Welcome to its third and final day TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at Moscone West in San Francisco! The excitement here is still in full swing and there is no slowing down.
If you thought it was too late to join, think again — there is still time to sign up with a 50% discount. and be part of the action. Don’t wait a whole year to arrive the technology highlight of the year.
Today’s agenda includes some of the most anticipated breakout sessions, spotlighting ideas from pioneers such as Rohit Patel, director at Meta Superintelligence Labs. Kirsten Green, founding partner of Forerunner. and Tristan Thompson, NBA champion and fintech entrepreneur — among others. Excitement is building throughout the day as we await its announcement Startup Battlefield 200 winner. Be sure to explore cutting-edge innovations in the Expo Hall, gain invaluable insight from industry leaders in hands-on sessions, and make meaningful connections that could shape your next big move.
Important reminders for today at Disrupt
Register and pick up your scannable badge at the Registration Desk anytime from 8:00 A.M. to 3:30 p.m.
Don’t forget your ticket and government-issued photo ID. The name on your badge/ticket must match the name on your ID. You cannot collect a badge for another participant.
Investors Breakfast Fireside Chat: Innovation in the Next Decade — The Next Growth Engines and Funding Models: Location: Deal Flow Cafe (Investor Pass holders only)
Get ready for an action-packed day — see what Day 3 of Disrupt 2025 has in store for you.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
27-29 October 2025
Today’s sessions
We close out Disrupt 2025 with a strong lineup of industry leaders taking the stage. Visit the full agenda for schedule and session information.
AI Stage
From Ads to Movies: Build with Code: Alejandro Matamala Ortiz (co-founder and chief designer, Runway)
The $1 Million AI Trust Bet: Can We Really Trust an AI Agent to Execute Influencer Marketing?: Francis Yang (Co-Founder and Head of Product, Aha)
How Google is building for Agentic Cloud: Will Grannis (CTO, Google Cloud)
AI in the Dust: Building Trustworthy Models for the Physical World: Fahad Khan (Senior Director, Product Management, Platform, Blue River Technology [John Deere]) and Jeff Mills (president and chief revenue officer, iMerit Technology)
Configuration of the Face Hugging AI Stack: Thomas Wolf (Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Hugging Face)
Love, Lies and Algorithms: The Truth About Artificial Intelligence in Matters of the Heart: Dr. Amanda Gesselman (Researcher, Kinsey Institute), Mark Kantor (Head of Product, Tinder) and Eugenia Kuyda (Founder, Replika)
Smarter Roads: How Artificial Intelligence is Driving the Future of Transportation: Dave Ferguson (co-founder and co-CEO, Nuro) and Sachin Kansal (chief product officer, Uber Technologies)
Artificial Intelligence and National Security in the High-Stakes Race for Innovation: Justin Fanelli (chief technology officer, US Department of Navy), Kathleen Fisher (director, AI and Cybersecurity Initiative, RAND Corporation) and Chris Morales (partner, Point72 Ventures)
AI That Talks Back: Character.AI in Focus: Karandeep Anand (CEO, Character.AI)
Builders scene
Seed Money Secrets Every Founder Should Know: Gabby Cazeau (Partner, Harlem Capital), Marlon Nichols (Co-Founder and Managing General Partner, MaC Venture Capital) and Maria Palma (General Partner, Freestyle Capital)
Rethinking Startup Capital Without VC: Erik Allebest (CEO, Chess.com), Louwee Shibata (Founder and Partner, Next Gen, KALDOS Capital) and Gale Wilkinson (Managing Partner, VITALIZE Venture Capital)
Global recruitment is not scary! And payment in Crypto should not be: Francoise Brougher (CEO, Pebl) and Aileen Lee (Founder and Managing Partner, Cowboy Ventures)
With Coding Vibe, Do early-stage startups still need to hire 10x engineers?: David Cramer (Co-Founder and CPO, Sentry), Zach Lloyd (CEO and Founder, Warp) and Lauri Moore (Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners)
Preparing Now for Your Next Stage Rise: Lila Preston (Head of Equity Development, Generation Investment Management), Sadi Khan (Co-Founder and CEO, Aven) and Zeya Yang (Partner, IVP)
The pros and cons of hiring AI agents as early employees: Jaspar Carmichael-Jack (Co-Founder and CEO, Artisan), Sarah Franklin (CEO, Lattice) and Caleb Peffer (Co-Founder and CEO, Firecrawl)
Building communities and companies that last: Tade Oyerinde (Founder and Chancellor, Campus) and Teddy Solomon (Co-Founder and CEO, Fizz)
Disrupt Stage
Rebuilding the city that builds startups: Daniel Lurie (Mayor of San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco)
A conversation with investor extraordinaire Elad Gil: Elad Gil (Gil & Co.)
Survive, Scale, Reinvent: Lessons from a Cloud OG: Aaron Levie (Co-Founder and CEO, Box)
Startup Battlefield Alumni Update: Dr. Capella Kerst (CEO and Founder, geCKo Materials)
The Startup Battlefield Final: Kirsten Green (Founding Partner, Forerunner), Kevin Hartz (General Partner, A*), Aileen Lee (Founder and Managing Partner, Cowboy Ventures) and Kevin Rose (Founder, Digg)
The next chapter of Crypto with Solana’s Anatoly Yakovenko: Anatoly Yakovenko (Co-Founder, Solana, and CEO, Solana Labs)
From Digg to Deals: Kevin Rose on Reinvention and Investing: Kevin Rose (Founder, Digg)
Cluely’s Roy Lee: Building, Breaking, and Betting Big: Roy Lee (Co-Founder and CEO, Cluely)
From Yard to Code: Tristan Thompson on AI, Sports and Startups: Tristan Thompson (NBA champion and fintech entrepreneur)
Announcing the winner of Startup Battlefield 2025
Round table sessions
Join these 30-minute collaborative sessions. Please note that Expo+ Passes do not provide access to these roundtables.
AI Evaluation 101: Addressing Challenges in Real-World AI Applications: Rohit Patel (Director, Meta Superintelligence Labs, Meta)
Consumer AI and Gen Z Tech: Piyush Shah (Co-Founder, InMobi)
Scaling search and AI for millions: Lessons from Reddit Search [Encore]: Rachel Miller (Product Manager, Reddit)
Relentless Progress: Building Products That Never Stop: Papi Menon (Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Cisco Outshift)
Raising a Seed Round in San Francisco as an Outsider: Alice Bentinck (CEO and co-founder, Entrepreneurs First)
Beyond the Model: Building the Intelligence Infrastructure: Ben Braverman (Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Saga Ventures)
AI Evaluation 101: Addressing challenges in real-world AI applications [Encore]: Rohit Patel (Director, Meta Superintelligence Labs, Meta)
Hall report
The bustling Expo Hall will hosts 300+ startups from all stages, industries and regions around the world. Engage with them and explore the groundbreaking innovations they are excited to showcase. Opens at 8:00 AM
Unblock stage
These 50-minute, first-come, first-served sessions are designed to provide insight and get your burning questions answered. It is located right next to the Expo Hall and is accessible to all ticket types.
Being heard in the age of artificial intelligence: Qianwen Chen (CEO, EchoHer), Fay Kallel (chief product and design officer, Headspace) and Chenxi Wang (general partner, Rain Capital)
Powering AI: The Race to Scale Gigawatts of New Energy: Mike Schroepfer (Founder and Partner, Gigascale Capital) and Garth Sheldon-Coulson (Co-Founder and CEO, Panthalassa)
AI & Agents: Shaping How We Build, Live & Connect: Thomas Foley (Chief Revenue Officer, Composio), Patrick Murphy (CEO and Co-Founder, Maket), Jeremiah Owyang (General Partner, Blitzscaling Ventures) and Alyx van der Vorm (Founder and CEO, Clyx)
Discovery to Disruption: Transforming Research into Business Enterprises: Pratik Nimbalkar (CEO, Plaid Semiconductors), Jared O (Co-Founder and CEO, SirenOpt Inc.), Chon Tang (Managing Partner, Berkeley SkyDeck Fund) and Asad Tirmizi (CEO, T-robotics)
SOSV: Where Deep Tech is Heading (It’s Not JUST AI): Sierra Brooks (Senior Scientist and Analyst, SOSV), Po Bronson (General Partner, SOSV, and Managing Director, IndieBio SF), Westley Dang (Director, SOSV), Philipp Sander (Investment Analyst, SOSV)
Pitch Showcase Stage
Catch exhibitors’ quick pitches on the Pitch Showcase Stage, located in the Expo Hall.
9:30 am – 12:00 p.m.: Startup Battlefield 200 Health Pitches
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Startup Battlefield 200 Policy + Protection Pitches
Unrivaled networking: Where conversations spark innovation
In addition to casually socializing with other Disrupt attendees, upgrade your networking experience through Braindate. You can create or explore topics in the app for deeper conversations and make the right connections to help you achieve your goals. Meet in person in the Networking Lounge powered by Braindate for 1:1 or small group discussions anytime between 9:00 A.M. and 3:30 p.m.
Side events
More than 80 company-hosted side events are set to take place across San Francisco this week, extending the excitement of Disrupt. Here’s what’s happening today. To RSVP and for more details, head to Side events page.
Last call for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 magic — Don’t miss the finale
Today is the last day of the conference. Right now, startups are pitching groundbreaking ideas, connections are sparking throughout the Expo Hall, and industry giants are throwing game-changing ideas on stage. We really don’t want you to have to wait another 365 days for next year’s conference. Don’t miss the energy, innovation and opportunity. Register here to receive 50% off your pass and head to Moscone West for your ticket.
