After a deepfake voice fooled her grandfather, this founder sprang into action

September 28, 2026
After her grandfather was scammed by a deepfake of his brother’s voice, Tarini Padmanabhuni founded DetectifAI, a San Francisco startup building AI models small enough to run directly on smartphones and flag fake voices in real time, and it’s now one of the companies competing in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt.

Next five VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 contenders at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

September 28, 2026
Thousands of applications. Multiple rounds of review. Hundreds of hours spent evaluating startups from around the world. Now comes the part everyone has been waiting for. Startup Battlefield 200 is almost here, and with today’s announcement, the judging panel is nearly complete. In just a couple of weeks, 200 carefully selected startups will gather at […]