Inertia co-founder Jeff Lawson’s next big bet is fusion: Go inside it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Jeff Lawson, known for co-founding Twilio and scaling it into a public company, will discuss his transition into fusion energy at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. The fireside chat, titled "How Twilio’s Founder Is Tackling the Power Problem," will appear on the Smart Systems Stage during the October 13–15 event at Moscone West in San Francisco.

Inertia, where Lawson serves as co-founder and CEO, announced a $450 million Series A in February led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from GV and other investors. The company says the capital will back development of powerful laser systems and the mass manufacture of fusion fuel targets—two capabilities it identifies as essential for moving fusion from laboratory experiments toward grid-scale power.

This year Inertia also opened a 50,000-square-foot headquarters in Livermore, California, outfitted for work on fuel-target manufacturing processes and laser technologies. The company has been recruiting executives with experience at firms such as Apple, Corning, and Waymo to build its manufacturing and supply-chain functions, reflecting a focus on the industrial and operational side of scaling a physical-energy business.

At Disrupt, Lawson will reflect on how his prior roles—co-founding Twilio, early product leadership at Amazon Web Services, and serving as founding CTO of StubHub—influence Inertia’s approach to hiring, milestone-setting, and fundraising. The session aims to examine which aspects of software-based company building transfer to a capital- and engineering-intensive domain, and which require different practices. Attendees can register for the conference (with registration discounts available through September 25) to hear the conversation alongside other programming in climate and energy tracks.