Disrupt 2026 session on pre-seed funding for AI startups
Pre-seed founders face increasing difficulty securing funding as AI startups dominate seed-stage investment rounds. TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will feature a session dedicated to helping early-stage founders obtain pre-seed funding through effective storytelling and conviction, even without a finished product. The session addresses the growing gap between pre-seed and seed-stage funding expectations in today's competitive landscape.
Key takeaways
- 1.AI startups are concentrating a disproportionate share of seed funding, raising the bar for non-AI founders seeking early-stage capital
- 2.Storytelling and founder conviction are critical tools for pre-seed fundraising when a polished product doesn't yet exist
- 3.Pre-seed founders are increasingly expected to meet seed-stage standards, creating a funding gap that requires specialized strategies to overcome
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No product? No problem. This Disrupt 2026 session shows how to get pre-seed funding with conviction, storytelling
It’s not just you: AI startups are taking in a huge amount of seed funding, and in the process making things harder for anyone looking for funding even at a pre-seed stage. We’ve covered the trend in detail, and at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt event, we want to help pre-seed founders now being held to seed-stage […]
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