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

A great pitch doesn’t win Startup Battlefield 200. A great company does.

That’s why the VCs sitting in the judges’ seats matter so much. They aren’t looking for polished presentations or clever demos — they’re looking for founders solving real problems with businesses that can endure. Every question they ask is designed to uncover what slides and rehearsed answers can’t: conviction, clarity, execution, and whether this company has the potential to become the next category leader.

For more than 15 years, Startup Battlefield has helped launch companies that went on to define entire markets, and every year a new group of founders earns the chance to join that legacy.

Today, we’re introducing the next wave of judges who’ll take their seats at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, happening on October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. They’ll spend each day evaluating ambitious startups across industries, asking the tough questions founders hope for — and sometimes fear. If you want to understand how experienced investors really evaluate early-stage companies, there’s no better place to watch than Startup Battlefield, live on the Disrupt Stage.

Be sure to snag savings of up to $200 on your Disrupt 2026 ticket before rates increase on September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Register here.

Meet the next five VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200

Now, without further ado, meet the next five judges joining this year’s Startup Battlefield, the ultimate startup pitch competition.

Aditi Maliwal, General Partner, Upfront Ventures

Aditi Maliwal is a general partner at Upfront Ventures, where she invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in fintech, enterprise SaaS, AI applications, and developer tools. Her portfolio includes Clair, Writer, Arcade, and General Translation. Maliwal previously held roles at Google and Deutsche Bank and led the Series A investment in Chime during her tenure at a prior firm. She is Upfront’s first San Francisco-based partner.

Michael Palank, General Partner, MaC Ventures

Michael Palank is a general partner at MaC Ventures, a majority Black-owned venture firm that backs seed-stage consumer and enterprise companies through a culturally driven investment thesis, with a focus on AI, fintech, healthcare, media, entertainment, and aerospace and defense. Before transitioning to venture, Palank worked in Hollywood talent representation at William Morris and Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith’s production company.

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

Nell Daly is the co-founder and managing partner of Revenge Capital, an evergreen sector-agnostic fund focused on backing overlooked founders — including women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and neurodiverse entrepreneurs — across the United States and United Kingdom. Before launching the fund, Daly worked as a psychotherapist, a background she draws on directly in her founder-first investment approach.

Grace Ge, Partner, Amplify Partners

Grace Ge is a partner at Amplify Partners, where she invests in AI, developer tooling, data infrastructure, and modern SaaS — with a particular focus on the layer between foundation models and enterprise 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 list for Venture Capital.

Crystal Huang, General Partner, Google Ventures

Crystal Huang is a general partner at GV, where she focuses on enterprise SaaS, AI infrastructure, and fintech — with a particular lens on product-led and developer-led go-to-market strategies. Her portfolio companies include Typeface, Pecan AI, Sardine, Cacheflow, PostHog, Roboflow, and Sift. Before joining GV, Huang was an investor at NEA and GGV Capital and worked in technology mergers and acquisitions at Blackstone.

Get to know all the VC judges on the Disrupt agenda.

Don’t miss Disrupt and Startup Battlefield 200

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is happening October 13-15 in San Francisco, bringing 10,000+ tech leaders, VCs, and founders together to meet the next generation of breakout startups, connect with the leaders who could change their startup’s trajectory, and get a front-row seat to where the industry is headed. Save up to $200 on your ticket before rates increase on September 25. Save even more when you register as a group.

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