Over three days this week, 20 startups participated in the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Each was chosen to represent the best Startup Battlefield 200 and competed for a likelihood to win the Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000. After so much tossing, we have a winner.
These startups were fastidiously chosen to participate in Startup Battlefield and all presented a live demo to VCs and technology leaders who judged the competition.
After hours of deliberation, TechCrunch editors reviewed the judges’ notes and narrowed the list to 5 finalists: Charter Space, Glīd, MacroCycle, Nephrogen and Unlisted Homes.
The final five made it to the finals to present to the final panel of judges, which included Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures, and Digg founder Kevin Rose.
We are able to announce that the winner of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2024 is:
Winner: Glid
The goal of Glīd (pronounced “Glide”) is to streamline the complex, multi-step process of moving a container from ship to freight train. The company founded by Kevin Damoa (pictured) has developed several hardware and software products that make it faster and cheaper to move containers to the railhead and ultimately to their destination. Its first product is the GliderM, a hybrid-electric vehicle with a hook on the back that may lift and carry 20-foot containers directly onto rail without the need for forklifts or hostler trucks.
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Second place: Nephrogen
Nephrogen is a biotechnology startup that uses artificial intelligence and advanced screening to develop a specialized delivery system to soundly deliver gene-modifying drugs precisely to cells in the kidney. Founder Demetri Maxim says that after three years of development, Nephrogen has created a delivery mechanism that is 100 times more practical at transporting the drug to the kidney than “vehicles” currently approved by the FDA. He plans to participate in a clinical trial himself, given the challenges he faces living with polycystic kidney disease.
These two firms follow in the footsteps of Startup Battlefield legends corresponding to Dropbox, Discord, Cloudflare, and Mint on the Disrupt Stage. Over 1,500 graduates have participated in the program, and Startup Battlefield alumni have collectively raised over $29 billion across over 200 successful exits.