And the winner of Startup Battlefield at Disrupt 2023 is . . . BioticsAI
3:45 PM PDT · September 21, 2023
Over the last three days, 20 startups participated in the incredibly competitive Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt. These 20 companies were selected as the best of the Startup Battlefield 200 and competed for a chance to take home the Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000. After three days of fierce pitching, we have a winner.
The startups taking part in the Startup Battlefield had all been hand-picked to participate in our startup competition. All the companies presented a live demo in front of multiple groups of VCs and tech leaders serving as judges for a chance to win $100,000 and the coveted Disrupt Cup.
After hours of deliberations, TechCrunch editors pored over the judges’ notes and narrowed the list down to six finalists: Parallel Health, Magnestar, Electrified Thermal Solutions, BioticsAI, Allie Systems and Agri-Trak.
These startups made their way to the finale to demo in front of our final panel of judges, which included Mamoon Hamid (Kleiner Perkins), Mar Hershenson (Pear VC), Charles Hudson (Precursor), Marissa Mayer (Sunshine), Matthew Panzarino (TechCrunch) and Dana Settle (Greycroft).
We’re now ready to announce that the winner of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2023 is . . .
Winner: BioticsAI
BioticsAI has built an AI-based platform that plugs into an ultrasound machine to prevent fetal malformation misdiagnosis. The startup is able to identify fetus malformations with a high level of accuracy, validate the quality and completeness of the screening and then extract all the information to automatically generate reports.
It currently focuses on second-trimester anomaly screenings but could soon expand to adjacent fields, such as gynecology, urology and neonatology. It could become the AI diagnostics platform for reproductive health and beyond.
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Read more about BioticsAI in our separate post.
Runner-up: Electrified Thermal Solutions
Electrified Thermal Solutions is a new startup that has been building something called thermal batteries. As the name suggests, it works a lot like normal batteries, but for heat. During the day, thermal batteries can be charged using clean energy from wind turbines or solar panels. When you can’t get clean energy because of insufficient light or poor weather conditions, Electrified Thermal Solutions’ bricks can take over and release heat.
Read more about Electrified Thermal Solutions in our separate post.
Neesha A. Tambe recruited, sourced, vetted and trained startup founders from across the globe for TechCrunch’s global startup competition, Startup Battlefield. Passionate about scaling products and programs to new markets domestically and internationally, Neesha ran startup programs in Berlin, San Francisco, Latin America, Middle East North Africa and Sub Saharan Africa. Additionally, Neesha managed the Startup Battlefield Alumni Community and founded CrunchMatch, TechCrunch’s investor-startup matching program. Neesha wrote her thesis on Sustainability and has a dual degree in Sociology and Political Science from Georgetown University. She also has an AA from De Anza Community College. She’s passionate about social justice, civic engagement, carbon capture and reformer pilates.
Romain Dillet was a Senior Reporter at TechCrunch until April 2025.
He has written over 3,500 articles on technology and tech startups and has established himself as an influential voice on the European tech scene. He has a deep background in startups, AI, fintech, privacy, security, blockchain, mobile, social and media.
With thirteen years of experience at TechCrunch, he’s one of the familiar faces of the tech publication that obsessively covers Silicon Valley and the tech industry — his career started at TechCrunch when he was 21. Based in Paris, many people in the tech ecosystem consider him as the most knowledgeable tech journalist in town.
Romain likes to spot important startups before anyone else. He was the first person to cover Revolut, Alan and N26. He has written scoops on large acquisitions from Apple, Microsoft and Snap.
When he’s not writing, Romain is also a developer — he understands how the tech behind the tech works. He also has a deep historical knowledge of the computer industry for the past 50 years. He knows how to connect the dots between innovations and the effect on the fabric of our society.
Romain graduated from Emlyon Business School, a leading French business school specialized in entrepreneurship. He has helped several non-profit organizations, such as StartHer, an organization that promotes education and empowerment of women in technology, and Techfugees, an organization that empowers displaced people with technology.