Startup Battlefield alumni: 1,700+ companies, $32B raised, 250+ exits
TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield competition has produced over 1,700 alumni companies that have collectively raised $32 billion and achieved more than 250 exits. Notable alumni include Dropbox, Cloudflare, Discord, Mint, Trello, Forethought and N26. Dropbox acquired fellow Battlefield alum DocSend in 2021. Applications for the 2026 competition have been extended to June 8. Recent winners include Kevin Damoa of Glīd (2025 champion) and Capella Kerst of geCKo Materials (2024 runner-up). Forethought AI, a 2018 winner, was acquired by Zendesk. Other alumni featured on the Build Mode podcast include David Park of Narada and Sarah Lucena of Mappa.
What’s reported
More than 1,700 companies have competed on the Startup Battlefield stage.
These companies have raised $32 billion in total funding.
They have generated over 250 exits.
Acquisitions include by Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Salesforce, Twitter, Uber, and Amazon.
Dropbox acquired fellow Startup Battlefield alum DocSend in 2021.
Application deadline for Startup Battlefield 2026 has been pushed to June 8.
Kevin Damoa of Glīd won Startup Battlefield 2025.
Capella Kerst of geCKo Materials was runner-up in 2024.
Deon Nicholas of Forethought AI won in 2018; Forethought AI was acquired by Zendesk.
David Park of Narada and Sarah Lucena of Mappa are top 20 finalist stories.
Other alumni include Anna Sun of Nowadays, Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti of Rivio, Kyle Rudolph and Jon Walburg of Alltroo, Jas Schembri-Stothart of Luna, and Andre Peart of Untapped Solutions.
Key figures
Kevin Damoa, founder of Glīd, 2025 Startup Battlefield champion
Capella Kerst, founder and CEO of geCKo Materials, 2024 runner-up
Deon Nicholas, co-founder of Forethought AI, 2018 winner
David Park, founder of Narada
Sarah Lucena, founder and CEO of Mappa
Anna Sun of Nowadays
Hala Jalwan and Alessio Tresanti of Rivio
Kyle Rudolph and Jon Walburg of Alltroo
Jas Schembri-Stothart of Luna
Andre Peart of Untapped Solutions
Sources: TechCrunch
