Introducing the Upcoming Five Venture Capitalists Evaluating Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch
After extensive evaluations of thousands of applications from startups worldwide, the moment everyone has eagerly anticipated is finally approaching.
Startup Battlefield 200 is just around the corner, with the judging panel now nearly finalized. In a few weeks, 200 handpicked startups will convene at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to showcase their innovations, network with investors, and vie for a prestigious chance in the startup arena. Only a small fraction will progress to the live competition, where they will present their ideas to an audience of founding entrepreneurs, investors, media, and potential customers, all while facing challenging questions from top industry thinkers.
The jury today consists of seasoned professionals with vast experience in nurturing companies, empowering founders, and recognizing potential groundbreaking ideas before they capture widespread attention. Their decisions will influence which startups progress to the Startup Battlefield finals and ultimately, who stands a chance to take home the coveted trophy this year. For those wanting to witness tomorrow’s industry leaders before they become mainstream, TechCrunch Disrupt is the place to be.
To experience the main event at the Disrupt Stage and attend this year’s premier pitch competition, don’t miss out on registering for TechCrunch Disrupt. Secure your pass and enjoy a 50% discount for your co-founder, partner, or peer. If you’re bringing a group of four or more, you could save up to 30% on passes.
Introducing the latest judges for Startup Battlefield
Explore the profiles of the 20 judges announced so far by checking out the Disrupt agenda. Stay tuned for the final announcement, where we’ll reveal the five judges who will assess the finalists and decide who takes home the $100,000 equity-free award and the prestigious Disrupt Cup.
Caleb Appleton, Partner, Bison Ventures
Caleb Appleton serves as a partner at Bison Ventures, focusing on investments in physical AI within the realms of techbio, robotics, and real-world applications. With a background in biomedical engineering, his investment portfolio includes companies such as Cobot, Vivodyne, Passkey, Sleuth, Inner Logic, Cosmon, and Grid Aero. Appleton’s past experience includes investing in frontier technologies at Innovation Endeavors and working for several years at TuneIn, offering him insights into early-stage science, venture investing, and scaling technology enterprises.
Sara Deshpande, General Partner, Maven Ventures
Sara Deshpande is a general partner at Maven Ventures, where she invests in seed-stage companies that are built around new consumer trends and behaviors. She specializes in consumer software, particularly in digital health and AI applications. Deshpande was the first employee at Maven in 2014 and brings a decade of experience in the venture capital field, holding an MBA from Stanford, where she currently teaches startups and entrepreneurship.
Aatish Nayak, Partner, Kleiner Perkins
Aatish Nayak became a partner at Kleiner Perkins in May 2026, focusing on collaborating with AI-native founders who possess deep domain expertise across various sectors. Prior to joining, Nayak held the role of first PM and VP of Product at Harvey, where he contributed to the development of initial products and teams across design, marketing, analytics, and support. He also worked as an early product leader at Scale AI, concentrating on data infrastructure for e-commerce, early natural language processing (GPT-2), and autonomous vehicles. His earlier career included significant contributions to Shield AI, where he worked on vital knowledge systems for robotic defense applications.
Jason Risch, Partner, Greylock
Jason Risch is a partner at Greylock, focusing his investments in enterprise security, AI and ML infrastructure, data platforms, and developer tools. His portfolio encompasses Onehouse, a cloud-native lakehouse platform, and Baseten, a toolkit for machine learning model deployment for data science teams. Prior to Greylock, Risch gained experience in business operations at Opendoor and as a management consultant at McKinsey. He holds a degree in Mathematical and Computational Science from Stanford University.
Mark Xu, Partner, Index Ventures
Mark Xu operates as a partner at Index Ventures, investing at various stages in cybersecurity, infrastructure, and AI. His investments include cutting-edge AI companies such as Fireworks, Parallel, 7AI, and Simile, with previous experience as a growth investor at Lightspeed, supporting ventures like Wiz and Glean. Xu seeks out deeply technical founders with domain expertise and a strong customer-focus.
Get your Disrupt pass and don’t miss Startup Battlefield
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will take place from October 13-15 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, uniting over 10,000 tech leaders, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs to discover the next wave of innovative startups, connect with influential figures who can reshape their business strategies, and gain insight into future industry directions.
Register now to enjoy savings of up to $100 before the event begins, and don’t forget that you can get a second pass for 50% off for a co-founder, colleague, or peer. Join together to explore everything Disrupt has to offer, including six industry stages, roundtables, breakout sessions, and interactions with startups that are defining the future of technology.
