TechCrunch Disrupt 2024: The Ultimate Startup Competition
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 coveted Startup Battlefield Cup and $100,000.
The Intense Pitching Process
These startups 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 five finalists:
- GeCKo Materials
- Luna
- MabLab
- Salva Health
- Stitch3D
These startups made their way to the finale to demo in front of our final panel of judges, which included Navin Chaddha (Mayfield), Chris Farmer (SignalFire), Dayna Grayson (Construct Capital), Ann Miura-Ko (Floodgate), and Hans Tung (Notable Capital).
The Winner: Salva Health
We’re now ready to announce that the winner of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2024 is… Salva Health.
Six years ago, while researching for a college entrepreneurship competition, Valentina Agudelo identified a troubling gap in breast cancer survival rates between Latin America and the developed world. Women in her native Colombia and the rest of the continent died at higher rates due to late detection. She realized that breast cancer is highly treatable when diagnosed early, yet many Latin American countries have large rural populations lacking access to mammograms and other diagnostic tools.
So Agudelo and her two best friends decided to create Salva Health, a theoretical portable device that would detect breast cancer early.
Read more about Salva Health in our separate post.
Runner-Up: GeCKo Materials
It looks fake, or at least like a good illusion: There’s GeCKo Materials founder Capella Kerst dangling a full wine bottle from her pinky finger, the only thing keeping it from smashing to pieces being the super-strong dry-adhesive her startup has brought to market.
But it’s no trick. It’s the result of years of academic research that Dr. Kerst built on by inventing a method to mass-manufacture the adhesive. Inspired by the way real-life geckos’ feet grip surfaces, the adhesive is like a new Velcro — except it only needs one side, leaves no residue, and can detach as quickly as it attaches.
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The Legacy of the Startup Battlefield
The Startup Battlefield has been running for years, and each year it gets more intense. This year was no exception, with 20 startups vying for the top spot.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Startup Battlefield is a testament to innovation and determination. Each startup that participated in this competition showed immense potential and creativity.
The winner of this year’s competition was Salva Health, a company that has created a portable device to detect breast cancer early. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
Join us next year for another exciting edition of the Startup Battlefield!
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