Highlights from TechCrunch Disrupt in 2025

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Gratitude to all who shaped this year’s San Francisco event — and to the 10,000 attendees who packed the venue, forged relationships, and departed with enriched perspectives. Couldn’t attend? The photos below present a glimpse of the experience.

Until we meet again next year.

Vinod Khosla informed attendees that he rejects the idea that AI’s energy demands will ruin climate efforts. Geothermal energy is close at hand, he noted, while fusion is still some time away. He also spoke about his agreement with President Donald Trump (deregulation) and disagreement (immigration): “I’ll just say that this administration’s tenure is finite,” he quipped.

That is Roelof Botha onstage, with an audience eager to hear his insights. The Sequoia partner discussed his firm’s selection process for identifying promising ventures, the potential impact of government ownership in startups, and advised founders to avoid playing games with timing, urging them to secure funding now if needed in six months. Bubbles do burst.

Here’s Kevin Damoa from Glīd Technologies, the victor of this year’s Battlefield competition, alongside Isabelle Johannessen, Battlefield’s leader. She and TC’s Michael Schick dedicate months collaborating with numerous startups, readying them for this moment. The embrace is well-deserved..

Roy Lee, founder of Cluely, the app famous for its motto “cheat at everything,” keeps the crowd entertained with his profanity-laced perspective on marketing success. “People are doing increasingly wild things every day, so to stand out, you need to do something even wilder.” (Pictured left, Maxwell Zeff, holding his own.)

If Tristan Thompson, formerly of the Cleveland Cavaliers, misses the NBA, he doesn’t betray it. He’s forging a business empire and posing incisive questions about the league he left. When probed about whether players might manipulate Basketball Fun — a web3 platform that transforms NBA players into marketable tokens — he countered: “It’s the same question we ask about referees. Aren’t they gaming the system?” When moderator Rebecca Bellan inquired whether he meant NBA referees accept bribes, Thompson simply shrugged. “It’s just a question that merits asking,” he stated.

Our very own Sean O’Kane sharing a moment with Wayve’s co-founder and CEO, Alex Kendall. Kendall’s smile might also be due to the fact that his U.K.-based autonomous driving startup — whose software functions as “brains for cars” — is reportedly in negotiations to secure another $2 billion from SoftBank and Microsoft, reaching an $8 billion valuation.

Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, creators of Phia, the AI-driven shopping assistant, captivated Disrupt’s audience with their passion for simplifying the discovery of high-quality, pre-owned clothing. Gates, daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates, showed humor when asked by moderator Amanda Silberling about what her renowned parents have gleaned from her. With a grin, Gates remarked, “Hopefully, some style! I don’t consider myself particularly stylish; I’m just enthusiastic about building in the consumer space, but now I get random emails from my family asking, ‘Should I wear this to this?’”