TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will bring 200 startups, more than 200 expert sessions, and 10,000+ tech leaders to Moscone West in San Francisco from October 13-15. At the center of the event is Startup Battlefield, where five experienced investors will decide which founder takes the top prize.
Only 20 startups will pitch on the Disrupt Stage across all three days of the competition. The winner will receive $100,000, turning the event into more than a showcase for new companies. It will also give one startup a chance to stand out in front of a large audience of founders, investors, and technology leaders.
Five judges with different investment lenses
The five Startup Battlefield judges have all founded or co-founded the investment firms they now lead. Together, they bring decades of experience backing founders, building companies, and helping businesses scale. Their backgrounds cover software, consumer technology, foundational industries, health, commerce, and financial services.
Stacy Brown-Philpot is the founder and managing partner of Cherryrock Capital, a venture fund focused on Series A and Series B software companies built by Black and Latinx founders. Her portfolio includes Coactive AI and Vitable Health.
Brown-Philpot previously served as CEO of TaskRabbit, which was acquired by IKEA, and spent more than a decade in senior roles at Google. She holds an MBA from Stanford University, adding operating experience at both a major technology company and a consumer marketplace to her investment background.
Chi-Hua Chien is a co-founder and managing partner of Goodwater Capital, which invests exclusively in consumer technology across the United States and Asia. His portfolio includes Spotify, Chime, Monzo, TikTok/Musical.ly, Coupang, Toss, and Udemy.
Chien was also a general partner at Kleiner Perkins and a principal at Accel. Those roles give him experience across several stages of venture investing, while Goodwater’s focus puts consumer products and services at the center of his work.
Dayna Grayson is a co-founder and general partner at Construct Capital, a Washington, D.C.-based early-stage fund focused on technology for foundational American industries. Its portfolio includes Veho, Hadrian, Copia Automation, Arkestro, and Verve Motion.
Before co-founding Construct, Grayson was a partner at NEA, where she led early investments including Desktop Metal. The company later went public on the NYSE. Grayson holds a degree in systems engineering from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Investors with operating and startup-building experience
Carter Reum is a co-founder and managing partner of M13, a consumer technology venture firm with $1.9 billion under management. M13 invests in seed to Series B companies shaping the future of work, commerce, health, and money.
M13 has backed companies such as Lyft, Pinterest, Ring, Daily Harvest, and Tonal, and has 15 unicorns in its portfolio. Before launching M13, Reum co-founded VEEV Spirit, which was acquired in 2016. He is also the co-author of the bestseller Shortcut Your Startup and holds a BA from Columbia University.
Alexa Von Tobel is the founder and managing partner of Inspired Capital, which she co-founded with Penny Pritzker. Her portfolio includes MosaicML, acquired by Databricks, along with Chief, Finix, and Dandy.
Von Tobel has backed nine unicorns across her investing career. Before launching Inspired Capital, she founded LearnVest, which was acquired by Northwestern Mutual. She is a New York Times bestselling author and a certified financial planner.
Together, the judges bring more than investment credentials to the stage. Their backgrounds include company building, executive leadership, technical training, consumer technology, financial planning, and experience with acquisitions and public markets. That mix will shape the questions and decisions facing the 20 companies that make the final pitches.
What happens at Disrupt 2026
Startup Battlefield is one part of a broader TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 program. The event will include panels, networking opportunities, and more than 200 expert sessions, giving attendees several ways to learn from founders and investors beyond the competition.
The competition runs from October 13-15 at Moscone West. October 2 is the last day to exhibit, while the event itself is set to bring together 10,000+ tech leaders. For startups, the limited pitch lineup creates a clear path: 200 companies may be part of Startup Battlefield, but only 20 will pitch on the Disrupt Stage.
After the final pitch, the five judges will reunite on the Builders Stage for a live AMA. That session will offer founders and attendees a closer look at the thinking behind the competition, as well as the experience these investors have gained from backing and building companies.
With a $100,000 prize at stake and five investment leaders making the final decision, Startup Battlefield will give the event its central contest. The winner will emerge from a field of 20 pitching startups after three days of competition at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.
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