World Congress 2026 North America

Moats, Margins & M&A in the AI Era

September 25, 2026 15:30 – 16:00 · 30 min Tech Leaders Stage

What this session covers

Top venture investors, Corporate VCs, and corporate development leaders discuss how AI is reshaping software economics, technical defensibility, and strategic value. The conversation will explore where capital is flowing, which moats can endure as foundation models move up the stack, how margins and return profiles are changing, and what enterprise acquirers actually look for in AI-native platforms. From building category-defining companies to positioning for strategic partnerships or M&A, the panel will examine what it takes to create resilient, scalable, and strategically valuable technology businesses in today’s AI market.

World Congress 2026 North America

Related talks

Open session

What AI Startups Are VCs Actually Funding in 2026

  • Mariane Bekker

    You.com

    Head of DevRel

  • Eric Bahn

    Hustle Fund

    Co-Founder & General Partner

  • Jeremiah Owyang

    Blitzscaling Ventures

    General Partner

  • Suman Natarajan

    B Capital

    Senior Principal & Enterprise Growth Investor

Open session

From Boardroom to Build Pipeline: What AI Governance Actually Looks Like in Practice

  • Anita Ganti

    Kavia AI

    Board member, Corporate Director & Technology Executive

Open session

Building AI Products vs. Building With AI

  • Aparna Dhinakaran

    Arize

    Chief Product Officer & Founder

  • Rukmini Reddy

    PagerDuty

    Senior VP of Engineering

  • Tamar Bercovici

    Box

    VP of Engineering

Open session

Building AI that fits your business

  • Benny Chen

    Fireworks

    Co-Founder

All sessions at this congress