With 5 days left to save up to $200 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass, we’ll list every day why you should join the 10,000+ founders, investors, and operators October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco.
Save on tickets before prices increase on September 25th at 11:59pm PT. Plus, you can get 50% off your second ticket of the same type. Register now.
Reason #1: Discovery
One of the values of Disrupt is that it always detects breakouts early. A startup you’ve never heard of. Technology moving from experiment to actual product. The founders attacked the problem in ways you never thought possible. Or an emerging category that suddenly seems much bigger when you see some companies building around it.
Startup Battlefield 200 brings together 200 early-stage companies hand-picked by TechCrunch in one place, giving you a three-day look at what a new generation of founders think is worth building and what investors are looking to add to their portfolios.
See where investors are betting
Early-stage startups can be a useful signal. Look at them enough and you’ll see where founders are seeing opportunities, what technologies are becoming available, which old problems are being attacked in new ways, and where entirely new markets are forming.
At Disrupt, all 200 startups from the Startup Battlefield will be on display, so you can see more than just the company description. Introducing the founders. Check out our products. Ask yourself why you’re building it. Find out who you’re building it for. Understand what they think other markets are missing.
For investors, that could mean new deal flow and new categories to watch. For founders, it’s a chance to see what other early-stage teams are building and how they’re approaching the market. For carriers and technology leaders, this may mean discovering potential suppliers, partners or solutions before entering the wider market.
Sometimes discovery means finding a company. Sometimes it’s important to find the pattern behind some of them.
Watch 20 startups test their ideas on the world stage
20 of the top 200 companies will join the Disrupt Stage to pitch live in front of leading investors and the TechCrunch community. In the end, you’ll take home the Disrupt Cup and $100,000 in non-equity funds. Check out all Startup Battlefield stage sessions on Disrupt’s agenda.
But it’s not just who wins that’s worth paying attention to. You’ll see startups explain why their problem matters, why their approach is different, and why they believe they can build something bigger. Then you’ll hear the questions investors ask about it.
For those who build, support, and evaluate startups, this is an easy way to understand what turns an interesting idea into an attention-grabbing company.
Don’t miss out on this fierce pitch competition and your chance to find out who will be making waves next in the tech industry. Register now to save up to $200 and bring your colleagues, co-founders, and partners on 50% off tickets.
Discover before others do
Startup Battlefield alumni include companies that have gone on to become household names in the tech industry, including Dropbox, Discord, Cloudflare, Fitbit, Mint, and Trello, and have collectively raised $32 billion in funding since the program’s inception.
No one knows which members of the 2026 class will follow that path. Discovery is most valuable before the answer is revealed.
Introducing 200 carefully selected startups. Talk to companies outside your usual field. Watch the finalists pitch on the Disrupt Stage. Look for emerging technologies, business models, and problems.
You just might find your next investment, partner, or product. You may be able to spot emerging markets before they reach your daily feed. Or maybe you just find one startup that changes the way you think about what happens next.
5 days left to save up to $200 with Disrupt Pass
The current TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 ticket discount ends on September 25th at 11:59pm PT. Register now to save up to $200 on your pass and 50% off your second pass. Or save up to 30% when you come in a group of 4 or more.
Storage period is 5 days. There are many reasons to join over 10,000 tech leaders in San Francisco. Learn more about all of Disrupt’s activations and why it has been a startup capital for at least 15 years. Get your tickets before prices go up.
If you make a purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect editorial independence.
