Over three days this week, 20 startups participated in TechCrunch Disrupt 2025’s Startup Battlefield. Each was named the Best Player of the Startup Battlefield 200 and competed for a chance to take home the Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000. After some intense pitching, the winner was decided.
These startups were hand-picked to compete in the Startup Battlefield, where they performed live demos in front of VCs and technology leaders who judged the competition.
After several hours of deliberation, TechCrunch editors pored over the judges’ notes and narrowed the list down to five companies: Charter Space, Glid, MacroCycle, Nephrogen, and Unlisted Homes.
The final five advanced to the finale, where they demonstrated in front of the final judges, including Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures, and Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.
We’re ready to announce the winners of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2024.
Winner: Greed
Glid (pronounced “glide”) aims to streamline the complex, multi-step process of moving containers from ships to freight trains. Founded by Kevin Damoa (pictured), the company has developed several hardware and software products to speed up and reduce the cost of transporting shipping containers to their railheads and ultimately their destinations. Its first product is the GliderM, a hybrid electric vehicle with a rear hook that can lift and move 20-foot containers directly onto the rails without the need for a forklift on a Hostler truck.
To learn more about Glid, check out another post.
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Runner-up: Nephrogen
Nephrogen is a biotech startup that uses AI and advanced screening to develop specialized delivery systems to safely administer gene-editing drugs to precise cells in the kidney. Founder Demetri Maxim said that after three years of development, Nephrogen has succeeded in creating a delivery mechanism that transports drugs to the kidneys 100 times more efficiently than currently FDA-approved “vehicles.” And given the challenges he faces in living with polycystic kidney disease, he plans to participate in clinical research himself.
Read more about nephrogen in another post.
These two companies will be following in the footsteps of Startup Battlefield legends like Dropbox, Discord, Cloudflare, and Mint on the Disrupt Stage. With more than 1,500 alumni participating in the program, Startup Battlefield Alumni has collectively raised more than $29 billion and achieved more than 200 successes.
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