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# Moats, Margins & M&A in the AI Era


- **Date:** Friday, Sep 25, 2026
- **Time:** 15:30–16:00 (30 min)
- **Room:** Tech Leaders Stage
- **Event:** World Congress 2026 North America

## Description

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.

## Speakers

### [Ravi Belani](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@ravi-belani)

Chairperson & Founder of  Alchemist Accelerator
### [Ashish Aggarwal](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@ashish-a)

Partner at IronArc Ventures
### [Becky Flint](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@becky-flint)

Founder & CEO of Dragonboat
### [Dr. Yvonne Lutsch](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@dr-yvonne-lutsch)

Investment Director at Lam Capital


## Related talks at this congress

- [What AI Startups Are VCs Actually Funding in 2026](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-north-america/sessions/1756-what-ai-startups-are) — Mariane Bekker, Eric Bahn, Jeremiah Owyang, Suman Natarajan
- [From Boardroom to Build Pipeline: What AI Governance Actually Looks Like in Practice](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-north-america/sessions/1947-from-boardroom-to) — Anita Ganti
- [Building AI Products vs. Building With AI](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-north-america/sessions/1841-building-ai-products) — Aparna Dhinakaran, Rukmini Reddy, Tamar Bercovici
- [Building AI that fits your business](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-north-america/sessions/1915-building-ai-that) — Benny Chen

## Watch remotely

[Watch live in the app](https://app.wearedevelopers.com)