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TechCrunch is giving startups until 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, September 18 to secure a $12,500 exhibit table at Disrupt 2026, warning that tables are limited and sold on a first-come basis. The package includes 10 event passes, Expo Hall access, lead capture through the event app, press-list inclusion and Silver Tier sponsor branding.
Gilt Groupe, the once high-profile flash-sale e-commerce company, served as an early training ground for many employees who later launched their own startups. A number of these founders were women who credit their time at Gilt with giving them the operational and entrepreneurial skills to strike out on their own.
A new essay outlines a startup evaluation heuristic focused on power rather than incremental revenue growth: asking how a company can own the customer relationship, control money flow, become a platform others build on, or create network effects. The piece argues these structural shifts can multiply a company's value far more than simple revenue optimization.
TechCrunch is giving startups until September 18 at 11:59 p.m. PT to reserve an exhibit table at Disrupt 2026, warning that inventory is limited and may run out before the cutoff. Each table spans 6 feet by 30 inches and sits in the Expo Hall for the full three-day event, coming with 10 team passes, lead-generation tools via the Disrupt app, event branding, and press-list access.
A longtime startup operations executive with no coding background describes building an AI-powered assistant to handle administrative and organizational tasks, running it for roughly $25 daily. The project marks a shift for someone who spent two decades on the business side of startups without ever building software themselves.
A software developer recounts how a fascination with building things from scratch drew them into programming, initially learning PHP, HTML and CSS to create back-end systems and websites. Over time, the writer says the appeal shifted from the act of coding itself toward creating products people actually use, pushing them toward startups and leadership roles rather than large companies or pure engineering work.
Opalite Health, a physician-led startup building real-time medical interpretation technology, is hiring its first go-to-market employee to lead enterprise sales into hospitals and health systems. The company, founded by veterans of Apple, Meta, and Codex, wants someone to build its sales motion from scratch, covering everything from outbound strategy to contracting.
The RIAA's latest report shows CDs generated $171.1 million in the first half of 2026, up 58.6% from the same period in 2025, with unit sales rising 45.7% to 17.5 million. That growth reverses a decline seen throughout 2025, when full-year CD revenue and units both fell versus 2024.
Fusion startup Realta Fusion signed a deal with utility Madison Gas and Electric to explore building a 200-megawatt fusion power plant in Wisconsin by the mid-2030s. The utility also made an undisclosed equity investment in Realta, which is converting a former Oscar Mayer factory in Madison into its research facility.
A startup investor who has backed nearly 20 companies argues that after hundreds of pitches, the idea itself rarely determines success. Instead, founders who combine humility, adaptability and decisive action under uncertainty are the ones who push through predictable problems like execution gaps, cash shortages and weak teams.
TechCrunch has announced that Anthropic's Head of Applied AI, Cat de Jong, and a senior OpenAI productivity executive will speak on the AI Stage at Disrupt 2026, running October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. The sessions, sponsored by Google for Startups, will address enterprise AI deployment lessons, pricing strategy amid model commoditization, and rebuilding security for autonomous agents.
TechCrunch is inviting companies, investors and community organizers to apply to host official Side Events around Disrupt 2026, which runs October 13-15 in San Francisco. Approved events can take place anytime from October 10-16 and will be promoted to Disrupt's more than 10,000 attendees through official marketing channels. Applications close September 4.