Disrupt 2026 previews AI funding, agents, and power

Disrupt 2026 will feature Blackstone on AI financing, OpenAI on the Dots agent, and energy executives on infrastructure limits.

TechCrunch is previewing AI programming at Disrupt 2026, set for October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Jas Khaira, global head of Blackstone N1, will discuss financing AI companies built to last, citing up to $600 million in primary equity from Blackstone and co-investors for Indian AI infrastructure firm Neysa, which planned a further $600 million in debt, and July’s $1.5 billion joint venture—Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman Sachs—behind Anthropic implementation company Ode. Separately, OpenAI product lead Alexander Embiricos will appear days after the launch of Dots, described as an always-on personal agent with its own cloud computer that can connect to everyday apps and keep working on goals in the background. His session, “What Comes After the Chatbot?,” is expected to cover agent direction, privacy, and trust. A newer preview adds a Smart Systems Stage session with Ben Longmier, CEO of Ambrosia Energy, and Bill Thayer of Bloom Energy on power, data centers, cooling, and grid constraints from AI compute demand, and where founders might build durable businesses, with ticket discounts before October 13. The three reports do not conflict; they cover different speakers at the same event and are framed mainly as conference promotion rather than technical disclosures.

• TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 runs October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco.
• Jas Khaira, global head of Blackstone N1, will discuss financing AI companies built to last.
• Blackstone and co-investors pledged up to $600 million in primary equity for Indian AI infrastructure company Neysa, which planned another $600 million of debt.
• Ode, an Anthropic implementation company, launched in July through a $1.5 billion joint venture among Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and Goldman Sachs.
• OpenAI product lead Alexander Embiricos will discuss Dots in the session “What Comes After the Chatbot?,” covering agent direction, privacy, and trust.
• Dots is described as an always-on personal agent with its own cloud computer that can connect to everyday apps and keep working on goals in the background.
• Ben Longmier, CEO of Ambrosia Energy, and Bill Thayer of Bloom Energy will discuss power, data centers, cooling, and grid constraints on the Smart Systems Stage.
• The reports are conference promotions and do not conflict; ticket discounts were offered before October 13.