TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Meet the new VC judges
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 runs October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, introducing top VC judges for the Startup Battlefield 200 competing for a $100,000 prize.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 takes place October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco.
- Startup Battlefield 200 features founders pitching for a $100,000 grand prize.
- New VC judges include top investors from ODDBIRD VC, ICONIQ, General Catalyst, and IVP.
- Attendees gain insights from evaluations while connecting with over 10,000 tech leaders.
The upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 conference, scheduled for October 13–15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, is gearing up to host one of the most competitive startup pitch events of the year. For the hand-picked founders participating in Startup Battlefield 200, each team receives exactly six minutes to make their case before facing rigorous evaluation.
Beyond the pitches, the critical value often emerges during the Q&A sessions as judges probe into execution capabilities, market size, and defensibility. These discussions offer invaluable lessons for both the competing founders and the thousands of attendees watching from the audience.
Organizers have officially unveiled the latest wave of venture capitalists joining the panel to judge early-stage founders vying for the $100,000 prize:
- Vaibhav ‘Dr.V’ Agrawal, Co-Founder and General Partner at ODDBIRD VC, focusing on AI, healthcare, bio, and critical supply chain reindustrialization.
- Anu Bharadwaj, Partner at ICONIQ, specializing in enterprise software and AI with extensive leadership experience at Atlassian and Microsoft.
- Sho Sho Leigha Ho, Partner on General Catalyst’s seed team, investing in early-stage founders as the firm's youngest partner appointed in 2024.
- Miloni Madan Presler, Partner at IVP, partnering with inflection-stage tech founders across enterprise software, healthcare, and security sectors.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt continues to serve as a vital barometer for early-stage startup trends. The inclusion of partners from prominent venture funds underscores the sustained investor appetite for foundational AI, infrastructure, and scalable enterprise software solutions in the current market cycle.
Alongside the pitch competition, Disrupt 2026 features six industry stages with leaders from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Participants have until September 25 to secure ticket savings before rates increase.
Source: TechCrunch
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