The battle to win Startup Battlefield began long before TechCrunch Disrupt kicked off Tuesday. Startup founders from all over the world applied to what has been described as the most competitive batch in TechCrunch history. Twenty startups competed this week on the TechCrunch virtual stage for $100,000 in equity-free prize money and last night, we […]
The whole package: How plastics and sustainability startups achieve success
As people around the world become more aware and look to minimize the waste they produce, tech startups are coming up with solutions to help people and companies meet their sustainability goals.
Here are the 5 Startup Battlefield finalists at Disrupt 2021
Over the last two days, 20 companies took the stage in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield in a bid to win $100,000 and the Startup Battlefield cup. They had six minutes to present their pitch decks and answered six minutes of questions from noted investors and executives. The judges and TechCrunch editors evaluated the companies and selected […]
SEC Regional Director Erin Schneider talks SPACs, Coinbase and what startups could do better
Schneider shares insight into her personal thinking about a range of issues including crypto lending, SPACs, NFTs and what startups can do to stay out of regulators’ cross hairs.
Can the path to equitable healthcare avoid insurers?
There are few challenges messier and more fraught than the U.S. healthcare system, but a growing number of startups are looking at ways to address shortcomings in standards of care through tech.
Peter Beck says Rocket Lab actively prepared for interplanetary missions ‘from day one’
Rocket Lab long ago graduated from underdog launch provider to industry heavyweight (with funding to match). Now the company is planning to go to the moon, Mars and Venus in the next decade.
AI luminary Kai-Fu Lee and sci-fi author Chen Qiufan predict the future in ‘AI 2041’
What will an AI-infused world look like in 20 years? Sinovation founder and AI thought leader Kai-Fu Lee and breakout sci-fi author Chen Qiufan (AKA Stanley Chen) make an educated guess in “AI 2041.”
Peloton’s CEO John Foley on the changing face of connected fitness
No one roots for a pandemic, but for companies like Peloton, the timing couldn’t have been better. People on the fence about buying a treadmill or stationary bike went for it as their options shrunk.
Nth Cycle wants to revolutionize metals processing for recyclers and mine operators
There’s a lot of value in waste; just ask metals processing company Nth Cycle, which has developed a technology to help mining and recycling companies recover every bit of critical minerals from their operations. The company calls its technology “electro-extraction,” and Nth Cycle’s founder and CEO Megan O’Connor likened it to a water filter in […]
Carbix spins emissions into gold — or at least useful minerals
Pollutants pouring from smokestacks around the world may be bad news for the atmosphere, but if you catch them before they get out there, you could reduce emissions and collect some valuable materials at the same time. That’s what Carbix aims to do with its carbon-sequestering reactor, which would extract minerals from emissions while staying […]