Jas Khaira, global head of Blackstone N1, will speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 on Oct. 13, detailing how the alternative asset manager evaluates AI companies and funds their infrastructure needs.
Khaira's session, titled "Building the Next Generation of AI Giants," will focus on the capital allocation decisions that separate AI startups with sustainable unit economics from those burning cash on unproven business models. The session will address a fundamental tension in AI investing: founders often face major financing decisions before their revenue model has proven durable.
Blackstone's recent investments reveal its capital strategy. The firm, along with co-investors, committed up to $600 million in primary equity to Neysa, an Indian AI infrastructure company, with an additional $600 million expected through debt. In July, Blackstone participated in a $1.5 billion joint venture with Hellman Friedman, Goldman Sachs and other investors to back Anthropic's Ode, an AI implementation company.
These bets position Blackstone at a critical juncture: deciding where AI capital is most scarce, which opportunities justify large checks, and what business models can sustain margins at scale. The difference between companies that achieve early revenue and those built to endure often hinges on how founders finance three buckets: compute and data center costs, talent acquisition, and customer acquisition—each with different scaling economics.
Khaira will share Blackstone's specific criteria for identifying category-defining companies and advise founders on capital raising strategy for infrastructure, talent, and expansion. The session will differentiate between early traction and durable competitive advantage.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 opens Oct. 13 and is expected to draw over 10,000 tech leaders.
