Here are the 5 Startup Battlefield finalists at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 | TechCrunch

After two days full of live demos and pitches, it’s time to announce the five finalists of this year’s Startup Battlefield.

These finalists were selected from an initial pool of thousands of applicants, with TechCrunch’s editorial team narrowing the field to the 200 companies that had all joined us here at Disrupt, with the Top 20 competing against each other on the Disrupt Stage.

With feedback from our expert judges, we have now selected our finalists, who will take the stage once more on Wednesday at 11:30 AM PT to compete for our grand prize of $100,000 in equity financing, as well as temporary custody of the Startup Battlefield Cup. You can watch the finals via livestream on the TechCrunch website – or, if you’re attending the conference, on the Disrupt Stage.

Without further ado, here are the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Finalists for 2025:

Charter space

Charter Space has built a development tool for aerospace engineers, but its real mission is to serve as a space fintech company. The software collects production and testing data directly from the source and this data set then feeds an underwriting interface that connects directly to the largest insurers on the market. The goal is faster, cheaper, and more reliable risk assessment for spacecraft insurance, and ultimately enabling new forms of credit and non-dilutive financing for space companies that look beyond venture capital and the public markets.

soft

Glīd (pronounced “Glide”) aims to streamline the complex, multi-step process involved in moving a container from a ship to a freight train. The company has developed several hardware and software products to accelerate and reduce the cost of transporting shipping containers to the railhead and ultimately to their destination. Its first product is GliderM, a hybrid-electric vehicle with a rear hook that can pick up and move 20-foot containers directly to the rail without the need for forklifts or hostler trucks.

Macrocycle

MacroCycle has developed a kind of shortcut that promises to make recycled plastic as cheap as new material. The startup has devised a way to pluck desired synthetic fibers from waste textiles and leave everything else behind. Unlike most chemical recycling, MacroCycle’s process differs because it does not break down polymers. Instead, the polymer chains connect back together, forcing them into rings called macrocycles that remain after contaminants are washed away.

Nephrogenic

Nephrogen is a biotech startup that uses AI and advanced screening to develop a specialized delivery system that can safely deliver gene-editing drugs into the precise cells of the kidney. Founder Demetri Maxim says that after three years of development, Nephrogen has succeeded in creating a delivery mechanism that is 100 times more efficient at transporting drugs to the kidneys than the ‘vehicles’ currently approved by the FDA. And he plans to participate in the clinical trial himself, given the challenges he faces living with polycystic kidney disease.

Unlisted houses

Unlisted Homes is like Zillow, but for homes that aren’t yet on the market. Using public records of 21 million homes, Unlisted has created “profiles” for each property, providing the same kind of information you would find on any other real estate listing site. The company does not plan to facilitate real estate transactions through the platform, as the resources for those transactions already exist. Instead, Unlisted sells sponsorships for individual zip codes to real estate agents, who are listed as local experts for each home in that zip code.