Where top VCs are betting next: Index, Greylock, and Felicis share 2026 priorities at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, a panel of leading venture capitalists—Nina Achadjian (Index Ventures), Jerry Chen (Greylock), and Viviana Faga (Felicis)—will outline their firms' investment strategies for 2026 and beyond. This session offers critical insight into where 'smart money' is being deployed across emerging sectors, specifically highlighting AI, robotics, vertical SaaS, data, cloud infrastructure, and open source, thereby signaling key areas of future innovation and capital allocation.

Analysis

The upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt panel provides a significant qualitative signal regarding future capital allocation trends within the venture capital sector. The participation of partners from leading firms—Index Ventures, Greylock, and Felicis—offers a consolidated view on where 'smart money' is being directed for 2026 and beyond. The specified areas of focus are highly concentrated in enterprise and deep technology, including Artificial Intelligence, robotics, vertical SaaS, data, cloud infrastructure, and open source. The convergence of these top-tier VCs on this narrow set of themes indicates a strong conviction in their long-term disruptive potential and serves as a leading indicator for institutional investors tracking the pipeline of future high-growth public companies and emerging industry standards.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors should intensify monitoring of private market activity within the specified sectors—AI, robotics, vertical SaaS, and cloud infrastructure—to identify emerging leaders and potential future IPO candidates.
• Consider re-evaluating public equity portfolios to ensure or increase exposure to established companies that serve as key enablers or beneficiaries of these long-term venture-backed trends, such as semiconductor firms and major cloud providers.
• Use this thematic guidance to prepare due diligence frameworks for the next wave of technology IPOs, as companies from these highlighted verticals are likely to dominate the public offering pipeline in the coming years.