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Disrupt 2026 tackles pre-seed funding without a product
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will host a panel on raising pre-seed capital without an MVP, as AI shifts expectations for early-stage founders.
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Raising pre-seed funding has gotten tougher as AI startups pull in large seed rounds and push investor expectations earlier. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, one Builders Stage session will focus directly on that pressure: “Winning Pre-Seed Without a Product.”
The panel is aimed at founders who have a strong idea but no concrete product to show yet, even as AI tools make building an MVP faster than before. It’s part of the event’s broader Builders Stage programming, which covers operational decisions, fundraising, go-to-market strategy, and other practical startup issues. Disrupt 2026 runs at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 13-15.
The session brings together three investors with different perspectives on early-stage backing.
Sandhya Venkatachalam, founder and managing partner at Axiom Partners, leads the firm’s newly launched $52 million early-stage fund focused on connecting founders with top AI practitioners. She previously worked as a GP at Khosla Ventures and Social Capital, where she was the first investor in Groq and also led investments in GalileoAI, ForethoughtAI, and FirefliesAI, which have either been acquired or reached unicorn status.
Puneet Agarwal, managing partner at True Ventures, has been with the firm since 2008. True Ventures, founded in 2005, focuses on early-stage startups and now spans 12 funds, with ties to more than 500 companies, 1,050 founders, more than 60 acquisitions, and seven IPOs. Agarwal’s investing is centered on enterprise infrastructure and applications in the AI era.
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Austin Clements, managing partner at Slauson & Co., brings a different angle, with a focus on economic inclusion and small business empowerment. He launched an accelerator within the firm and also serves as the founding chair of PledgeLA, a diversity initiative backed by the Annenberg Foundation and the Los Angeles mayor’s office. TechCrunch notes that Slauson & Co. invested in Glīd, the winner of Startup Battlefield 2026.
TechCrunch says this is only the start of its Disrupt 2026 programming rollout ahead of the October event in San Francisco.
Enterprise Editor
Marcus follows the money. He covers enterprise software, cloud architecture, and the tectonic shifts in Big Tech strategy. He translates dense earnings calls and complex M&A activity into actionable insights about where the industry is actually heading. If a tech giant makes a silent pivot, Marcus is usually the first to notice.
via TechCrunch
