Meet the five companies competing in the Startup Battlefield finals at Disrupt 2026

Five startups have advanced to the Startup Battlefield finals at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 after outperforming twenty competitors across four categories. The finalists feature innovations spanning space computing, scam fighting, and lab-grown human tissue. The remaining contenders tackle distinct technical challenges. Apate deploys thousands of AI agents to bait fraudsters by masquerading as potential victims across calls, messages, and social media.

Flox Intelligence uses edge devices and motion-triggered cameras to identify wildlife and emit species-appropriate deterrent sounds. Intero Biosystems creates complex lab-grown human intestinal organoids containing multiple cell and tissue types to test drugs before human trials. Industrial Next builds AI-driven robotic stations powered by proprietary foundation models designed to retool production lines in minutes.

Finally, Satlyt develops software to enable distributed satellite computing in space, having already tested its system on two demonstration missions. The finals take place Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time. A panel of expert judges will select the overall winner, who will receive the Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000 in equity-free funding.