Blackstone’s Jas Khaira to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 on AI growth

In short: Blackstone executive Jas Khaira is scheduled to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 about how AI startups can raise and use funding as they grow.

What happened

TechCrunch announced that Jas Khaira, the global head of Blackstone N1, will take the Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. His session is called “Building the Next Generation of AI Giants.” The event runs October 13 to 15 in San Francisco.

Khaira is expected to discuss what Blackstone looks for when it invests in fast-growing AI companies. He will also talk about how founders should think about funding decisions while they scale up. The theme is that raising more money is not the same as building a stronger company.

The article points to the high costs that can come with growing AI businesses, especially for “compute” and data centers. Compute is the processing power computers use to run AI, like how electricity powers appliances at home. As an example of the scale, TechCrunch notes a recent Blackstone-backed deal involving up to $600 million in equity investment in Indian AI infrastructure company Neysa, with plans to raise more through debt.

Why it matters

Even if you never start a company, these funding choices can affect which AI products reach the market and how quickly they improve. AI services often rely on expensive hardware and large facilities, and that can shape prices, availability, and which firms end up dominating. Talks like this also signal what big investors want, which can influence what kinds of AI tools get built.

Source: TechCrunch AI