TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 sets final ticket and exhibit deadlines, adds AI safety and robotics demos

Passes are priced at up to $200 off before the Sept. 25 deadline, and a second pass can be bought at 50 percent off; groups of four or more can save up to 30 percent. For startups that want to exhibit, the $12,500 package includes a 6-foot by 30-inch branded table for all three days, 10 team passes, lead-generation tools, website and app branding, press-list access, and Silver Tier sponsor branding. TechCrunch said tables are limited and first come, first served, and founders also get access to the Deal Flow Cafe and Investor-to-Founder Networking.

The Disrupt agenda is expected to include more than 200 sessions and 250 speakers across six industry stages, plus roundtables and breakouts, with more than 300 exhibiting startups and the Startup Battlefield 200. The event also offers AI-powered matchmaking and networking opportunities.

One startup in the Startup Battlefield 200 is Noble Carbon, a Pittsfield, Massachusetts, company developing circuit breakers that it says can make EV charger installation easier by adjusting how much electricity flows to a charger in real time. The company says the breakers can fit into existing panel slots and allow chargers, heat pumps, or induction stoves to work in panels that would otherwise be at capacity. Spencer Fields, Noble Carbon's head of marketing, told TechCrunch that avoiding a main panel upgrade generally requires control only over the three to six largest loads in a home. The startup is one of 200 companies in the pitch competition, and 20 finalists will present on the main stage.

Noble Carbon's co-founder and CEO, Jared Lebos, was inspired to create the product after experiencing rolling blackouts in South Africa, and he worked with co-founder and CTO Andrew Crane to develop it. The company says the breaker takes less than five minutes to install, and some employees have tested it in their homes for more than a year. The product is undergoing evaluation for UL certification, and Noble Carbon is partnering with utility Eversource to install its breakers in up to 200 multifamily units in Massachusetts.

AI safety and security are also central to the agenda. TechCrunch said five sessions across the AI Stage and Real World AI Stage will address the challenges of moving AI into businesses, vehicles, robots, and autonomous agents. Anthropic Head of Applied AI Cat de Jong will discuss what Anthropic sees when enterprises deploy Claude; Okta President of Products and Technology Ric Smith and NanoCo Co-Founder and CEO Gavriel Cohen will examine agent security; and AWS VP of Security Services Rudy Mitra, Luta Security CEO Katie Moussouris, and cybersecurity veteran Wendy Nather will talk about securing the AI enterprise. Shield AI Chief Technology Officer Nathan Michael, General Motors Director of Robotics Strategy Mikell Taylor, and Waabi Founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun will discuss safety in autonomous systems, while another session will focus on the data problem facing robots.

Hello Robot CEO and co-founder Aaron Edsinger will bring the company's home-assistance robot, Stretch 4, to the Real World AI Stage for a live demo titled Come, Meet Stretch. The Robot Built for Real Life, Not a Demo Reel. Stretch 4 launched in May, and its first production run was sold out by June. The robot is a compact wheeled machine with a telescoping arm and sensors designed to work in human spaces. TechCrunch reported that users with severe mobility impairments have used Stretch technology to feed themselves, close blinds, and scratch an itch, including one user with quadriplegia who used it to drink a protein shake, handle his glasses, and brush his teeth. Edsinger previously founded Meka Robotics and Redwood Robotics, which Google acquired in 2013, and served as robotics director at Google. Hello Robot says Stretch 4 was shaped by six years of customer feedback and includes an open source software platform for robotics and embodied AI researchers and developers.