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Startups & Venture·August 7, 2026·1 min read

The founder’s guide to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Everything you need to know

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When a mainstream conference orients around one question—how to build an enduring company in the AI era—it’s a sign LPs and acquirers are asking the same thing. Founders should treat this as a constraint: every narrative, deck, and roadmap now gets graded on AI-native defensibility, not AI-adjacent features.

Startups & Venture

Ad measurement company VideoAmp laid off ~20% of staff this week, citing AI as a "major platform shift"; sources: 50-60 employees were cut, including its CTO

Calling AI a ‘major platform shift’ while cutting ~20% of staff — including the CTO — is a clear signal that adtech is bracing for margin compression and automation. If you sell into marketing or measurement, expect buyers to push harder on AI-native efficiency and vendor consolidation over the next 12 months.