TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: passes, prices and discounts

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 runs Oct. 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. TechCrunch said the event is built around one question: how to build a company that lasts in the AI era.

That framing matters, because the guide the company published is a sales document as much as a schedule. It was written by the people selling the passes. Here is what it said, and where our read of it differs.

What's on

TechCrunch said the three days hold more than 200 sessions across six stages, and that more speakers will be named before the event. The company said the test for every session is a single question.

What can I take back to my company on Monday morning?

TechCrunch splits its advice by what a founder needs, and that split is the most useful part of the guide.

• Just starting out: test your idea, meet a first angel or pre-seed investor. TechCrunch points to the Builders Stage, the Expo Hall and the Startup Battlefield semifinal pitches, plus roundtables grouped by industry.
• Raising a round: TechCrunch points to investor matchmaking tools, the networking features that come with a Founder Pass, and the Deal Flow Café, which it describes as a place for private meetings between founders and investors. Fundraising sessions run on the Builders Stage.
• Scaling: the goals are hiring, partners and visibility. TechCrunch points to the same networking tools and to the Side Events, which it says cover a range of industries and interests.

Startup Battlefield

TechCrunch said it picked 200 startups for the competition on Aug. 20. They pitch onstage to venture investors and to the crowd, and the winner gets a $100,000 check.

Applications for this year have closed. TechCrunch said it is taking the competition to more countries, and that next year's process will look like this year's.

TechCrunch said attendees can watch the pitches, and that several past winners and many of this year's participants have been through it before.

The discounts

TechCrunch said two promotions run until the event starts. A founder can add a second ticket at 50% off for a co-founder or a team member, and a limited number of $75 Expo+ passes are set aside for people who lost a job in this year's layoffs. TechCrunch also said there is still a chance to save $100 on a pass before the discounts end.

TechCrunch said pass prices go up as the dates get closer. The guide does not list a full price table, so we cannot show you what a pass costs now against what it has cost before.

What TechCrunch says it delivered last year

The evidence offered in the guide is two founder stories from last year's event. TechCrunch said one founder's oversubscription rate reached 3x once their Startup Battlefield spot was confirmed, and more than 100 investors got in touch, feeding talk of a future round. It said another founder had close to 30 consecutive meetings with investors who came to them after a pitch onstage.

Our read

Both of those stories come from the pitch competition, which most attendees are not part of, and they are told by the company selling the tickets. That is the basis for what follows, and the verdict is ours, not TechCrunch's.

If you are raising a round, the Deal Flow Café and the investor matchmaking are the parts that could plausibly earn back a Founder Pass, so plan the three days around them. If you are not raising and not hiring, the $75 Expo+ pass is the honest buy, and the Side Events are the reason to go at all.

Do this today

• Decide which of the three tracks you are in before you buy. TechCrunch's own guide is organized around that, not around the stage lineup.
• Book networking sessions in advance and write your pitch before you travel, both of which TechCrunch recommends.
• Buy before the doors open if you are going. TechCrunch said prices rise as the event gets closer.
• Watch for speaker announcements. TechCrunch said more names are coming before Oct. 13.

• San Francisco
• Startup Battlefield
• startup funding
• TechCrunch
• TechCrunch Disrupt