When Should Your Startup Stop Renting AI and Build Its Own? A Practical Framework

Building your own AI isn't a single decision — it's a series of them, and most teams get the sequence wrong. In this interactive masterclass from TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, Oumi's Manos Koukoumidis lays out a practical framework for deciding when to move from renting AI capabilities to building in-house. The session is hands-on rather than theoretical, incorporating live audience votes to work through the tradeoffs in real time. That format lets attendees see how different starting points and constraints lead to different answers about when building makes sense. For startups and technical teams weighing the cost, control, and capability implications of owning their AI stack, this masterclass offers a structured way to think about the build-versus-rent question — and a reminder that getting the order of decisions right matters as much as the decisions themselves.