Open or closed AI? How founders are choosing what to build on at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will feature four conversations on how founders decide between open and closed AI models and how much of the AI stack their companies should own, according to session descriptions published by TechCrunch. The event is scheduled for October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, with more than 200 sessions across six industry stages, plus roundtables and breakouts. Organizers expect more than 10,000 attendees, 250+ speakers, and 300+ exhibiting startups.

On the Builder's Stage, a session titled "The Real Tokenmaxxing: How the Best AI Companies Navigate a Multi-Model World" will feature Mo Jomaa, partner at CapitalG; Vipul Ved Prakash, co-founder and CEO of Together AI; and Zuzanna Stamirowska, CEO and co-founder of Pathway. The session will explore why companies use multiple models, how they balance cost, performance, and flexibility, and when open models can outperform proprietary alternatives.

On the Real World AI Stage, Manos Koukoumidis, CEO and co-founder of Oumi, will present "Which AI Should Your Company Actually Deploy: Rent, Customize, or Build." The session covers whether startups should build their own models, when customization can become a competitive advantage, and how to choose between open and proprietary AI, using audience polls, startup scenarios, and a framework.

Nader Khalil, Director of Developer Tech at Nvidia, and Sydney Sykes, Global Head of VC Partnerships at Nvidia, will take the Builders Stage for "Building AI Startups Worth Betting On," examining founders' current choices and trade-offs between frontier APIs and open-weight models.

On the Disrupt Stage, Anna Goldie, founder and CEO of Ricursive Intelligence, and Azalia Mirhoseini, founder and CTO, will present "When AI Starts Designing Its Own Hardware," exploring how AI optimizes chips and hardware.