Three powerhouse venture capital firms are pulling back the curtain on their 2026 investment strategies. Index Ventures, Greylock, and Felicis will reveal their sectors of focus and what's driving the 'smart money' decisions at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, giving founders rare direct insight into how the next wave of investments is being shaped.
The venture capital landscape is shifting, and three of Silicon Valley's most influential firms are ready to show their cards. Index Ventures, Greylock, and Felicis are sending their top partners to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 to discuss where they're placing their biggest bets for 2026 and beyond.
The Builders Stage panel brings together three seasoned investors with distinctly different investment philosophies but overlapping interests in the technologies reshaping entire industries. Index Ventures' Nina Achadjian has built her reputation around automating overlooked industries, particularly through AI, robotics, and vertical SaaS solutions. Her firm's portfolio includes companies that have transformed everything from construction to agriculture through targeted automation.
Greylock's Jerry Chen takes a different approach, focusing on product-driven founders who are building the infrastructure layer of tomorrow's tech stack. His investments span AI, data platforms, cloud infrastructure, and open-source technologies - the fundamental building blocks that other companies will build upon. Chen's track record includes backing some of the most successful developer-focused companies of the past decade.
Meanwhile, Felicis' Viviana Faga brings two decades of go-to-market expertise to the table, specializing in SaaS companies that create entirely new categories. Her focus on brand strategy and market positioning has helped portfolio companies not just grow, but define new spaces in competitive markets.
The timing of this panel couldn't be more critical. Venture funding patterns are evolving rapidly as AI transforms traditional investment categories. According to recent PitchBook data, AI-focused startups raised $29.1 billion in Q2 2025 alone, but VCs are becoming increasingly selective about which AI applications will have staying power.
"We're past the phase where slapping 'AI' on your pitch deck gets you funded," one industry insider noted recently. The focus has shifted to practical applications that solve real business problems - exactly the kind of opportunities these three firms have been identifying.
The panel format promises to reveal not just where these VCs are investing, but how they're thinking about risk in an increasingly competitive market. With OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI giants raising massive rounds, smaller startups need to find their positioning more carefully than ever.
For founders attending Disrupt, this session represents a rare opportunity to understand how top-tier VCs are evaluating opportunities in real-time. The three firms collectively manage billions in assets and have backed some of the most successful startups of the past decade, from Discord (Index) to Airbnb (Greylock) to Shopify (Felicis).
The discussion will likely touch on emerging themes like autonomous systems, vertical AI applications, and the infrastructure needed to support the next generation of AI-powered companies. Each firm brings a different perspective on how these technologies will create value, making for what promises to be a nuanced discussion about where the smart money is flowing.
What makes this panel particularly valuable is the timing - VCs are currently setting their 2026 investment themes and thesis development. Founders who understand these priorities early can position their companies accordingly, whether they're seeking funding now or preparing for future rounds.
The session takes place during TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, running October 27-29 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Early-bird pricing is available through September 26, with standard tickets offering savings of up to $668 before prices increase.
This isn't just another VC panel - it's a preview of where the venture capital industry is heading in 2026. For founders building in AI, robotics, SaaS, or infrastructure, hearing directly from Index, Greylock, and Felicis about their investment priorities could be the difference between securing funding and getting passed over. As the funding landscape becomes more selective, understanding how top VCs are thinking about risk and opportunity has never been more crucial.
