TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield pitch contest is still one of the toughest filters in startup land. Thousands apply each year. Just 200 teams make it into the Startup Battlefield 200, and only 20 of those reach the main stage to fight for the cup and a 100,000 dollar prize.
The other 180 companies do not just go home. They pitch within their categories and, in many cases, build just as ambitious products. Here are 26 consumer and edtech startups that made the Battlefield 200 cut in 2025 and why they matter.
Consumer startups
Ahoi
What it does: Helps people discover venues and locations that are accessible for those with limited mobility.
Why it matters: Ahoi builds inclusive mapping and discovery tools so users who rely on accessibility features do not have to guess whether a place will actually work for them.
AllFocal Optics Limited
What it does: Uses nanophotonic technology to build lenses that sharpen visual clarity.
Why it matters: The company says its lenses can help users, including people who suffer from headaches or dizziness, better tolerate long sessions in extended reality environments.
Billight
What it does: A light-up pool table and gaming system.
Why it matters: Billight claims to be the first pool table that fully lights up, turning a traditional bar game into an interactive, tech-forward experience.
Cerca Dating
What it does: A dating app for Gen Z that leans on mutual friends rather than swipes from strangers.
Why it matters: At a moment of dating app fatigue, Cerca is trying to revive social-circle matchmaking and show that digital romance is not dead yet.
FounderWay.ai
What it does: A platform that helps founders scale their startups with AI-driven business advice, from pitch decks to target markets.
Why it matters: Instead of hunting for answers across blogs, videos and mentors, early-stage founders can get structured guidance on core questions around building and running a company.
Hotel Treats
What it does: A platform for luxury hotels to sell vouchers for experiences such as spa visits and fine dining.
Why it matters: Hotels can monetise day visitors, while consumers get access to one-off luxury services without paying for an overnight stay.
Jotto
What it does: Generates QR codes for events and venues so guests can leave feedback and reviews.
Why it matters: Jotto lets people respond not just with text but also via video or voice, giving businesses richer, more nuanced feedback.
Nim
What it does: A platform for creating AI-generated videos.
Why it matters: In a crowded AI video market, Nim pitches itself as an all-in-one tool, combining prompt help with reusable clips to speed up production.
Perfingo
What it does: A financial planning tool.
Why it matters: Perfingo describes itself as the first tool of its type in Singapore, targeting consumers who want more structure around their personal finances.
Pintours
What it does: A tour-booking platform with an AI tour guide.
Why it matters: Travellers can guide themselves through tours and personalise routes and information, instead of following a one-size-fits-all script.
Prickly Pear Health
What it does: Provides a voice AI companion for women that monitors brain health.
Why it matters: Rather than acting like a simple chatbot, its AI is trained to detect language and context shifts that may signal cognitive issues, particularly those linked to hormonal changes in women in their 30s to 50s.
rax
What it does: A peer-to-peer clothing rental platform.
Why it matters: Rax won the top consumer pitch at the event. The startup says it is among the first of its kind in Canada and has just announced an expansion into the United States.
Rent a Cyber Friend
What it does: Connects people with potential friends in their own professions online.
Why it matters: This is not a broad social network. It is a focused matching app that adds features such as video calls and chats to help professional friendships actually form.
Renude
What it does: An AI-powered skincare recommendation engine for beauty brands.
Why it matters: By combining computer vision models with large language models, Renude enables brands to deliver personalised product suggestions to every customer in their ecommerce funnels.
Snap Discovery AG
What it does: Builds a brain-computer interface designed for hands-free everyday interaction.
Why it matters: The device integrates with the Unity game engine and is pitched for uses ranging from gaming to stress management.
Tasteit
What it does: An app that helps people meet up to dine together.
Why it matters: Tasteit brands itself as an anti-dating app, using shared meals as the primary match driver rather than romance as the starting point.
Tattd
What it does: An AI-powered marketplace that helps people find and book tattoo artists.
Why it matters: Users can generate a tattoo mock-up with generative AI, then get matched with an artist whose portfolio best aligns with that design.
Vista InnoTech Limited
What it does: Develops technology to stabilise photos by cancelling out unintentional shaking or vibration.
Why it matters: Its Micro Gimbal Stabilizer is small enough to fit into most mobile devices and is designed to perform well even in low light.
Young Minds App
What it does: A parental control app that helps keep kids away from unsafe online behaviour.
Why it matters: The app rewards good digital choices and can block distractions during study time, giving families more tools to manage screens.
ZoraSafe
What it does: Identifies and protects consumers against scams.
Why it matters: Targeted at families and seniors, ZoraSafe scans links and messages to catch scams, including those using deepfakes and social engineering, and adds AI coaching features.
Edtech startups
Calificadas
What it does: Provides AI-powered training to improve workplace communication.
Why it matters: Designed with diversity, equity and inclusion in mind, the app helps users refine word choice, message structure and even nonverbal cues.
CampusAI
What it does: A flexible platform to train people on artificial intelligence.
Why it matters: It is aimed at everyday professionals, from sales and HR to legal teams, who want to use AI to improve their work rather than become full-time machine learning experts.
General Neuro
What it does: Makes the NeuroLingo headset to support foreign language learning.
Why it matters: The headset creates conditions intended to boost language acquisition, paired with a synchronised app.
Readmio
What it does: A story-time app for parents and children.
Why it matters: As parents read stories aloud, the app follows the text, adding sounds and music at specific passages to make reading sessions more interactive.
Super Teacher
What it does: Provides an AI-powered tutor for elementary schools.
Why it matters: The tutor delivers individualised instruction and assessments in the classroom and offers students 24/7 access when they are at home.
ZEZEDU Corp.
What it does: An AI-driven platform from South Korea for personalised math learning.
Why it matters: Targeted at schools and academies, Zezedu tracks assignments, grading and feedback while adapting the curriculum to each learner.
Together, these 26 companies show how broad the Battlefield 200 consumer and edtech category has become, from brain-computer interfaces and scam detection tools to language-learning headsets and AI tutors in classrooms.
