{"id":120260,"date":"2026-07-27T16:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/120260\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:01:11","slug":"power-up-your-ai-infrastructure-a-first-look-at-the-smart-systems-stage-agenda-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/120260\/","title":{"rendered":"Power up\u00a0your AI infrastructure!\u00a0A first look at\u00a0the Smart Systems Stage agenda at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI doesn\u2019t run on code alone \u2014 it requires massive amounts of power, and that demand is increasingly becoming a critical bottleneck. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026<\/a>, the Smart Systems Stage will be where energy, infrastructure, and technology collide, covering everything from fusion breakthroughs to the grid strain AI is putting on the entire economy.<\/p>\n

From October 13-15 in San Francisco\u2019s Moscone Center, join leaders from Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Helion, Inertia, Bloom Energy, and more as they dig into what it actually takes to power the next decade of innovation. We\u2019re tackling everything from commercial fusion\u2019s path, to the grid and why utilities and startups are racing to modernize aging infrastructure, to how data center operators are scrambling to secure the electricity that AI\u2019s growth depends on. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re also closing in on the end of our current pricing window, so this is your chance to save on all of our tickets for founders, investors, and more \u2014 grab your ticket here before our current discounts are gone<\/a>! As for the agenda at hand, let\u2019s explore the Smart Systems Stage lineup so far:<\/p>\n

Bringing Fusion to the Grid<\/p>\n

Leaders from Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Helion break down the breakthroughs driving commercial fusion forward, the challenges still ahead, and what it will take to get fusion power onto the grid at scale.<\/p>\n

With David Kirtley, CEO, Helion, and Brandon Sorbom, Chief Science Officer, Commonwealth Fusion Systems<\/p>\n

How Twilio\u2019s Founder Is Tackling the Power Problem<\/p>\n

Inertia CEO Jeff Lawson joins for a candid fireside chat on his path from founding Twilio to leading one of the best-funded fusion power startups in the world \u2014 and how scaling Twilio is shaping his approach to talent, timelines, and the hard engineering questions ahead. <\/p>\n

With Jeff Lawson, CEO, Inertia\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rewiring the Grid for the Electric Age<\/p>\n

Electricity demand is growing faster than the infrastructure built to support it. This panel explores what it takes to modernize the power system, where investment is flowing, and how utilities, startups, and technology providers are building a more resilient, flexible grid. <\/p>\n

With Drew Baglino, Founder & CEO, Heron Power; Apoorv Bhargava, CEO and Co-founder, WeaveGrid; and more speakers to be announced<\/p>\n

AI\u2019s Power Problem<\/p>\n

As compute demand skyrockets, data center operators and energy companies are racing to secure power and expand infrastructure before it becomes the bottleneck that slows AI\u2019s next wave. Hear how leaders across both industries are tackling it.<\/p>\n

With Sara Spangelo, President & Co-Founder, Ambrosia Energy; Bill Thayer, SVP, Head of Datacenter Solutions, Bloom Energy; and more speakers to be announced<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re building the next energy breakthrough, rethinking grid infrastructure, or just trying to understand what\u2019s really constraining AI\u2019s growth, the Smart Systems Stage is built for founders and operators who need the full picture \u2014 not just a headline and an LLM summary. <\/p>\n

Plus, joining us at Disrupt 2026 means you can get access to every other stage, all of the networking, every side event, and the rest of our full speaker lineup. It\u2019s a three-day deep dive in the heart of the startup community you\u2019ll never forget, so register today<\/a>!<\/p>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AI doesn\u2019t run on code alone \u2014 it requires massive amounts of power, and that demand is increasingly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,60960],"class_list":["post-120260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ai","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-techcrunch-disrupt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}