Enterprise AI adoption is shifting from technical performance to operational stability, Databricks co-founder says at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Arsalan Tavakoli-Shiraji, co-founder and SVP of field engineering at Databricks, will speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 (October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco) on why enterprise AI deals fail after successful pilots — not because models underperform, but because organizations cannot absorb the operational consequences of deployment.

Enterprise buyers are now evaluating AI products on implementation risk, governance complexity, workflow disruption, infrastructure strain, compliance exposure, and organizational trust — rather than on model performance alone. AI startups that reduce uncertainty and integrate cleanly into existing systems are gaining traction over those optimizing for initial excitement.

Tavakoli-Shiraji brings perspective from both McKinsey & Company (where he advised on enterprise transformation and cloud computing) and a PhD in computer science from UC Berkeley focused on networking and distributed systems, bridging technical systems and organizational behavior.

Ticket savings of up to $410 end on May 29 at 11:59 p.m. PT; the three-day event will feature 250+ sessions across six stages with 10,000+ founders, investors, and operators.