Five new investors will judge Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, expanding the panel that will decide which early-stage founder wins the $100,000 prize.
October 13-15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, each selected startup gets six minutes to pitch before facing investor questions on execution, market size, timing, and defensibility.
The newly announced judges are Vaibhav Agrawal of ODDBIRD VC, Anu Bharadwaj of ICONIQ Growth, Sho Sho Leigha Ho of General Catalyst, Miloni Madan Presler of IVP, and Aidan Madigan-Curtis of Eclipse Ventures.
They join 10 judges already announced for an event TechCrunch says will draw 10,000-plus tech leaders, founders, and VCs.
TechCrunch is also using the announcement to promote Disrupt ticket sales, with discounts of up to $200 available until September 25.
With alumni raising $32 billion, will TechCrunch’s newly appointed judges uncover the next Dropbox, or will unconventional startups slip through the cracks?
Can a six-minute pitch truly reveal a startup's defensibility to venture capitalists, or is the Startup Battlefield just high-stakes tech theater?