What happens when your first 10 hires aren’t people at all? At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27–29 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, we’re digging into the new wave of startups replacing or augmenting early employees with AI agents. Think outbound sales, billing, and customer support — automated from day one.
This panel, hosted on the Builders Stage, features a mix of technical founders and seasoned operators who are actually doing it, debating where the line between human and machine should be drawn — and how far is too far.
Meet the speakers
Caleb Peffer, founder and CEO of Firecrawl, is helping over 350,000 developers (and companies like Shopify and Zapier) plug AI directly into the live web. His dev-first platform is already reshaping how AI agents interact with the internet and scale with clean data.
Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, founder and CEO of Artisan, made waves with his “Stop Hiring Humans” campaign — and he’s serious. His company raised $35 million to build AI employees, starting with sales. Expect bold insights on replacing go-to-market teams with code.
Sarah Franklin, CEO of Lattice and former Salesforce president and CMO, brings hard-won wisdom on scaling companies with impact. She’s built and led real teams at the highest level and knows exactly where AI helps — and where it hurts.
Why this session matters
Whether you’re already embedding AI into your stack or just testing prompts on your product team, this conversation is about more than hype. It’s about getting real on ROI, trust, team dynamics, and what it means to build a business that moves faster than ever with fewer human hands.
Ready to find your edge?
Join 10,000+ founders, VCs, and innovators at Disrupt this October. Regular Bird savings of up to $668 end September 26 at 11:59 p.m. PT — Get your ticket now to lock in your spot.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
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October 27-29, 2025