TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to spotlight AI energy infrastructure and fusion power
Confirmed speakers from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Helion, Inertia, and Bloom Energy will discuss the capital and engineering challenges facing artificial intelligence’s energy needs.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will dedicate a significant portion of its agenda to the energy infrastructure underpinning artificial intelligence, recognising that compute demand is increasingly becoming a critical bottleneck for industry growth. The event, scheduled for October 13 to 15 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, will feature a Smart Systems Stage designed to address the collision of energy, infrastructure, and technology.
The conference agenda focuses on three primary areas: commercial fusion breakthroughs, grid modernisation, and data centre power security. Organisers state that the stage is intended for founders and operators seeking detailed insights into the constraints affecting AI expansion, moving beyond high-level summaries to examine the practical engineering and capital requirements of the next decade of innovation.
Confirmed speakers include leaders from major energy and technology firms. David Kirtley, chief executive of Helion, and Brandon Sorbom, chief science officer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, are scheduled to discuss the advancements driving commercial fusion and the challenges of integrating this power source onto the grid at scale.
Inertia chief executive Jeff Lawson will participate in a fireside chat regarding his transition from founding Twilio to leading the fusion power startup. Lawson is expected to discuss how scaling a telecommunications platform informs his approach to talent acquisition, project timelines, and the engineering hurdles facing Inertia.
The grid modernisation panel will feature Drew Baglino, founder and chief executive of Heron Power, and Apoorv Bhargava, chief executive and co-founder of WeaveGrid. The discussion will explore investment flows and the efforts of utilities and startups to build a more resilient power system as electricity demand grows faster than existing infrastructure.
Data centre power security will be addressed by Sara Spangelo, president and co-founder of Ambrosia Energy, and Bill Thayer, senior vice-president of datacentre solutions at Bloom Energy. These sessions aim to examine how operators and energy companies are securing power supplies to prevent infrastructure shortages from slowing AI’s next wave of growth.
TechCrunch Disrupt is currently closing its pricing window for tickets. The event is described as a major annual conference for the startup community, offering access to multiple stages, networking opportunities, and side events. Additional speakers for the grid and data centre panels are yet to be announced.
