The 2025 Startup Battlefield Top 20 are here. Let the competition begin. | TechCrunch

The Startup Battlefield is the stage where legends are made, and the next 20 contenders have arrived. These are the breakout companies that rose to the top of a fiercely competitive, global applicant pool, and they’re headed to the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt to compete for the $100,000 prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup. 

This year’s Top 20 finalists are building across the full spectrum of frontier innovation, from life sciences and climate tech preserving human health and planetary survival; to defense, robotics, and mobility powering the next industrial revolution and strengthening our national and global resilience; to compliance, cybersecurity, and fintech infrastructure enabling companies to scale responsibly in an increasingly complex world. And, of course, the tools reshaping how we live, work, learn, and build in a hybrid-first future.

These 20 companies are more than just early-stage startups — they’re the architects of what’s next. And they’ll have just six minutes on the Disrupt Stage to prove it.

Don’t miss a beat of the world’s premier startup competition. This is your final chance to book your pass and get 60% off a second so you can catch every moment of the action.

Here are the 2025 Startup Battlefield Top 20 finalists:

Monday, October 27, Disrupt Stage

Semifinals (Session 1): 10:05 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. PT

MacroCycle Technologies:  Upcycling plastic and textile waste into virgin-grade resin at price parity, all through a zero-carbon, low-energy process developed by world-class polymer scientists.

Miraqules: Advancing lifesaving wound care with nano-biomaterials engineered to stop bleeding within one minute, regardless of size, shape, or severity.

Nephrogen: Building an AI‑powered platform to discover next‑generation gene-delivery vectors for untreatable diseases, starting with the kidney.

COI Energy: Empowering 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: Pioneering medical imaging by applying foundational AI that generates synthetic PET images from CT scans, making radiology 10x more accessible, efficient, and sustainable.

Semifinals (Session 2): 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. PT

Mbodi: Teaching robots new skills via natural language and enabling production‑ready autonomy deployment in minutes.

Skyline Nav AI: Delivering GPS-independent navigation for drones, vehicles, aircraft, and ships, using computer vision and geospatial data to localize within 10–100 cm, even without GPS, cellular, or Wi-Fi.

Strong by Form: Replacing steel and concrete with ultra-light, high-performance timber composites, unlocking wood’s full potential for sustainable construction and mobility.

Pytho AI: Equipping defense and military planners with AI‑powered tools to optimize mission planning and strategic decision‑making.

Glīd: Transforming freight logistics with autonomous, electrified road-to-rail transport, redefining first-mile delivery to set new standards in efficiency, safety, and sustainability.

Tuesday, October 28, Disrupt Stage

Semifinals (Session 3): 10:00 a.m. – 11:05 a.m. PT

Identifee: Enabling banks and credit unions to acquire, serve, and grow clients through a modular AI platform that unifies insights, workflows, and relationship management.

CyDeploy: Raising the standard of cybersecurity resilience by enabling continuous business operations without disruption, powered by proactive AI defense.

Charter Space: Fueling the future of space finance with a unified operating system that supports spacecraft development, mission insights, and in-orbit asset insurance.

Cyphr: Powering 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: Protecting enterprise AI with an output-level safety platform. The immune system for generative AI that enforces real-time compliance, trust, and accountability.

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

Mappa: Decoding human behavior via voice‑AI at scale with a behavioral intelligence layer that empowers connections to thrive every time.

Super Teacher: Educating the next generation with AI‑powered tutoring to enable elementary schools to deliver personalized learning and scale teacher impact.

CampusAI: Bringing 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: Unlocking the $31 trillion real estate market with a platform built to surface the 98% of homes that aren’t for sale yet, bringing liquidity and transparency to off-market inventory.

Unthread: Streamlining 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.

Wednesday, October 29, Disrupt Stage

Startup Battlefield alumni update: 11:25 a.m. PT

Capella Kerst, founder of geCKo Materials and 2025 Startup Battlefield standout, returns to the stage with a live demo of her game-changing, super-strong dry adhesive.

Startup Battlefield finals: 11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. PT

The top 5 finalists from this cohort will pitch and demo live, once again, for the chance at Disrupt glory. 

Startup Battlefield winner announced: 4 p.m. PT

It’s not too late to experience the live startup pitch action at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 and to dive into 200+ sessions led by 250+ top tech leaders, explore 300 showcasing startups, and connect through 2,000+ curated networking meetings across the venue. Be part of the ultimate launchpad for innovation and scaling.

Register to get your ticket here, or save by bringing a guest or a group — don’t wait. Head to Moscone West, located at 800 Howard St., San Francisco. Innovation awaits alongside 10,000+ tech leaders, VCs, operators, and founders shaping the future.