TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Blackstone’s Jas Khaira on building the next generation of AI giants
Source: TechCrunch ↗ (cross-verified by 2 outlets — full list below)
Blackstone’s global head of N1, Jas Khaira, will headline the Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 with a session titled “Building the Next Generation of AI Giants.” The event opens on October 13 at Moscone West in San Francisco and expects more than 10,000 founders, investors, operators and tech leaders, alongside 250 plus speakers and 300 plus exhibiting startups. Khaira, who joined Blackstone in 2004 and now leads Blackstone N1, Blackstone Growth and Tactical Opportunities Americas, will outline what the firm looks for when backing category‑defining AI companies, how founders should think about capital as they scale, and the traits that separate fleeting growth from enduring businesses.
The talk will draw on recent Blackstone investments that illustrate the scale of financing required for AI growth. In one deal, Blackstone and co‑investors committed up to $600 million in primary equity to Indian AI infrastructure firm Neysa, which also plans to raise a further $600 million in debt. Another example is Anthropic’s launch of Ode, an AI implementation company funded through a $1.5 billion joint venture that includes Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, Goldman Sachs and others. These investments place Blackstone at the center of questions about where capital is needed in the AI ecosystem, which opportunities merit such funding, and which businesses have the potential to endure beyond early momentum.
Khaira will emphasize that rapid growth often forces founders to make large financing decisions before they know if early traction will translate into lasting success. He will discuss how capital must support not only product development and customer acquisition but also compute, data‑center and other infrastructure costs essential for scaling. Attendees will gain an investor’s perspective on evaluating early momentum, financing strategies and building for the long term, while also having opportunities for matchmaking, dealmaking and networking with potential investors, customers and partners throughout the three‑day conference.
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The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 0.8% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.9% with inflation at 1.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 7.9%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at 0.7% with inflation at 7.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
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