AI startups must defend against platform updates, says TechCrunch Disrupt session

For AI founders, the biggest competitive threat may no longer be another startup. It may be the platform you’re building on. Every major release from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google raises the same question: What happens if the feature you’ve spent the last year building suddenly becomes part of the platform?

It’s a question reshaping product strategy, fundraising, and company valuations across the AI ecosystem. Not long ago, founders worried about competing with other startups. Today, they’re competing with foundation model companies introducing entirely new capabilities every few months.

That changes almost every strategic decision — from what products to build and where to differentiate to how to raise capital and create lasting value. The conversation moves from “Can we build it?” to “Can we still own it?”

That’s the challenge at the heart of “What Happens When OpenAI Ships Your Roadmap,” a Builders Stage session, featuring leaders Michel Tricot (Airbyte), Rob Toews (Radical Ventures), and Linda Tong (Webflow), at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, taking place October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Disrupt is the flagship startup event where 10,000+ founders, investors, and operators gather for 250+ sessions exploring the market forces reshaping how startups are built, funded, and scaled.

See how founders are responding to AI’s biggest competitive shift. Secure your pass with savings of up to $200 to Disrupt before rates increase on September 25.

When products become features

One of the biggest strategic risks facing AI startups today isn’t losing to another founder — it’s discovering that your competitive advantage has become someone else’s product update.

That’s the reality this session is designed to confront. As foundation models rapidly evolve, capabilities that once differentiated an AI startup can quickly become table stakes. Increasingly, founders aren’t just competing with other startups—they’re competing with the platforms powering the AI ecosystem itself.

Here, founders will examine why the next generation of AI winners may not be defined by the smartest models. They’ll be defined by everything the models can’t easily replace: proprietary data, deeply embedded workflows, customer relationships, domain expertise, and trust.

The reality founders increasingly need to prepare for is, “Can we build something customers will still value after the next model release?”

This session explores where defensibility still exists, how founders can respond when AI giants move into adjacent markets, and what separates companies that become features from those that remain businesses.

Learn how founders are building beyond the next model release. Register for Disrupt today and save up to $200.

Three perspectives on AI’s biggest strategic question, all laid out on the Builders Stage

To unpack this challenge, the Builders Stage session brings together a founder, an operator, and an investor, each offering a different view on creating defensible AI companies.

How do you create lasting value when the technology underneath your product keeps changing?

Michel Tricot has spent his career building the data integration infrastructure that powers analytics, operations, and AI. As CEO and Co-founder of Airbyte, he has grown the open-source platform to more than 7,000 customers—including 18% of the Fortune 500 — giving him firsthand insight into where durable businesses are built beyond the foundation model.

How do software companies stay differentiated as AI reshapes customer expectations?

As CEO of Webflow, Linda Tong is leading one of the industry’s top visual development platforms through one of SaaS’s biggest technology shifts. Her experience scaling Webflow and leading teams at Google, Cisco, and the NFL gives founders practical insight into evolving products without losing competitive advantage.

What convinces investors that an AI company will still matter three years from now?

As a Partner at Radical Ventures, Rob Toews evaluates AI startups every day, identifying where competitive advantages still exist—and where products risk becoming features.

Together, they bring unique perspectives to one defining question facing AI startups today: What can you build that the platforms can’t simply ship themselves?

Secure your Disrupt pass and hear how founders are building companies, not just AI features.

Learn how to build lasting AI defensibility at Disrupt

Foundation models will continue to improve. That much is inevitable. As OpenAI and Anthropic continue expanding their capabilities, founders must decide how they’ll continue to differentiate.

Tomorrow’s AI leaders will be defined by everything the models can’t easily replace — companies customers continue to choose because of the workflows they enable, the data they own, the problems they solve, and the trust they’ve earned.

That’s the strategic shift this session is designed to explore. Rather than reacting to every new model release, founders will hear where defensibility still exists, what enterprise and startup buyers continue to value, and how to build companies that remain relevant as AI evolves.

If you’re building an AI company, the question isn’t whether foundation models will continue to evolve. It’s whether your company will continue creating value as they do. The greatest risk isn’t building a weak product — it’s building a strong one that eventually becomes someone else’s feature. You don’t want to miss this interactive session on the Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.

Secure your pass to Disrupt to hear how founders, operators, and investors are redefining AI defensibility, and save up to $200 before September 25.