TechCrunch's Disrupt 2026 is expanding its footprint across San Francisco with a slate of side events orchestrated by corporate sponsors and startup ecosystem players. The conference hub at Moscone West now extends into curated networking experiences designed to connect founders, investors, and operators beyond the main stage.
KOTRA, South Korea's trade and investment promotion agency, is hosting founder dinners targeting startups interested in Korean market entry and cross-border expansion. The organization brings direct access to Korean venture capital and corporate partners seeking international partnerships. WayFounder, a platform connecting founders with mentors and capital sources, is running investor meetups and workshops focused on early-stage fundraising mechanics. These sessions typically attract seed and Series A founders preparing pitch decks or navigating their first institutional rounds.
Enterprise Ireland represents the Irish government's economic development authority, organizing roundtables for European founders and investors exploring partnerships between Irish tech companies and American venture-backed startups. The sessions tap into Dublin's growing startup ecosystem, home to companies like Workhuman and companies in the fintech and SaaS verticals. SafetyWing, the travel insurance startup, is organizing happy hours and casual networking events aimed at remote-first founders and distributed teams. The company's positioning attracts attendees interested in global hiring, international operations, and location-independent business models.
Descope, an authentication and identity platform, is running technical workshops focused on security infrastructure for scaling startups. The sessions target engineering leaders and product teams implementing passwordless authentication and identity verification systems at growth stage.
The distributed event model reflects how startup conferences have evolved beyond single-venue experiences. Sponsors gain direct access to qualified founders and investors. Attendees find specialized networking aligned with their fundraising stage, geography, or technical interests rather than generic conference mixers. Disrupt Week attendees can now layer specialized sessions from KOTRA, WayFounder, Enterprise Ireland, SafetyWing and Descope into their conference schedule, creating customized tracks that match their strategic priorities.
This expansion of side programming mirrors practices at other major tech conferences like Web Summit and Rise. Sponsors pay for dedicated programming slots that position their platforms or services as relevant to specific founder cohorts. For attendees, the fragmented calendar creates FOMO risk but also enables precision networking. A Series A founder in identity infrastructure can attend Descope's workshop, then hit SafetyWing's happy hour to connect with founders scaling distributed teams. A Korean-focused entrepreneur can prioritize KOTRA dinners while attending Disrupt keynotes.
TechCrunch publishes the master calendar to help attendees navigate competing events during Disrupt Week. The publication benefits from increased engagement metrics as attendees reference the guide multiple times to coordinate their schedules. Moscone West remains the gravitational center, but the conference now operates as a hub for dozens of satellite experiences across San Francisco venues.