The Startup Battlefield is the stage where legends are made, and the next twenty contenders have arrived. These are the breakout companies that rose to the top of a fiercely competitive, global applicant pool. They are headed to the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt to compete for the one hundred thousand dollar prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup.
This year’s Top 20 finalists are building across the full spectrum of frontier innovation. Their work spans life sciences and climate tech to preserve human health and ensure planetary survival. It includes defense, robotics, and mobility, powering the next industrial revolution and strengthening our national and global resilience. Other areas are compliance, cybersecurity, and fintech infrastructure, enabling companies to scale responsibly in an increasingly complex world. And of course, there are the tools reshaping how we live, work, learn, and build in a hybrid-first future.
These twenty companies are more than just early-stage startups. They are the architects of what is next. They will have just six minutes on the Disrupt Stage to prove it.
Here are the 2025 Startup Battlefield Top 20 finalists.
On Monday, October 27, the Disrupt Stage will host the first semifinals session from 10:05 AM to 11:15 AM PT. Presenting companies include MacroCycle Technologies, which upcycles plastic and textile waste into virgin-grade resin at price parity through a zero-carbon, low-energy process developed by world-class polymer scientists. Miraqules advances lifesaving wound care with nano-biomaterials engineered to stop bleeding within one minute, regardless of size, shape, or severity. Nephrogen is building an AI-powered platform to discover next-generation gene-delivery vectors for untreatable diseases, starting with the kidney. COI Energy empowers commercial and industrial businesses to eliminate energy waste and monetize or donate excess capacity through their patented AI platform and kW For Good initiative. RADiCAIT pioneers medical imaging by applying foundational AI that generates synthetic PET images from CT scans, making radiology ten times more accessible, efficient, and sustainable.
The second semifinals session runs from 1:30 PM to 2:45 PM PT on Monday. Presenting companies include Mbodi, which teaches robots new skills via natural language and enables production-ready autonomy deployment in minutes. Skyline Nav AI delivers GPS-independent navigation for drones, vehicles, aircraft, and ships, using computer vision and geospatial data to localize within ten to one hundred centimeters, even without GPS, cellular, or Wi-Fi. Strong by Form replaces steel and concrete with ultra-light, high-performance timber composites, unlocking wood’s full potential for sustainable construction and mobility. Pytho AI equips defense and military planners with AI-powered tools to optimize mission planning and strategic decision-making. Glīd transforms freight logistics with autonomous, electrified road-to-rail transport, redefining first-mile delivery to set new standards in efficiency, safety, and sustainability.
On Tuesday, October 28, the third semifinals session takes place from 10:00 AM to 11:05 AM PT. Presenting companies include Identifee, which enables banks and credit unions to acquire, serve, and grow clients through a modular AI platform that unifies insights, workflows, and relationship management. CyDeploy raises the standard of cybersecurity resilience by enabling continuous business operations without disruption, powered by proactive AI defense. Charter Space fuels the future of space finance with a unified operating system that supports spacecraft development, mission insights, and in-orbit asset insurance. Cyphr powers bias-free, scalable capital deployment through an AI backbone built to be every investor’s smartest analyst, enabling smarter, faster, and fairer financial decisions. Elloe AI protects enterprise AI with an output-level safety platform, serving as the immune system for generative AI that enforces real-time compliance, trust, and accountability.
The fourth semifinals session runs from 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM PT on Tuesday. Presenting companies include Mappa, which decodes human behavior via voice-AI at scale with a behavioral intelligence layer that empowers connections to thrive every time. Super Teacher educates the next generation with AI-powered tutoring to enable elementary schools to deliver personalized learning and scale teacher impact. CampusAI brings AI education and collaboration to life through an interactive platform and virtual world that helps users learn, apply, and innovate with real-world skills. Unlisted Homes unlocks the thirty-one trillion dollar real estate market with a platform built to surface the ninety-eight percent of homes that are not for sale yet, bringing liquidity and transparency to off-market inventory. Unthread streamlines service management with an AI-powered platform built into Slack, combining human and agentic support to resolve tickets instantly across IT, HR, and customer teams.
The events continue on Wednesday, October 29. A Startup Battlefield Alumni Update will occur at 11:25 AM PT, featuring Capella Kerst, founder of geCKo Materials and a 2025 Startup Battlefield standout, who returns to the stage with a live demo of her game-changing, super-strong dry adhesive.
The Startup Battlefield Finals run from 11:30 AM to 12:45 PM PT. The top five finalists from this cohort will pitch and demo live once again for the chance at Disrupt glory. The Startup Battlefield winner will be announced at 4:00 PM PT.