Introducing the top 20 finalists of Startup Battlefield 2024 at TechCrunch Disrupt

We can't keep this secret any longer! It's time to announce this year's Startup Battlefield Top 20 finalists, who will compete on the Disrupt Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 in a winner-take-all pitch competition.

TechCrunch's editorial team selected 200 startups from thousands of applicants to form the Startup Battlefield 200. This year, TechCrunch recorded the highest number of applications from around the world and across many industries. Of the 200, 20 companies were selected as finalists to compete on the Disrupt Stage for the $100,000 grand prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup. Less than 1% of applicants to the Startup Battlefield program are selected as top 20 finalists, making it one of the most competitive startup programs in the industry.

As part of Startup Battlefield 200, founders will participate in a series of virtual pre-event programs to prepare for the Disrupt Stage pitch. In addition to extensive pitch coaching, this year's program included founder fireside chats with legends like Kevin Ryan (AlleyCorp) and Marcelo Lebre (Remote), as well as VC panels with Sara Deshpande (Maven Ventures) and Ishani Thakur (Index Ventures).

This year's top 20 finalists will follow in the footsteps of startup battlefield legends like DropBox, Discord, CloudFlare and Mint on the Disrupt stage. With more than 1,500 alumni who have participated in the program, Startup Battlefield Alumni have collectively raised over $29 billion in funding and completed more than 200 successful exits.

The Startup Battlefield top 20 finalists were selected based on their potential for groundbreaking social, environmental and financial impact. These startups not only had ambitious visions, but also demonstrated early success, strong founding teams, business model, and market size in their applications. These companies are actively working to solve critical challenges in clean tech, SaaS, fintech, healthcare tech, auto tech, entertainment and manufacturing.

Starting today, the top 20 finalists will pitch and perform live on stage for six minutes, followed by a six-minute question and answer session with our expert jury. These senior VC judges include the likes of Navin Chaddha (Mayfield), Chris Farmer (SignalFire), Dayna Grayson (Construct Capital), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate), and Hans Tung (Notable Capital), to name a few.

All 20 startups will compete in semifinal showdowns on Monday and Tuesday and the top 5 finalists will be announced on Tuesday evening. These five companies will then compete again in the Battlefield Finals on Wednesday starting at 11:30 a.m. and we will announce the winner at 4:00 p.m. on the Disrupt Stage. You won't want to miss it.

Now comes the moment you've all been waiting for… Here are the top 20 finalists of Startup Battlefield 2024:

Monday, October 28th, Disrupt Stage

Semifinals (Session 1): 10:35-11:50 a.m

NitroFix: The aim is to reduce the CO2 footprint by optimizing ammonia production without emissions and using only renewable electricity, water and air.

ForestGuard: The company is committed to preventing forest fires with its solar-powered IoT devices and AI-powered algorithms. This allows them to detect fire risks up to 80% earlier than traditional methods, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality.

SpiralWave: A novel reactor that produces cost-effective e-methanol from flue gas or air and water in one step, eliminating captured CO2 and H2 raw materials without a catalyst.

Level Zero Health: Pioneering continuous hormone monitoring with a simple patch device that you can wear on your arm for up to 2 weeks.

Solideon: Combines off-the-shelf robotics with proprietary software that creates multi-robotic, forward-deployable microfactories that can 3D print, post-process, assemble and inspect entire structures and vehicles without human intervention.

Semifinals (Session 2): 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m

Advex AI: Helps the world's largest manufacturers reduce costs and improve efficiency by delivering highly reliable computer vision models in hours.

DGLegacy: Ensures your assets are not lost in the event of an unforeseen event and your loved ones can claim their rightful ownership with a digital estate planning and inheritance app.

VRTL: A virtual venue for entertainment organizations to deliver and scale in-person fan experiences to remote, global audiences to achieve higher lifetime values ​​and data capture.

MabLab: Manufacturer of 5-in-1 rapid home tests for screening for added drugs and added drinks. Results are delivered in less than three minutes, saving over 100,000 lives annually and preventing an additional 5 million hospitalizations each year.

Stitch3D: Provides a SaaS platform for hosting, processing, viewing, analyzing and sharing large amounts of LIDAR point cloud data, all in a real-time collaborative 3D viewer.

Tuesday, October 29th, Disrupt Stage

Semifinals (Session 3): 10:05-11:15 a.m

HILOS: Blends deep tech with sustainable craftsmanship to provide a software and manufacturing platform for developing and bringing to market 3D printed shoes that are manufactured locally, on demand, and with zero end-of-life waste.

CTGT: Removes barriers to production-ready AI, aligns LLMs with business needs by eliminating unwanted content, enabling 10x faster AI deployment for critical applications such as finance and healthcare.

luna: An AI-powered health and wellness companion for teens to help them feel empowered to make informed decisions about their health and wellness as they move into adulthood.

Narada AI: A generative AI assistant that identifies tasks from conversations and executes them using AI orchestration across enterprise tools.

Salva Health: Julieta is a wearable, AI-powered breast cancer detection device that removes barriers to early detection and ensures access even in remote areas.

Semifinals (Session 4): 2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m

BANF: Ensures safe driving and optimizes fuel efficiency by 20% with intelligent tire tread technology by providing real-time tire data including pressure, temperature, wear, load, wheel alignment and lug nut status.

ForceField: MARQ protects corporate, community and country data with tamper-proof credentials. Patent-pending APIs protect against deepfake scams, scams, and breaches.

geCKo Materials: A bio-inspired dry adhesive that is extremely strong and reusable, leaving no residue and requiring no force to remove. The product opens up new applications in industrial automation, robotic gripping, space and defense.

Haptic: A B2B SaaS company creating a universal language through touch, whose tactile technology enables intuitive, safe navigation without visual or audio cues – improving accessibility and awareness for everyone.

MDC: Revolutionizing surgery with a novel robotic system that gives doctors direct access to the inside of MRI scanners.

Wednesday October 30th, Disrupt Stage

Alumni Update Panel: 11:15-11:30 a.m

BioticsAI, winner of Startup Battlefield 2023, is a clinical intelligence platform for prenatal healthcare that uses machine learning to detect abnormalities in fetal ultrasound images, help physicians streamline their workload by generating automated reports, and help with regulatory compliance to help reduce cases of medical malpractice in hospitals.

Startup Battlefield 2022 winner Minerva Lithium is a water treatment platform technology company that is a leader in sustainable lithium refining. Minerva Lithium selectively captures valuable minerals and other harmful pathogens from water.

Intropic Materials, the runner-up in Startup Battlefield 2022, initially ensures a favorable end-of-life by embedding degrading enzymes directly into plastics. Once activated, the enzymes cause the plastic to quickly and completely self-degrade into biodegradable or chemically recyclable small molecules.

Startup Battlefield Finals: 11:30 a.m. – 12:50 p.m

Winner announcement: 4:05 p.m. – 4:20 p.m

Haven't gotten your ticket yet? It's not too late! Be there at Disrupt 2024 and experience the pitch of these outstanding companies live on stage. Register here or when you arrive at the registration desk at Disrupt.