Here are the 5 Startup Battlefield finalists at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
After two days full of live demos and pitches, it’s time to announce the five finalists at this year’s Startup Battlefield.
Microbes could extract the metal needed for cleantech
In a pine forest on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the only active nickel mine in the US is nearing the end of its life. At a time when carmakers want the metal for electric-vehicle batteries, nickel concentration at Eagle Mine is falling and could soon drop too low to warrant digging. But earlier this year, the…
‘Silicon Valley’ star Thomas Middleditch makes a surprise appearance at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
Actor Thomas Middleditch had a planned takeover of Australian startup Othelia’s presentation at the pitch showcase stage.
Waabi unveils autonomous truck made in partnership with Volvo
The move comes as Waabi announced earlier this year that it was partnering with Volvo Autonomous Solutions to build a custom purpose built truck based on Volvo’s auto autonomy platform using Waabi’s software stack.
Unlisted connects homeowners with prospective buyers before they even put their homes up for sale and is part of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
Unlisted is like Zillow but for homes that are not yet on the market.
Super Teacher is building an AI tutor for elementary schools — catch it at Disrupt 2025
Founded by a former math teacher and Googler, Super Teacher’s AI tutor is being used in public school in New York, New Jersey, and Hawaii.
Inside CampusAI’s mission to close the AI training gap for everyday workers — check it out at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
CampusAI is like “Coursera meets Github meets Tinder in the metaverse” — an educational platform focused on making learning accessible to everyday people who want to bring AI into their everyday workflows, and a virtual ecosystem to connect like-minded people.
Unthread has a plan for cleaning up Slack and will show off its tech at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
Unthread builds Slack-native, AI-powered support bots for high-profile customers like Intuit, Lemonade and Automattic.
Khosla-backed Mazama taps super-hot rocks in race to deliver 24/7 power
Geothermal startup Mazama Energy said it drilled a borehole that set a temperature record. Such superhot rocks could make geothermal a key player in data center power.
Aurora expands self-driving trucks route to El Paso
Aurora’s first driverless route was from Dallas to Houston. This next one is Fort Worth to El Paso.
Mirror’s founder is back with a new ‘connected screen’ startup: a gaming device called ‘Board’
Mirror’s founder is back with a connected gaming startup called Board that combines board games and video games.