TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 hits Moscone West in San Francisco this October 27–29, and when you’re constructing with large funding targets in thoughts, the session on getting ready on your later-stage increase must be in your radar. Be part of three powerhouse voices in enterprise and AI-driven innovation as they share what it actually takes to shut main rounds — lengthy earlier than you’re within the room with buyers.
This panel, happening October 29 on the Builders Stage, is a roadmap for any founder who is aware of that Sequence C doesn’t begin at Sequence C.

Why this session issues
Elevating late-stage capital is about greater than hitting large income numbers. It’s about telling the precise story, monitoring the precise metrics, and constructing relationships that compound over time. This session goes past pitch decks to uncover the methods founders needs to be occupied with now to land significant funding later. Anticipate sharp insights, candid reflections, and actual frameworks you’ll be able to take again to your startup.
Meet the specialists guiding the following wave of development
Zeya Yang, associate at IVP, brings a uncommon twin lens to the desk as each an investor and former product chief. With previous expertise at a16z, Plaid, and Dropbox, Zeya’s focus is on AI-native startups which might be reshaping the way in which we work. He’s backed firms like Graphite, Macro, and Tennr, and brings sharp product instincts and founder-first considering to each cap desk he joins.
Lila Preston, head of development fairness at Technology Funding Administration, has been scaling impact-focused firms since 2004. She sits on the boards of nature-forward manufacturers like Nature’s Fynd and Pivot Bio, and he or she attracts on a worldwide perspective formed by work throughout Latin America, the UK, and the U.S. Lila’s mix of economic acumen and mission-driven investing makes her uniquely outfitted to information founders eyeing long-term development.
Andrea Thomaz, CEO and co-founder of Diligent Robotics, brings the founder lens. A social robotics pioneer, she’s led groundbreaking work in AI and automation, constructed robots featured in every single place from The New York Instances to Common Science, and scaled a {hardware} startup tackling real-world issues. Her firm is reshaping the healthcare workforce with collaborative robotics—and he or she is aware of firsthand the best way to construct investor belief round moonshot tech.
Unlock skilled recommendation and massive financial savings
Be part of 10,000+ startup and VC leaders for this must-attend dialog — and be a part of one of the vital anticipated tech conferences of the yr. It’s all taking place at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, the place at this time’s selections meet tomorrow’s scale. Register now and save as much as $675 earlier than costs enhance.