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TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Speaker Finalists Announced

The response to the call for speakers at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, scheduled for October 27-29 at Moscone West in San Francisco, exceeded all expectations.

Following a detailed evaluation process, the selection committee has identified 20 exceptional finalists.

These finalists are divided into two categories: 10 are competing for breakout session slots, and 10 are vying for roundtable positions.

Audience Choice Voting Now Open

The decision of which speakers will take the stage now rests with you, the audience. Audience Choice voting is currently underway.

Voting will remain open until May 30th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Participants are permitted one vote per session, with the opportunity to support as many sessions as desired.

The five breakout sessions and five roundtable sessions receiving the most votes will be officially included on the Disrupt agenda.

• Event: TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
• Dates: October 27-29
• Location: Moscone West, San Francisco
• Voting Deadline: May 30, 11:59 p.m. PT

Don't miss this chance to shape the content and direction of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025!

Image Credits:TechCrunch

Introducing the Finalists

Breakout Sessions

M&A Strategies for Tech Founders: Aklil Ibssa, Head of Corporate Development and M&A at Coinbase, will discuss navigating acquisitions without compromising core values.

Leveraging Agentic AI for Startup Growth: Anmol Rastogi, Head of Product for AI & ML at Amazon Business, Amazon, will explore how to automate and accelerate development using agentic AI.

Agent-Based Automation: Chet Kapoor, Chairman and CEO of DataStax, will present insights into automating workflows from enablement to full completion.

AI and National Security: Dan Hendrycks, Executive and Research Director at the Center for AI Safety (CAIS), will outline a strategic playbook for utilizing AI in national security contexts.

Securing Series A Funding in 2025: Gabriel Kra, Managing Director at Prelude Ventures, will share strategies for successfully raising a Series A round and maintaining momentum.

Navigating the Age of AI Agents: Jack Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ, and Jim Breyer, Founder and CEO of Breyer Capital, will address the security challenges posed by a billion AI agents.

AI for a Positive Digital Future: Matt Madrigal, Chief Technology Officer at Pinterest, will discuss embracing AI to enhance the digital experience.

GenAI and Business Value: Michael Stewart, Managing Partner at M12, will explore how to leverage GenAI to build trust, delight customers, and generate dividends.

Building AI-Native Enterprises: Sridhar Ramaswamy, Chief Executive Officer of Snowflake, will detail the process of transitioning from data-centric to AI-native operations.

AI Tools for Developer Productivity: Tim Rogers, Staff Product Manager at GitHub Copilot, GitHub, will demonstrate how AI tools can accelerate development workflows.

Roundtable Sessions

The Future of the Space Economy: Abhijeet Kumar, a Lecturer at UC Berkeley and Tech and Strategy Lead at Archer, will lead a discussion on the low Earth orbit economy.

Go-to-Market Strategies for Scale-Ups: Anjai Lal, Head of Strategy and Enablement at Google Cloud, will present a blueprint for scaling businesses effectively.

Identifying AI Investment Opportunities: Avi Bharadwaj, Investment Director at Intel Capital, will share insights into how venture capitalists identify promising AI ventures.

Building Thriving Communities for Growth: Justine Palefsky and Tasneem Amina, Co-founders of Kindred, and Vlad Loktev, Partner at Index Ventures, will discuss the importance of community in driving business growth.

Managing AI Agent Behavior: Kyla Guru, Head of Model Cyber Policy at Anthropic, and Alex Moix, Investigations Lead at Anthropic, will explore techniques for safely training and controlling AI agents.

Investing in AI Infrastructure and Applications: Paul Drews, Managing Partner at Salesforce Ventures, will explain why future AI investments should focus on infrastructure and practical applications.

Scaling Search and AI: Rachel Miller, Product Manager at Reddit, will share lessons learned from scaling search and AI functionalities to millions of users.

AI Evaluation Best Practices: Rohit Patel, Director of Generative AI at Meta, will address the challenges of evaluating AI applications in real-world scenarios.

Seamless App Integration with UpLink: Scott Weinert, CTO and Co-founder of Atomic, will demonstrate how UpLink enables users to connect applications without complex integrations.

The Implications of External Funding: Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist at Zoho, will discuss the potential drawbacks of accepting outside capital.