For three exciting days this week, 20 startups competed in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, each selected from the Startup Battlefield 200 as the very best of this year’s cohort. Every team pitched live on stage before a panel of top investors and tech leaders, all for a chance to win the Startup Battlefield Cup and a $100,000 prize.
After intense rounds of presentations and hours of deliberation, TechCrunch editors and judges narrowed the contenders down to five finalists: Charter Space, Glīd, MacroCycle, Nephrogen, and Unlisted Homes.
These five startups returned to the main stage for the final showdown, presenting once more before an elite judging panel that included Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner at Cowboy Ventures, and Kevin Rose, founder of Digg. And now, after all the anticipation, we have our winner:
Winner: Glīd
Glīd (pronounced “Glide”) is transforming how shipping containers move from sea to rail. Founded by Kevin Damoa, the company has developed a combination of hardware and software systems that simplify the complex, multi-step process of transferring containers from ships to freight trains.
Its first product, the GliderM, is a hybrid-electric vehicle equipped with a rear-mounted hook that can lift and transport 20-foot containers directly to the railhead — eliminating the need for forklifts or hostler trucks. The result: a faster, cleaner, and more cost-efficient logistics process.
Runner-up: Nephrogen
Nephrogen is a biotech startup harnessing AI and advanced screening technologies to develop a targeted delivery system for gene-editing medicines designed specifically for kidney cells.
Founder Demetri Maxim says that, after three years of research, Nephrogen has built a delivery mechanism 100 times more efficient than the FDA-approved methods currently in use. In a deeply personal twist, Maxim — who lives with polycystic kidney disease — plans to participate in Nephrogen’s upcoming clinical studies himself.
These two remarkable companies now join the ranks of Startup Battlefield alumni such as Dropbox, Discord, Cloudflare, and Mint. Over 1,500 startups have participated in the program since its inception, collectively raising over $29 billion in funding and achieving more than 200 successful exits.
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