Anthropic and OpenAI will speak on the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

In short: Anthropic and OpenAI are scheduled to appear on the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco.

What happened

TechCrunch announced that its Disrupt 2026 conference will bring back an “AI Stage,” a set of talks focused on artificial intelligence. The event runs October 13 to 15 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. TechCrunch says the AI Stage is presented by Google for Startups.

Anthropic will host a session about what it learns after companies roll out Claude inside their day to day work. Claude is Anthropic’s AI assistant (similar to a chat tool that can help write, summarize, and answer questions). The talk will be led by Cat de Jong, Anthropic’s Head of Applied AI, and it is framed around what works, what stalls, and what “real value” looks like after deployment.

OpenAI will also run a session about what it calls “AI native” company building. It will be led by Tara Seshan, OpenAI’s Head of Productivity, and it will focus on how some teams sell and market products differently when AI is built into the product from the start.

Other planned sessions mentioned by TechCrunch include talks on AI security for large companies, “agent” security (an agent is an AI that can take actions for you, like clicking buttons or moving data), and how AI may change software pricing and business models.

Why it matters

Big conferences like Disrupt often signal what topics startups and investors are paying attention to next. This year’s AI Stage agenda suggests companies are moving from AI demos to practical questions, like how to keep systems safe, how to price AI products, and what new jobs are forming around AI.

Source: TechCrunch AI