TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Blackstone's Jas Khaira to discuss building lasting AI companies

Jas Khaira, global head of Blackstone N1 and Blackstone Growth, will speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 on the Builders Stage in a session titled "Building the Next Generation of AI Giants." His talk will focus on how investors evaluate AI startups and what distinguishes companies capable of enduring growth from those riding short-term momentum.

AI companies often require significant capital not just for product development and customer acquisition, but also for infrastructure such as compute and data centers. Khaira will discuss how founders should approach capital decisions as they scale, and what Blackstone looks for when backing category-defining companies.

Recent Blackstone investments

One example illustrating the scale of these investments is Blackstone's agreement, together with co-investors, to invest up to $600 million in primary equity in Indian AI infrastructure company Neysa, which also planned to raise an additional $600 million in debt financing.

In July, Anthropic launched Ode with Anthropic, an AI implementation company backed through a $1.5 billion joint venture involving Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, Goldman Sachs and other investors — showing that capital is flowing beyond infrastructure into AI deployment services as well.

Khaira joined Blackstone in 2004 and also heads the firm's tactical opportunities division in the Americas. He founded Blackstone N1, a platform for growth, hybrid, and perpetual private equity investing across the AI ecosystem and other high-growth sectors.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will take place October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The event is expected to draw more than 10,000 founders, investors, operators and tech leaders, along with over 250 speakers and 300 exhibiting startups.