Blackstone's Jas Khaira to Headline Disrupt 2026 Builders Stage on Backing AI's Next Giants

TechCrunch has added another finance heavyweight to the Disrupt 2026 lineup. Jas Khaira of Blackstone will appear on the Builders Stage to discuss how the next wave of large AI companies gets built.

Blackstone is one of the world's biggest alternative asset managers, and its growing interest in AI reflects a wider shift in who is writing the checks. Infrastructure, data centers and late-stage growth capital are now central to the AI race, and firms with deep balance sheets are increasingly competing with traditional venture investors for a stake in the sector.

That context makes Khaira's session one to watch for founders. The Builders Stage is aimed at people actively scaling companies, so the conversation is expected to focus on practical questions. What separates an AI startup that becomes a durable business from one that fades once the hype cools? How should founders think about capital needs, compute costs and long-term defensibility? And what do large institutional investors look for when they back a young company?

The source announcement does not detail the exact session format or time, so attendees should check the official Disrupt agenda as it fills out. Organizers are also promoting a ticket offer, with 50% off a second pass for those who register.

For startups hunting for funding, hearing directly from an investor at a firm of Blackstone's scale offers a rare look at how big money is evaluating AI bets. For investors and operators, it is a chance to compare notes on where the sector is heading as the pace of company building shows no sign of slowing.