Shailendra Singh, Managing Director of Peak XV, will be joining us on the TC Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Joining him, Nina Achadjian, Partner at Index Ventures will speak from October 13-15 in San Francisco. Our session, “The Series A in 2027” will show you exactly how the best investors are reengineering their mental models. You’ll learn about their new priorities regarding growth, efficiency and capital. Singh and Achadjian add valuable experience to the mix, with a proven track record of helping over 500 companies through IPOs. They’re looking forward to conversations about the new traction signals that indicate when a startup is truly ready for Series A capital.
His immense influence Singh has had in shaping the venture capital landscape comes from his long tenure at Peak XV. The firm has backed outliers including CRED, Pine Labs, and Druva. He co-authored Bessemer’s popular and oft-cited State of the Cloud Report. This report provides a greater understanding of these important trends in the cloud market. He has extensive experience in crafting operational frameworks that enable high-growth organizations successfully scale to greater than $100 million in revenue. This makes him an important voice as the debate rages over the future of this funding.
Achadjian comes to the Foundation with deep experience from Index Ventures. There, she played a role in the success of over 30 IPOs and helped several companies reach revenue milestones in excess of $100 million. Her focus on investments across seed to growth stages in AI, robotics, and vertical SaaS demonstrates her commitment to nurturing innovative startups. Achadjian works closely with notable companies such as Anthropic, Gong, and ServiceTitan, leveraging her operator experience from Google to provide valuable insights to emerging businesses.
Insights from Industry Leaders
During their session at TechCrunch Disrupt, Singh and Achadjian will explore the recalibrated expectations that investors now hold for startups seeking Series A funding. Our venture capital landscape is radically shifting. Join our featured speakers to learn what this evolution means for founders today—as they look around at new options to grow, go global or go home.
One of the most important subjects will be the signals that tell you when your startup is ready to raise a Series A. It used to be that conventional metrics were perfectly adequate. Now, Singh and Achadjian will take aim at the outmoded practices that just don’t cut it in the securities investment climate we’re living in today. Leading this change is a new emphasis on profitability. Profit is no longer viewed as an option but as an expectation of founders and their business strategies.
Panelists will address how new developments within artificial intelligence are driving these expectations and how this is impacting the sector. As AI becomes more ubiquitous across industries, it does the work of raising the bar for startups seeking impactful investments to clear. Singh and Achadjian will discuss how these promising technologies can subvert reliable changes that indicate a state of preparedness. Finally, they’ll cover what founders need to look for when judging their own traction.
Navigating the Future of Funding
Singh and Achadjian are big-picture improving up to their session at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Invaluable perspectives to be sure—and good news for those founders out there looking to raise their own Series A in 2027. They will offer practical advice on how to align with investor expectations while maintaining a focus on sustainable growth and efficiency.
For startups, they’ve always relied on the magic metric that’s supposedly needed to attract funding. Singh and Achadjian to learn why understanding the complexities of the modern investment landscape is key to a winning strategy. This means founders should be on high alert to whatever else investors might be caring about that’s not financial performance. Increasingly, team capability, market positioning, and innovative problem-solving approaches are becoming the most important factors in swaying funding decisions.
This is an entrepreneur’s not-to-miss session. More importantly, it will get you the right tools to tackle the complexities of raising capital in an ever-evolving capital markets landscape. By taking cues from experienced investors such as Singh and Achadjian, founders can better position themselves to navigate the pitfalls of their fundraising journeys.
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