Money has evolved. It’s no longer just the cash in your wallet or a simple balance in a legacy bank account. Today, the world of finance is moving at the speed of software, and the implications for founders and operators are profound. This October, at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco, we are focusing on this progression with the launch of a brand-new, dedicated experience: the Smart Money Stage at the Moscone Center.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, running from October 13–15, has consistently been a hub for high-signal networking, real deals, and tactical insights. With the Smart Money Stage, we’re digging into where the friction in global finance is finally breaking, and where the new, AI-driven rails are actually being laid.
A New Stage for a New Era
The Smart Money Stage is where fintech, payments, and AI collide. We aren’t interested in fluff or recycled talking points. This stage is built for the people actually building the tools—the founders, the ops teams, the VCs—who need to understand the realities of shipping global financial products.
You’ll hear directly from leaders at companies like Circle, Robinhood, American Express, Plaid, Airwallex, TabaPay, and Emergence. They're coming to Disrupt to talk about the messy, hard work of building regulated financial infrastructure that is actually scalable.
The Future of Money
Stablecoins and instant payments aren’t just jargon anymore; they are changing how money moves around the world. In our first major session, we look at how these newer payment systems compare to, and often clash with, traditional banking infrastructure. Where do FedNow and private networks fit into the picture, and how are market and regulatory changes reshaping the landscape?
We'll be hearing from Nikhil Chandhok (Chief Product & Technology Officer at Circle), Rodney Robinson (Co-founder and CEO of TabaPay), and Lotti Siniscalco (General Partner at Emergence). They’ll address where these systems are gaining real traction and which gnarly challenges are still left to solve. If you’re building the next payment rail, this is where you need to be.
Winning the Modern Consumer
The way we pay, invest, and manage money is changing faster than ever. Take Robinhood, for instance. It started as a trading app and has ballooned into a massive financial platform spanning banking, credit, crypto, and even prediction markets—now boasting a market cap north of $90 billion.
At Disrupt, we’re hosting Abhishek Fatehpuria, Robinhood's Head of Product. He’ll explain how consumer expectations are shifting and, crucially, what it actually takes to build products that maintain trust and scale through massive growth. It’s about more than just a slick UI; it’s about architecting a platform that customers trust with their entire financial lives.
AI, Trust and Verification
As AI moves from generating content to taking concrete action, financial institutions are rightfully forced to rethink their entire approach to trust, oversight, and security.
Our panel will explore how AI agents are transforming financial workflows. We’ll look at why human judgment and transparency remain essential even when the AI is ostensibly doing the heavy lifting. Our speakers—Hannah Bozian (VP of Agentic Partnerships & Strategy at American Express), Pedro Sanzovo (Head of Fraud and Identity at Plaid), and Victoria Zuo (Partner at QED Investors)—will dissect how companies are approaching the massive challenges of privacy, fraud prevention, and identity verification in an AI-powered world. This isn't theoretical; we'll focus on how they are handling these problems right now.
Building Global Infrastructure
Traditional financial systems were simply not built for the modern, truly global digital business. Airwallex, which investors now value at $11 billion, is taking a different approach by building an AI-native financial operating system. Their goal is to help companies effortlessly move money across borders and embed complex financial products directly into their own platforms.
Jack Zhang, Founder and CEO of Airwallex, will give an inside look at what it really takes to build regulated financial infrastructure that powers millions of businesses. He’ll explore how AI is redefining payment processing and why moving away from traditional, siloed systems is now a business imperative rather than just a technical upgrade.
Join the Discussion
The Smart Money Stage is for operators who need signal, not spin. Whether you’re figuring out where AI fits into your fraud strategy, or you're trying to understand the next wave of consumer finance, this is where the conversation is happening.
Beyond this stage, joining us at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 means gaining access to networking opportunities with 10,000 founders and operators, attending side events, and learning from speakers across the entire event. It’s a intense three-day sprint designed to leave you better prepared for the next year of innovation. The current pricing window is closing, so check out our ticket options right here. Don’t miss your chance to be in the room when these ideas are debated.
