Former NBA champion, fintech entrepreneur, and AI founder Tristan Thompson is bringing a different kind of game to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in October at San Francisco’s Moscone West. His presentation will blend athletic grit, entrepreneurial instinct, and cutting-edge artificial intelligence.
After more than a decade in the NBA, Thompson has shifted his focus from the basketball court to the innovation arena. His latest venture, TracyAI, applies advanced artificial intelligence to sports analytics. This technology turns real-time data into predictive insights that empower athletes, teams, and fans.
At his fireside chat, Thompson will explore how he is using AI to reimagine performance, strategy, and fan engagement. He will also discuss why athletes are increasingly shaping the startup ecosystem. His own tech story extends beyond sports. He currently holds four C-suite roles across the Web3 and FinTech landscape. These include chief digital equity officer at World Mobile, where he drives affordable community-owned internet access, and chief advisory officer at AxonDAO, an AI-powered medical research platform inspired by his brother’s epilepsy journey. He is also the co-founder of Basketball Fun, an immersive digital experience that redefines how fans connect to the game.
As an advocate for innovation and inclusion, Thompson is part of a new wave of athlete-entrepreneurs using their platforms for impact. His projects have been featured by Forbes, CNBC Crypto World, and CoinDesk. He recently spoke at Bitcoin 2025 to discuss athlete-driven innovation in decentralized technology. He states that sports taught him discipline, but tech taught him scale, and when you merge those worlds, the potential is unlimited.
Join Tristan Thompson at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 to hear him explore how AI is transforming the future of sports, startups, and storytelling. Learn how athletes are becoming the next generation of founders. The event will take place in San Francisco from October 27 to 29, 2025. You can save up to four hundred forty-four dollars on your ticket or up to thirty percent on group passes. The event will host over ten thousand tech and venture capital leaders. It features more than two hundred and fifty speakers from organizations like Netflix, Box, A16Z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla. These leaders will conduct over two hundred sessions designed to deliver insights that fuel startup growth. Do not miss the twentieth anniversary of TechCrunch and a chance to learn from the top voices in technology.