Choosing the Right AI Model: A Critical Decision for Startup Founders
You have an AI product to build. Do you choose a proprietary frontier model and get moving quickly? Build on an open model and gain greater control? Fine-tune your own version? Run locally? Use multiple models? Change strategy six months from now when the economics and capabilities shift again?
There may not be one right answer. But for founders, choosing badly can affect almost everything that follows — cost, infrastructure, margins, differentiation, speed, and control.
That decision is at the center of the session “The Open vs. Closed AI Debate Is Just Getting Started,” coming to the Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, happening on October 13-15 in San Francisco. Led by Nvidia‘s Nader Khalil, Director of Developer Tech, and Sydney Sykes, Global Head of VC Partnerships, the session will discuss the trade-offs between open and proprietary AI and whether either approach can provide a lasting competitive advantage.
This isn’t a philosophical argument about open source. It’s a business decision being made right now inside startups of every size. Dive deep into this AI debate with 10,000+ tech leaders at Disrupt by getting your pass. Register now and save up to $200 before prices go up on September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
The AI gap is closing — the decision isn’t getting easier
Open models have advanced quickly. In July 2026, Nvidia reported that 145 papers accepted at ICML 2026 cited its Nemotron open models and datasets, highlighting their influence in fields like robotics, autonomous vehicles, and biomedical research. This level of adoption underscores how open AI models have become a powerful force in advancing research and practical applications.
Simultaneously, proprietary frontier labs continue pushing model capabilities forward, often leading the market in raw performance and integration. The landscape is evolving into one where the question is less about whether open models can be useful, and more about where each approach makes the most commercial sense.
Even Nvidia rejects a simple either-or framing. At GTC earlier this year, CEO Jensen Huang emphasized that the future is not proprietary versus open, but proprietary and open. While this might sound straightforward, it complicates the decision for founders building companies around these technologies.
If two models can deliver similar results, does lower cost win? What if one gives you more control over your data? Does owning more of the stack create defensibility, or just infrastructure you now need to maintain? And if the best model changes every few months, how tightly should your product be tied to any one of them? These are the nuanced questions Nvidia’s Nader Khalil and Sydney Sykes will unpack at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Don’t miss it — register for your ticket now to get $200 savings before September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Two perspectives shared on the Builders Stage on the same AI stack
Nader Khalil approaches the discussion from the builder and infrastructure perspective. Before becoming Nvidia’s Director of Developer Tech, where he leads open source and local AI initiatives, he co-founded Brev.dev—an AI infrastructure company acquired by Nvidia in July 2024.
Brev.dev was created to simplify access to GPU infrastructure across different environments. Nvidia’s developer documentation highlights how Brev.dev’s tools enable developers to deploy AI software seamlessly across public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises infrastructure, avoiding lock-in to any single compute source.
Sydney Sykes, meanwhile, brings the venture ecosystem into the conversation as Nvidia’s Global Head of VC Partnerships. Her perspective focuses on what companies need to become investable and scalable businesses.
Together, Khalil and Sykes create a comprehensive dialogue exploring the decision from both the technical and business angles—what developers need to build and what companies need to succeed in a competitive market.
Be part of this important conversation at one of the biggest debates shaping AI’s future. Register for your ticket before the savings of up to $200 end on September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Your model isn’t your moat — until it is
Another crucial question lies beneath the open-versus-closed AI debate: Where does your competitive advantage actually reside?
If competitors can access the same proprietary API, then differentiation must come from elsewhere—be it proprietary data, unique workflows, distribution channels, customer relationships, product experience, or specialized technology. However, choosing an open model doesn’t automatically guarantee a moat either.
Open models provide flexibility and greater control, but they also require making decisions about deployment, optimization, and infrastructure management. Moreover, the economics of running these models can fluctuate depending on workload and scale, which demands careful consideration.
Nvidia is heavily investing in this open ecosystem. For example, Nemotron 3 Super, launched in March 2026, is an open 120-billion-parameter model designed specifically for agentic workloads. Notably, companies are already blending Nemotron with proprietary models, signaling that the future likely involves hybrid approaches rather than a strict open-versus-closed dichotomy. This hybrid reality could become the most compelling part of the ongoing debate.
Register now to join the conversation on the Builders Stage in October. Savings of up to $200 end on September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
What should you build on? Decide at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026
This session offers value beyond just AI engineers. For founders, the choice impacts margins, fundraising narratives, and product roadmaps. For investors, understanding where value resides in the stack helps differentiate genuine defensibility from a thin product layer built on top of another company’s model.
For line-of-business leaders, this decision affects procurement, security, data control, infrastructure, and the flexibility to switch providers as needed. Developers and students gain insight into how technical decisions today shape business models tomorrow.
No one needs another abstract debate about whether open or proprietary AI is philosophically better. What builders need is a clear understanding of the trade-offs involved.
Join Nader Khalil and Sydney Sykes on the Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 and decide which approach belongs in your AI strategy. Register now to save up to $200 before prices increase on September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
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