Over the past three days at TechCrunch Disrupt, 20 startups have participated in the highly competitive Startup Battlefield. These 20 companies were selected as the top companies in Startup Battlefield 200 and competed for the Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000. After three days of intense pitching, we had a winner.
All startups participating in Startup Battlefield have been selected to participate in our startup competition. Every company presented a live demo in front of a diverse group of VCs and technology leaders who served as judges for a chance to win $100,000 and the coveted Disrupt Cup.
After hours of deliberation, TechCrunch editors reviewed the judges’ notes and narrowed the list down to five finalists: Gecko Materials, Luna, MabLab, Salva Health, and Stitch3D.
These startups advanced to the finale to demonstrate in front of a panel of judges that included Navin Chaddha (Mayfield), Chris Farmer (SignalFire), Dayna Grayson (Construct Capital), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate) and Hans. Tung (main capital).
We are now ready to announce the winners of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2024. . .
Winner: Salva Health
Six years ago, while doing research for a university entrepreneurship competition, Valentina Agudelo noticed a significant gap in breast cancer survival rates between Latin America and developed countries. That means women in their native Colombia and the rest of the continent are dying at higher rates from late-stage breast cancer. detection. She realized that breast cancer was more likely to be curable if diagnosed early. However, many Latin American countries have large rural populations that lack access to mammography and other diagnostic tools. So Agudelo and her two best friends decided to create Salva Health, a theoretical portable device that could detect breast cancer early.
Learn more about Salva Health in a separate post.
Runner-up: Gecko Materials
It looks fake, or at least a good illusion. Gecko Materials founder Capella Kerst dangles a full bottle of wine from her pinky finger, and the only thing that keeps it from breaking is her startup’s super-strong dry adhesive. market. But it’s not a trick. This is the result of Kerst’s invention of a method for mass manufacturing adhesives and several years of academic research. Inspired by the way a real gecko’s feet grip surfaces, the adhesive is like the new Velcro. However, only one side is needed, it leaves no residue and can be removed as soon as it is attached. This can be done at least 120,000 times and, as Kerst mentioned in a recent interview with TechCrunch, it can stay connected for seconds, minutes, and even years.
Learn more about Gecko Materials in a separate post.
These two companies follow in the footsteps of Startup Battlefield legends like Dropbox, Discord, Cloudflare, and Mint at the Disrupt stage. With more than 1,500 alumni participating in the program, Startup Battlefield Alumni has raised more than $29 billion in total funding through more than 200 successful exits.
