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Meet the five companies competing in the Startup Battlefield finals at Disrupt 2026
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TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 named five Startup Battlefield finalists after 20 startups pitched over two days. They will compete Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific for the Cup and $100,000 equity-free. The four categories were space and physical AI, energy and manufacturing, health tech and life sciences, and enterprise and security.
The finalists are Apate, Flox Intelligence, Intero Biosystems, Industrial Next, and Satlyt. Their projects range from miniature human organs to scam-fighting AI, wildlife deterrence, robotic manufacturing, and satellite computing. They will face expert judges who will question live demos and choose a winner.
Apate deploys thousands of AI agents that pose as innocent victims to bait fraudsters. The agents answer scam calls, respond to shady messages and emails, follow phishing links, and join social media groups. Flox Intelligence uses edge devices with motion sensors and cameras to identify wildlife, then emits species-appropriate sounds to scare animals away.
Intero Biosystems grows human intestinal organoids, lab-grown tissue that mimics the gut for drug testing. Its models contain multiple cell and tissue types found in the human intestine, making them more human-relevant than simpler models. Industrial Next builds AI-driven robotic stations that can be retooled in minutes rather than weeks, and some already help make a popular smartphone.
Satlyt develops software to let many satellites share large computing jobs in space, and it has flown on two demonstration missions. The startup next aims to create a shared computing cloud between two satellites. These finalists matter because they target fraud, wildlife conflict, drug testing, manufacturing automation, and space efficiency.
The finals begin Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific, with founders presenting to a new panel of judges. A win could accelerate funding, partnerships, and adoption for the chosen startup. The result may signal where investors see the strongest near-term opportunities across AI, health, manufacturing, and space.
