TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Blackstone’s Jas Khaira on building the next generation of AI giants

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 features Jas Khaira, global head of Blackstone N1 and Blackstone Growth, on the Builders Stage with the theme 'Building the Next Generation of AI Giants.' The session will explain what Blackstone seeks when backing category-defining AI companies, how founders should think about capital as they scale, and what differentiates enduring businesses from early momentum. The discussion underscores that rapid AI growth often creates large capital needs beyond product development—compute, data centers, and other infrastructure—and what financing approaches can support infrastructure-heavy expansion. Blackstone’s investments illustrate the scale of this question: the firm and co-investors agreed to invest up to $600 million in primary equity in Neysa, an Indian AI infrastructure company, with Neysa planning to raise an additional $600 million in debt financing. In July, Anthropic launched Ode, an AI implementation company backed by a $1.5 billion joint venture involving Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, Goldman Sachs, and others. These moves exemplify the capital decisions and opportunities discussed when considering the next generation of AI giants. Khaira joined Blackstone in 2004 and leads Blackstone N1 as well as Blackstone Growth, serving on several investment committees. Disrupt runs October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco and features more than 200 sessions, including discounted passes for attendees and group savings.