TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Day 3 Recap

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Final Day in San Francisco

The energy remains incredibly high as we enter the third and concluding day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, hosted at Moscone West in San Francisco.

Despite it appearing as though the event is nearing its end, opportunities to participate still exist. A 50% registration discount is currently available, allowing you to join the ongoing activities.

Today's Highlights

The schedule for today is packed with highly anticipated sessions. These will feature perspectives from leading figures in the tech world.

• Rohit Patel, a director at Meta Superintelligence Labs, will be sharing his expertise.
• Kirsten Green, founding partner of Forerunner, is also scheduled to speak.
• Tristan Thompson, NBA champion and a successful fintech entrepreneur, will contribute his insights.

Throughout the day, anticipation will grow as we approach the announcement of the Startup Battlefield 200 winner.

Explore and Connect

The Expo Hall continues to showcase cutting-edge innovations. Attendees can also benefit from hands-on sessions led by industry experts.

Networking with peers and potential collaborators remains a key benefit of attending TechCrunch Disrupt. These connections could prove pivotal for future endeavors.

Don't miss the chance to be at the central hub for technology this year.

Essential Information for Today at Disrupt

Attendees are requested to complete registration and collect their digitally scannable badges at the Registration Desk, which will be open between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Both your ticket and a valid, government-issued photographic identification are required for badge collection. Ensure the name appearing on your badge and ticket corresponds precisely with the name on your presented ID. Badge pick-up on behalf of another attendee is not permitted.

Investors Breakfast Fireside Chat: Innovation in the Next Decade — The Next Growth Engines and Funding Models will be held at the Deal Flow Cafe. Access to this event is exclusive to those possessing an Investor Pass.

A dynamic and engaging day is planned – below is a summary of the events scheduled for day 3 of Disrupt 2025.

Disrupt 2025: A Recap of Today’s Sessions

The culmination of Disrupt 2025 features a distinguished roster of thought leaders taking the stage. Detailed session timings and information can be found on the complete agenda.

AI Stage Presentations

Creating with Code: A Journey From Ads to Films: Alejandro Matamala Ortiz, co-founder and chief design officer at Runway, will be presenting.

The $1M AI Trust Bet: Evaluating AI Agent Reliability in Influencer Marketing: Francis Yang, co-founder and chief product officer of Aha, will lead this discussion.

Google’s Approach to Building an Agentic Cloud: Will Grannis, CTO at Google Cloud, will share insights.

Developing Trustworthy AI Models for Real-World Applications: Fahad Khan, senior director of product management at Blue River Technology [John Deere], and Jeff Mills, president and chief of revenue operations at iMerit Technology, will co-present.

Hugging Face’s Role in Shaping the AI Landscape: Thomas Wolf, co-founder and chief science officer of Hugging Face, will be a featured speaker.

The Impact of AI on Relationships: Exploring Love, Lies, and Algorithms: Dr. Amanda Gesselman, a research scientist at the Kinsey Institute, Mark Kantor, head of product at Tinder, and Eugenia Kuyda, founder of Replika, will participate in a panel.

The Future of Transportation Driven by Artificial Intelligence: Dave Ferguson, co-founder and co-CEO of Nuro, and Sachin Kansal, chief product officer at Uber Technologies, will discuss this topic.

AI and National Security: Navigating Innovation in a High-Stakes Environment: Justin Fanelli, chief technology officer of the U.S. Dept of Navy, Kathleen Fisher, director of the AI and Cybersecurity Initiative at RAND Corporation, and Chris Morales, partner at Point72 Ventures, will offer their perspectives.

Character.AI: An In-Depth Look at Conversational AI: Karandeep Anand, CEO of Character.AI, will present.

Builders Stage Insights

Essential Seed Money Strategies for Founders: Gabby Cazeau, partner at Harlem Capital, Marlon Nichols, co-founder and managing general partner at MaC Venture Capital, and Maria Palma, general partner at Freestyle Capital, will share their expertise.

Alternative Funding Models for Startups Beyond Venture Capital: Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com, Louwee Shibata, founder and partner at Next Gen, KALDOS Capital, and Gale Wilkinson, managing partner at VITALIZE Venture Capital, will explore this topic.

Navigating Global Hiring and Cryptocurrency Payments: Francoise Brougher, chief executive officer of Pebl, and Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures, will provide guidance.

The Role of Vibe Coding in Early-Stage Startup Engineering: David Cramer, co-founder and CPO of Sentry, Zach Lloyd, CEO and founder of Warp, and Lauri Moore, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, will discuss this.

Preparing for Later-Stage Funding Rounds: Lila Preston, head of growth equity at Generation Investment Management, Sadi Khan, co-founder and CEO of Aven, and Zeya Yang, partner at IVP, will offer advice.

Evaluating the Use of AI Agents as Early Employees: Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, co-founder and CEO of Artisan, Sarah Franklin, CEO of Lattice, and Caleb Peffer, co-founder and CEO of Firecrawl, will present their views.

Building Sustainable Communities and Companies: Tade Oyerinde, founder and chancellor of Campus, and Teddy Solomon, co-founder and CEO of Fizz, will share their insights.

Disrupt Stage Highlights

Revitalizing San Francisco as a Hub for Startups: Daniel Lurie, mayor of San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco, will address this issue.

An Exclusive Conversation with Investor Elad Gil: Elad Gil of Gil & Co. will be featured.

Lessons in Scaling and Reinvention from a Cloud Computing Pioneer: Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box, will share his experiences.

Startup Battlefield Alumni Update: Dr. Capella Kerst, CEO and founder of geCKo Materials, will provide an update.

The Final Round of the Startup Battlefield Competition: Judges Kirsten Green, founding partner at Forerunner, Kevin Hartz, general partner at A*, Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner at Cowboy Ventures, and Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, will evaluate the finalists.

Exploring the Next Phase of Cryptocurrency with Solana: Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana and CEO of Solana Labs, will present.

Reinvention and Investing: The Journey of Kevin Rose: Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, will share his story.

Building, Breaking, and Betting Big: The Cluely Story: Roy Lee, co-founder and CEO of Cluely, will be the speaker.

AI, Sports, and Startups: A Conversation with Tristan Thompson: Tristan Thompson, NBA champion and fintech entrepreneur, will participate.

The Announcement of the Startup Battlefield 2025 Winner

Interactive Roundtable Sessions

Engage in 30-minute collaborative discussions. Please note that Expo+ Passes do not include access to these roundtables.

AI Evaluation Fundamentals: Addressing Challenges in Real-World AI Deployment: Rohit Patel, director at Meta Superintelligence Labs, Meta, will lead this session.

Consumer AI and the Preferences of Generation Z: Piyush Shah, co-founder of InMobi, will present.

Scaling Search and AI for Large User Bases: Lessons from Reddit Search [Encore]: Rachel Miller, product manager at Reddit, will share insights.

Maintaining Momentum: Building Products that Continuously Evolve: Papi Menon, VP and chief product officer at Outshift by Cisco, will discuss this.

Securing Seed Funding in San Francisco as a Non-Native Founder: Alice Bentinck, CEO and co-founder of Entrepreneurs First, will lead this discussion.

Building the Infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence: Ben Braverman, co-founder and managing partner at Saga Ventures, will present.

AI Evaluation 101: Addressing Challenges to Real-World AI Applications [Encore]: Rohit Patel, director at Meta Superintelligence Labs, Meta, will repeat this session.

Expo Hall

Over 300 startups, representing diverse stages of development, industries, and geographic locations, will be present at the vibrant Expo Hall. Attendees are encouraged to interact with these companies and discover the innovative solutions they are eager to present. The hall will open promptly at 8:00 a.m.

Breakout Stage

The Breakout Stage will host 50-minute sessions, available on a first-come, first-served basis, designed to offer valuable insights and address attendee inquiries. Conveniently situated adjacent to the Expo Hall, these sessions are accessible with all ticket types.

Being Heard in the Age of AI: Featuring 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: This session includes Mike Schroepfer (founder and partner, Gigascale Capital) and Garth Sheldon-Coulson (co-founder and CEO, Panthalassa).

AI & Agents: Shaping How We Build, Live & Connect: Speakers include Thomas Foley (revenue leader, 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: Turning Research into Venture-Backable Companies: The panel will consist of 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 Headed (It’s Not JUST AI): Participants are Sierra Brooks (senior scientist and analyst, SOSV), Po Bronson (general Partner, SOSV, and managing director, IndieBio SF), Westley Dang (principal, SOSV), and Philipp Sander (investment analyst, SOSV).

Pitch Showcase Stage

Attendees can experience rapid presentations from exhibitors at the Pitch Showcase Stage, which is located within the Expo Hall.

9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Startup Battlefield 200 will feature pitches focused on Health.

1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: The Startup Battlefield 200 will continue with pitches centered around Policy and Protection.

Fostering Connections: Innovation Through Dialogue

Beyond informal interactions with other participants at Disrupt, enhance your networking efforts with Braindate. The platform allows users to both propose discussion themes and discover existing ones, facilitating meaningful conversations.

This targeted approach helps attendees forge the precise connections needed to advance their objectives. Dedicated networking sessions, facilitated by Braindate within the Networking Lounge, will be held daily from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., accommodating both individual and small-group discussions.

Leveraging the Braindate Platform

• Create Topics: Initiate discussions centered around your areas of interest.
• Explore Conversations: Discover and join existing conversations relevant to your goals.
• Schedule Meetings: Arrange 1:1 or small-group discussions within the Networking Lounge.

Networking Lounge Hours: The Networking Lounge, powered by Braindate, will be open for scheduled and spontaneous interactions throughout the event, between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day.

Side Events

Over 80 company-sponsored Side Events are scheduled to take place across San Francisco this week, complementing the core Disrupt experience. A variety of activities are planned for today. Further information and RSVP details can be found on the dedicated Side Events page.

Today's Highlights

The Side Events offer a chance to connect with innovators and explore emerging technologies. Several noteworthy gatherings are occurring today, providing unique networking opportunities.

Attendees can expect a diverse range of events, from product demonstrations to intimate workshops. These supplementary activities are designed to enhance the overall Disrupt experience.

How to Participate

Interested individuals are encouraged to visit the Side Events page to view the complete schedule. Registration and RSVP are often required, so early action is recommended.

• Explore the full list of events.
• Check individual event details for specific requirements.
• RSVP promptly to secure your place.

Don't miss out on the chance to broaden your Disrupt experience with these valuable Side Events. They represent a significant addition to the week’s agenda.

Don't Delay: The Final Hours of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

The culmination of this year's conference is happening today. Currently, innovative startups are presenting their concepts to potential investors, valuable networking is taking place throughout the Expo Hall, and prominent leaders are sharing pivotal perspectives from the main stage.

We understand the anticipation for next year's event can be difficult. Avoid a year-long wait for the next TechCrunch Disrupt conference.

Seize the Opportunity

Experience the dynamic atmosphere, groundbreaking innovation, and unparalleled opportunities firsthand. A 50% discount on passes is currently available – register here to secure yours.

Head directly to Moscone West to claim your ticket and participate in the final moments of this impactful event.