TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Adds Side Events Around the Main Conference
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will run October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Organizers published a first side-events schedule on September 17, with affiliated events set for October 11-14. TechCrunch
The application window to host a side event is closed. The final deadline was September 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT. TechCrunch
Side programming starts the weekend before Disrupt. Two events are listed for Sunday, October 11. "Happy Hour with AI-Created Drinks by AI Barmen" runs 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. "EPIC SF Demo Night @ Finding Next Moat," with ten early-stage startups, runs 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
One event is listed for October 12. NMI will host "Serve, Swipe, & Settle: Mixer for SaaS leaders scaling into embedded payments" from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT. It is aimed at subscription software companies working to build payment processing into their own products.
October 14 has three overlapping evening events. Backblaze and Flamethrower will host "The Afterburn: TechCrunch Disrupt Edition" from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. PT. PeakXV Partners will host "Ecosystem Mixer" from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PT. Augment and Mintz will host "Liquid Assets: A Private Markets Cocktail Party" from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PT.
Side events sit outside the main Moscone West program. Listed formats include rooftop mixers, breakfast meetups, and pitch nights. TechCrunch Hosts run their own registration and programming. Attendance is separate from the main conference pass.
The broader context here is common at tech conferences. Stage talks are easy to replay. Hallway talks are not. Small meetings often give engineers and founders more practical help on topics like payments, infrastructure, and private company shares.
In my view, the early list fits that pattern. The payments and private-markets events serve different specialists. The demo night helps with discovery and hiring. The mixers keep working relationships active. It does not replace product testing, but it shortens the search for the right person.
Looking ahead at what this enables for travel, timing counts. October 11 is two days before Disrupt. October 12 is the night before it opens. October 14 overlaps with the main week. That wider spread gives visitors with a specific problem more chances to meet the right contact.
