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And the winner of Startup Battlefield at Disrupt 2026 is: Intero Biosystems
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TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 has crowned Intero Biosystems as the winner of its Startup Battlefield competition. The Denver-based startup took home the Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000 after three days of intense pitching in San Francisco. Apate, an Australian cybersecurity company, was named runner-up. The event featured 20 eager startups selected from the Startup Battlefield 200, all competing for the top prize.
The competition began with 20 handpicked startups presenting live demos before venture capitalists and tech leaders serving as judges. After hours of deliberation, TechCrunch editors reviewed judgesâ notes and narrowed the field to five finalists: Apate, Flox Intelligence, Intero Biosystems, Industrial Next, and Satlyt. These finalists then demoed before a final panel of judges including Alexa von Tobel of Inspired Capital, Chi-Hua Chien of Goodwater Capital, Dayna Grayson of Construct Capital, Karl Alomar of M13, and Stacy Brown-Philpot of Cherryrock Capital.
Intero Biosystems, founded by Charlie Childs and Madeline Eiken, spun out of the University of Michigan. The startup develops 1mm human intestinal âorganoids,â lab-grown tissue that mimics the gut. This technology offers a new way to study how drugs and other compounds affect the human body before they are tested in people. The company sells its flagship product, GastroScreen, to pharmaceutical, biotech, food, and chemical companies for testing purposes.
Apate, the runner-up, was founded by Dali Kaafar, who conceived the idea while researching at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. The startup deploys thousands of AI agents that masquerade as innocent victims to engage with fraudsters. These agents answer scam calls, respond to shady messages and emails, follow phishing links, and join social media groups to bait criminals. Customers also receive an insights portal offering intelligence and analytics on scams targeting their end users, employees, brands, and products.
The win matters because Intero Biosystems could reduce reliance on human trials by providing accurate, lab-grown intestinal models for early drug testing. Apateâs approach offers a proactive defense against the growing threat of online fraud. Both companies now join the prestigious ranks of Startup Battlefield winners and finalists, including Trello, Discord, Cloudflare, and Mint.
The judgesâ panel praised the innovation and potential impact of the finalists, though specific reactions were not detailed in the announcement. TechCrunch editors played a key role in evaluating the judgesâ notes to select the final five. The competition highlighted the strength of early-stage startups tackling diverse challenges.
With more than 1,700 alumni having participated in Startup Battlefield, these companies have collectively raised over $30 billion in funding and achieved more than 200 successful exits. Intero Biosystems and Apate now join this legacy, positioning themselves for future growth and investment. Their success at Disrupt 2026 signals promising trajectories in biotech and cybersecurity.
