And the winner of Startup Battlefield at Disrupt 2025 is: Glīd

For three days this week, 20 startups Participated in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Each was chosen to best represent the Startup Battlefield 200 and compete for the Startup Battlefield Cup and a chance to take home $100,000. After so much intense pitching, we have a winner.

These startups were handpicked to compete Startup battlefieldAnd they all presented a live demo in front of VCs and tech leaders who judged the competition

After hours of deliberation, TechCrunch editors pored over the judges’ notes and narrowed the list down to five finalists: Charter Space, Glid, MacroCycle, Nephrogen and Unlisted Homes.

The final five reached the finals to demo in front of our final panel of judges, which included Eileen Lee, founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures, and Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.

We are now ready to announce that the winners of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2024 are:

Winner: Glide

Glīd (pronounced “glide”) aims to streamline the complex, multifaceted process involved in moving a container from a ship to a freight train. The company, founded by Kevin Damoa (pictured), has developed several hardware and software products to speed up and reduce the cost of getting shipping containers to the railhead and eventually to their destination. Its first product is the GliderM, a hybrid-electric vehicle with a hook on the back that can lift and move 20-foot containers directly on rails without the need for hostler truck forklifts.

Read more about Glide In our separate post.

Runner up: Nephrogen

Nephrogen is a biotech startup that uses AI and advanced screening to develop a specialized delivery system to safely get gene-editing drugs to the right cells in the kidney. Founder Demetri Maxim says that after three years of development, Nephrogen has succeeded in creating a delivery system that is 100 times more efficient at transporting drugs to the kidney than “vehicles” currently approved by the FDA. And given the challenges she faces living with polycystic kidney disease, she plans to participate in clinical studies herself.

Read more about Nephrogen Our separate post.

These two companies follow in the footsteps of startup battlefield legends like Dropbox, Discord, Cloudflare and Mint on the Disrupt stage. With more than 1,500 alumni participating in the program, Startup Battlefield Alumni has collectively raised $29 billion in funding with more than 200 successful exits.