinne Riley, who will moderate “AI’s Hard Economics for Good Times,” a fireside chat presented by Baseten & Orb next week, September 24, at CANOPY Jackson Square.
Startup Battleground 200: See The Future of Tech Live Onstage
Landing a spot among TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200 is a world series opportunity-meets-trial by fire for early-stage and pre-Series A startups. (Silicon Valley’s startup Pied Piper demoed and won on this stage.) More than 1300 founders have raised more than $29 Billion and notched up more than 200 exits — alums include Vurb, Trello, Mint, Dropbox, Yammer, Tripit, Redbeacon, Qwiki, Getaround, and Soluto.
Companies are selected for a combination of reasons, including product, change to industry, impact in geographic region, founding team, and competitive landscape. Check out this year’s 200 hopefuls, each competing for equity-free $100K prize money and the attention of media and investors worldwide.
AI-Powered Search Engines And Deep Fakes—Is AI A Force For Good Or Bad?
Core to Disrupt in 2024 is a new stage that takes a huge deep dive into all things artificial intelligence powered by Google Cloud. Aravind Srinivas will take you under the hood of Perplexity’s AI-powered search engine to discuss how it might be the next stage of interacting with the web and knowledge in general — or not.
Pamela San Martin (Oversight Board), and Imran Ahmed (CCDH) will lead a panel exploring how generative AI is flooding the web with disinformation and deepfakes, while Ali Farhadi (Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence) and Irene Solaiman (Hugging Face) ask: Are “open” AI models really better?
See Moonshots Take Flight on the Space Stage
As the space industry accelerates, the technical barriers to entry and the once-astronomical costs of doing business in orbit are falling. More private and public stakeholders in space make for a lively, diverse, and highly competitive environment, and new opportunities proliferate for founders, investors, and customers. Discover the challenges and possibilities with leaders across the industry. John Gedmark (Astranis) and Even Rogers (True Anomaly) will discuss dual-use startups. CEO of Rocket Lab Peter Beck will speak to going beyond the company’s popular Electron launch vehicle to take the space industry by the fins. Don’t miss the Space Challenge pitch competition, when innovative startups poised to transform commercial space operations will shoot their shot.
Go On Braindates
The Expo Hall provides nonstop networking and engagement with partners, service providers, and startups, including the Battleground 200. Disrupt is also the place to look for a new job, recruit, or discover a new industry. Download Disrupt’s robust networking app to discover invite-only receptions, roundtables, and breakouts and to create your own Braindate session to meet with like-minded leaders, founders, and investors.
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