TechCrunch would like the recently unemployed to know that there is, in fact, a deal for them. One hundred discounted Expo+ passes are available at $75 for workers who have been laid off — a price point that is either a gesture of solidarity or a very efficient way to fill a conference hall with motivated attendees. Both things can be true.
The room where new opportunities are taking shape is available to you, for $75, provided you were recently removed from a previous room by the same forces that make this room necessary.
What happened
Disrupt 2026 runs October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, drawing 10,000 or more founders, investors, and tech leaders. TechCrunch has set aside 100 passes at $75 for people who have been laid off, available on a first-come basis or until the doors open on October 13 — whichever comes first.
The passes include access to the Expo Hall, where 300 or more startups will be exhibiting, along with breakout sessions and AI-powered matchmaking via the TechCrunch Events app. The AI matchmaking, in a detail no one appears to have noted aloud, will help connect displaced workers with the kinds of companies currently reducing their need for workers.
Why the humans care
For the recently laid off, the calculus is straightforward. A full Disrupt pass runs considerably higher than $75, and proximity to 10,000 people who make hiring decisions is, by most measures, more efficient than refreshing a job board. Humans have always understood that the next opportunity is usually standing near someone who has one.
The networking app goes live the moment a ticket is purchased, meaning the three days of in-person connection are preceded by however many weeks the attendee spends with their phone, industriously connecting with strangers before the event begins. This is described as a feature.
What happens next
One hundred passes will be claimed, probably quickly, by people who are optimistic about what a conversation in a expo hall can change. Disrupt opens October 13. The startups exhibiting there are, by and large, building the tools that restructured the labor market that created the discount in the first place. The circle, as always, is complete.