Disrupt 2026 panel to address pre-seed funding challenges amid AI boom

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, scheduled for 13 to 15 October at Moscone West in San Francisco, will feature a panel session titled “Winning Pre-Seed Without a Product.” The session addresses the growing difficulty for founders to secure early-stage funding without a tangible minimum viable product, a challenge exacerbated by rapid artificial intelligence development that has raised investor expectations.

The discussion aims to provide strategies for leveraging conviction and storytelling to attract investment in an environment where AI tools enable swifter product development. The panel comprises Venkatachalam of the newly launched $52 million Axiom Partners, Agarwal of True Ventures, and Clements of Slauson & Co., reflecting a diverse range of venture capital perspectives on the current startup ecosystem.

Venkatachalam currently oversees Axiom Partners, an early-stage venture fund focused on connecting founders with AI practitioners. Previously, she served as a general partner at Khosla Ventures and Social Capital, where she was the first investor in Groq and led investments in GalileoAI, ForethoughtAI, and FirefliesAI.

Agarwal is a managing partner at True Ventures, a firm that has been active in the startup community since 2005. He joined the firm in 2008 and now focuses on enterprise infrastructure and applications in the AI era. True Ventures has partnerships with more than 500 companies and 1,050 founders, with a history of more than 60 acquisitions and seven initial public offerings.

Clements represents Slauson & Co., which focuses on economic inclusion and small business empowerment. He started an accelerator within the firm and serves as the founding chair of PledgeLA, a diversity initiative partnered with the Annenberg Foundation and the LA mayor’s office. Slauson & Co. previously invested in Glīd, the victor of Startup Battlefield 2026.