TechCrunch names five new judges for Disrupt 2026 Startup Battlefield

In short: TechCrunch has revealed five more venture capital investors who will judge the Startup Battlefield 200 competition at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.

What happened

TechCrunch announced the next group of judges for Startup Battlefield 200, a live pitch competition where startups present their companies to investors. Venture capitalists, often called VCs (investors who fund young companies), ask questions and decide which startups stand out.

The event is part of TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, which TechCrunch says will run October 13 to 15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. TechCrunch also said people can save up to $200 on tickets if they register before September 25.

The newly named judges are Aditi Maliwal of Upfront Ventures, Michael Palank of MaC Ventures, Nell Daly of Revenge Capital, Grace Ge of Amplify Partners, and Crystal Huang of Google Ventures (GV). TechCrunch’s article describes their investing backgrounds, including areas like fintech (financial technology), healthcare, and AI-focused software.

Why it matters

For founders, judges can shape what gets attention and funding. For everyone else, these judges give a clear look at how investors decide which new companies might last. It is a bit like watching a job interview, except the “candidate” is a whole company and the questions are about whether it can survive and grow.

Source: TechCrunch AI