The judging panel for Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is nearing completion with the latest announcement of five new judges. The highly anticipated event will feature 200 selected startups gathering in San Francisco for pitches, investor meetings, and competition for one of the startup world’s most prestigious opportunities.
These newly revealed judges bring extensive experience in building companies and identifying transformative ideas. They will evaluate the remaining contenders as they narrow down to the finalists who will compete for the $100,000 equity-free prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup.
The Newest Judges
Caleb Appleton, Partner at Bison Ventures, focuses on physical AI across techbio, robotics, and real-world intelligence. A biomedical engineer, his portfolio includes Cobot, Vivodyne, Passkey, Sleuth, Inner Logic, Cosmon, and Grid Aero. Previously, he invested in frontier technologies at Innovation Endeavors and gained operational experience at TuneIn.
Sara Deshpande, General Partner at Maven Ventures, has been with the firm since 2014, making it her first employer. She invests in seed-stage companies centered on emerging consumer behaviors, particularly in digital health and AI applications. Deshpande holds an MBA from Stanford, where she now teaches a course on startups and entrepreneurship.
Aatish Nayak joined Kleiner Perkins as a partner in May 2026, where he partners with AI-native founders possessing deep vertical expertise. Prior to this role, he served as the first product manager and VP of Product at Harvey. His earlier career includes early product leadership at Scale AI, working on data infrastructure for ecommerce and NLP, and time at Shield AI developing knowledge stacks for robotic defense systems.
Jason Risch, Partner at Greylock, invests in enterprise security, AI and ML infrastructure, data platforms, and developer tools. His investments include Onehouse and Baseten. Before Greylock, Risch worked in business operations at Opendoor, as a management consultant at McKinsey’s Bay Area practice, and as a startup builder at the AI Fund. He studied Mathematical and Computational Science at Stanford University.
Mark Xu, Partner at Index Ventures, invests across cybersecurity, infrastructure, and AI at various stages. He has backed AI frontier companies such as Fireworks, Parallel, 7AI, Simile, and Flapping Airplanes. Previously, Xu was a growth investor at Lightspeed, supporting companies like Wiz, Glean, and Grafana.
Event Details and Registration
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 takes place October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The conference expects to host over 10,000 tech leaders, venture capitalists, and founders. Attendees will have access to six industry stages, roundtables, breakout sessions, and the opportunity to connect with founders shaping the future of technology.
Those interested can register for the event to secure spots at the Disrupt Stage for the ultimate pitch competition. Registration offers savings of up to $100 before the doors open, with discounts available for bringing co-founders, colleagues, or peers.
Index Ventures backing Fireworks and Parallel is solid. Looks like a strong lineup for evaluating frontier AI companies this cycle.
Does anyone know if the new judges will skew heavily toward deep tech? Seems like a lot of focus on AI and infrastructure.
Wow, 200 startups competing for just one winner? That sounds incredibly stressful for the founders. Hope the pitch time isn’t too rushed.
Kleiner Perkins joining the panel is huge news. Harvey’s former VP of Product brings serious credibility to the AI track this year.