Next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 contenders at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 revealed

A large transportation doesn’t triumph Startup Battlefield 200. A large institution does.

That’s wherefore the VCs sitting successful the judges’ seats substance truthful much. They aren’t looking for polished presentations oregon clever demos — they’re looking for founders solving existent problems with businesses that tin endure. Every question they inquire is designed to uncover what slides and rehearsed answers can’t: conviction, clarity, execution, and whether this institution has the imaginable to go the adjacent class leader.

For much than 15 years, Startup Battlefield has helped motorboat companies that went connected to specify full markets, and each twelvemonth a caller radical of founders earns the accidental to articulation that legacy.

Image Credits:Kimberly White / Getty Images

Today, we’re introducing the adjacent question of judges who’ll instrumentality their seats astatine TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, happening connected October 13-15 astatine Moscone West successful San Francisco. They’ll walk each time evaluating ambitious startups crossed industries, asking the pugnacious questions founders anticipation for — and sometimes fear. If you privation to recognize however experienced investors really measure early-stage companies, there’s nary amended spot to ticker than Startup Battlefield, unrecorded connected the Disrupt Stage.

Be definite to snag savings of up to $200 connected your Disrupt 2026 summons earlier rates summation connected September 25 astatine 11:59 p.m. PT. Register here.

Meet the adjacent 5 VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200

Now, without further ado, conscionable the adjacent 5 judges joining this year’s Startup Battlefield, the eventual startup transportation competition.

Image Credits:TechCrunch

Aditi Maliwal, General Partner, Upfront Ventures

Aditi Maliwal is simply a wide spouse astatine Upfront Ventures, wherever she invests astatine the pre-seed and effect stages successful fintech, endeavor SaaS, AI applications, and developer tools. Her portfolio includes Clair, Writer, Arcade, and General Translation. Maliwal antecedently held roles astatine Google and Deutsche Bank and led the Series A concern successful Chime during her tenure astatine a anterior firm. She is Upfront’s archetypal San Francisco-based partner.

Michael Palank, General Partner, MaC Ventures

Michael Palank is simply a wide spouse astatine MaC Ventures, a bulk Black-owned task steadfast that backs seed-stage user and endeavor companies done a culturally driven concern thesis, with a absorption connected AI, fintech, healthcare, media, entertainment, and aerospace and defense. Before transitioning to venture, Palank worked successful Hollywood endowment practice astatine William Morris and Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith’s accumulation company.

Nell Daly, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Revenge Capital

Nell Daly is the co-founder and managing spouse of Revenge Capital, an evergreen sector-agnostic money focused connected backing overlooked founders — including women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and neurodiverse entrepreneurs — crossed the United States and United Kingdom. Before launching the fund, Daly worked arsenic a psychotherapist, a inheritance she draws connected straight successful her founder-first concern approach.

Grace Ge, Partner, Amplify Partners

Grace Ge is simply a spouse astatine Amplify Partners, wherever she invests successful AI, developer tooling, information infrastructure, and modern SaaS — with a peculiar absorption connected the furniture betwixt instauration models and endeavor applications. Her portfolio includes Pinecone, Eppo, Vivun, Orb, and Avoca. Amplify’s broader portfolio includes Datadog, Fastly, Temporal, dbt, and Modal. Ge was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 database for Venture Capital.

Crystal Huang, General Partner, Google Ventures

Crystal Huang is simply a wide spouse astatine GV, wherever she focuses connected endeavor SaaS, AI infrastructure, and fintech — with a peculiar lens connected product-led and developer-led go-to-market strategies. Her portfolio companies see Typeface, Pecan AI, Sardine, Cacheflow, PostHog, Roboflow, and Sift. Before joining GV, Huang was an capitalist astatine NEA and GGV Capital and worked successful exertion mergers and acquisitions astatine Blackstone.

Get to cognize each the VC judges connected the Disrupt agenda.

Don’t miss Disrupt and Startup Battlefield 200

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is happening October 13-15 successful San Francisco, bringing 10,000+ tech leaders, VCs, and founders unneurotic to conscionable the adjacent procreation of breakout startups, link with the leaders who could alteration their startup’s trajectory, and get a front-row spot to wherever the manufacture is headed. Save up to $200 connected your ticket earlier rates summation connected September 25. Save adjacent much erstwhile you register arsenic a group.

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