Get M&A Answers at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Time continues to race ahead, and so do our preparations for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. We are thrilled to announce a powerful new panel designed specifically for founders navigating merger and acquisition strategy. But first, a limited-time ticket deal you won’t want to overlook.

Disrupt returns to San Francisco’s Moscone West from October 13–15, and for a short window, you can bring a colleague, co-founder, investor, or teammate for significantly less. Purchase one Disrupt 2026 pass here and receive 50% off a second pass of the same ticket type. This offer ends May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Regarding the programming that will captivate you across Disrupt’s three days, let’s explore our latest panel on the Builders Stage.

Learn at Disrupt how M&A functions as an early-stage strategy

If you have been following our recent reporting, acquisitions and acqui-hires remain highly active, particularly within the AI sector. Consider OpenAI’s purchase of Hiro, Anthropic’s acquisition of Vercept, Google bringing on the team behind Hume AI, or Databricks absorbing two startups solely for its security product. It has been an eventful year.

Being acquired is not necessarily the conclusion of a long founder journey; it can be a deliberate part of an early-stage path. With these and many other deals in mind, we have assembled a panel of experts to equip founders with essential knowledge about the M&A options available to them.

Their insights will provide you with a playbook for creating optionality around a potential sale, strategies to make your startup more attractive to buyers, and the practical realities of navigating the acquisition process. Let’s introduce our industry leaders.

Aklil Ibssa, Head of Corporate Development and M&A, Coinbase

Aklil Ibssa offers a buyer-side perspective from one of crypto’s largest companies. He leads Coinbase’s acquisition strategy and execution, identifying where the company should buy, invest, partner, or build. He has overseen more than 14 acquisitions and nearly 50 early- and later-stage investments. As one of the first hires on Coinbase’s corporate development team, he helped build an M&A program that has become among the most active in crypto, with over 40 completed acquisitions.

Crucially for founders, Ibssa has seen firsthand how strategic buyers evaluate young companies,whether for technology, talent, licenses, product velocity, or other factors. He will discuss acquisitions like Deribit, Liquifi, and Echo, as well as prominent investments in startups such as Kalshi.

Lindsey Mignano, Founder, Mignano Law Group

Lindsey Mignano brings the legal and structural expertise that often determines whether an early-stage M&A deal reaches completion. As founder of Mignano Law Group, she represents emerging technology companies, SMEs, venture-backed startups, and venture firms as outside general counsel. Her practice covers everything from SAFE notes, priced rounds, and bridge financings to buy-side and sell-side acquisitions, acqui-hires, and more.

This background uniquely positions her to educate founders who lack insight into how early M&A readiness can begin. Many of her clients are seed through Series B companies, including enterprise SaaS, PaaS, and AI startups,exactly the types of companies now facing strategic interest. She will ground the conversation in the realities of cap tables, contracts, asset sales, and the necessary work for acquisitions to happen.

Karl Alomar, Managing Partner, M13

Now, an investor and operator joins the conversation. As managing partner at M13, Karl Alomar backs seed and Series A software founders across infrastructure, fintech, developer productivity, and other categories feeling the impact of the AI revolution. He has intimate knowledge of the earliest strategic decisions founders face: when to raise, when to partner, when to accelerate growth, and when an acquisition path may create the best outcome for the company, team, and investors.

As COO of DigitalOcean, Alomar helped build the cloud infrastructure company from its first product to roughly $250 million in ARR and an eventual NYSE IPO, with its valuation peaking around $15 billion. As a founder, he has also been part of the acquisition cycle. China Export Finance grew to approximately $140 million in revenue before being acquired in 2010, and Clearview Networks was acquired in 2000. That combination gives Karl a nuanced perspective on the core question facing founders in the audience: When should they keep building with their team, and when is M&A the right path forward?

Get your second pass at 50% off by May 8

Remember: If you register for Disrupt 2026 by May 8 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can take advantage of this offer to get your pass with savings of up to $410, and receive 50% off a second pass of the same ticket type. The insights Disrupt offers are best shared with a partner or colleague, so do not miss this opportunity.