For startups around the world, the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield program offers unmatched exposure, credibility, and connections to scale their businesses. TechCrunch has long been committed to spotlighting companies solving real-world problems in scalable and sustainable ways — making it a powerful launchpad for startups both in and outside the U.S.
Several Latin American startups have thrived in this environment. Tackling critical challenges in their regions with bold, innovative solutions, these companies have turned Startup Battlefield momentum into international success. With increased visibility and valuable connections, they’ve attracted global investors, expanded into new markets, and grown their teams.
Salva Health is transforming breast cancer detection with its Julieta screening device, making early detection more affordable and accessible. Winning 2024 Startup Battlefield supercharged their visibility and positioned them for rapid growth.
Check out this episode of the Equity podcast to hear Salva’s founder discuss how the competition helped propel the company forward.
Ripio (formerly BitPagos) is a blockchain-powered fintech company offering digital wallets, crypto trading, and decentralized credit to promote financial inclusion in Latin America. After being selected as a Startup Battlefield New York finalist in 2016, Ripio raised a $50 million Series B led by Digital Currency Group, fueling expansion into Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Spain.
Jefa is a digital challenger bank built for unbanked and underbanked women in Latin America, offering mobile-first services like savings accounts and debit cards. After rising to prominence as a 2020 Startup Battlefield finalist, Jefa was acquired by fintech company Tala, accelerating its mission to close the gender gap in financial access.
Olho do Dono uses 3D imaging to help livestock farmers in Latin America monitor cattle weight and health without the need for physical scales. After winning Startup Battlefield Latin America in 2018, the company gained regional recognition and validated its innovative approach to modernizing livestock management.
Being featured by TechCrunch puts startups in front of a global audience of investors, customers, and collaborators — amplifying their reach far beyond local markets.
Startup Battlefield draws attention from top-tier venture capitalists, angels, and global investors who closely follow the competition. The exposure can lead to valuable conversations and funding opportunities with aligned backers.
Participation signals that a startup’s solution is globally relevant and scalable. This validation helps attract interest from media, enterprise partners, and investors alike.
Founders join a dynamic community of fellow entrepreneurs, mentors, and industry leaders. The program fosters organic connections that often lead to partnerships, guidance, and long-term support.
Apply now to Startup Battlefield and show the world what you’re building.
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Today’s the day! The application to speak at TechCrunch All Stage closes tonight at 11:59 p.m. PT — this is your final chance to share real-world insights with 1,200+ startup founders and VCs attending the event.
Whether you’ve built or backed startups, battled bottlenecks, or cracked the code on growth, the stage is yours. TC All Stage lands in Boston on July 15, and we’re giving the mic to those who’ve lived the scaling grind.
Make your voice count. Your experience could help the next generation of founders grow smarter and faster. Apply now and you might land a spot in our Audience Choice round — where TechCrunch readers choose who gets the spotlight. Here’s how the process works:
Step 1: Submit your session proposal through the Call for Content form on the TC All Stage page.
Step 2: Our events programming and editorial team will carefully review every submission to identify the strongest sessions and most compelling ideas.
Step 3: Top-picked sessions will move on to the Audience Choice round, where TechCrunch readers vote for the ones they’re most excited to see at TC All Stage.
Step 4: The three sessions with the most votes will be selected to lead their own roundtables — a highly interactive discussion designed for deep engagement.
Roundtables are 30-minute, small-group discussions led by you and up to two speakers of your choice. These informal sessions skip the slides and video, creating space for deep, focused conversations on niche topics with highly engaged attendees.
When you take the stage at TC All Stage, you don’t just get the mic — you gain full access to the entire event. Participate in roundtables with founders and investors, engage in impactful breakout sessions, and forge valuable connections with startup leaders. Perks include:
Help founders scale with precision, speed, and resilience. Inspire innovation, ignite growth, and influence the future of startups. Take the stage at TC All Stage and share your scaling expertise with founders and VCs eager for actionable insights. Establish yourself as a trusted leader in the startup ecosystem.
Apply before the day ends — the speaker application deadline is tonight at 11:59 p.m. PT!
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Geoff Ralston, well-known in the startup community for his years at Y Combinator, is back in the formal investing ring, he announced Thursday.
His new fund is called Safe Artificial Intelligence Fund, or SAIF, which is both an explanation of its thesis and a play on words.
Ralston is specifically looking for startups that “enhance AI safety, security, and responsible deployment,” as his fund’s website describes. He plans to write $100,000 checks as a SAFE, “pun intended,” he says, with a $10 million cap. A SAFE is, of course, the invest now/price later pre-seed investment tool pioneered by Y Combinator (it stands for simple agreement for future equity).
While most VCs these days are looking to invest in AI startups, Ralston’s take is a bit more focused on the idea of safe AI, even though he admits the concept is a bit broad.
“The vast majority of AI projects out in the world today are using the technology to solve problems or create efficiencies or create new capabilities. They are not necessarily intrinsically unsafe, but safety is not their primary concern,” Ralston tells TechCrunch. “I intend to fund startups whose primary objective is safe AI — as I have (very broadly) defined it.”
That list includes startups focused on improving the safety of AI, like those that clarify an AI’s decision-making process or benchmark AI safety. It includes products that protect intellectual property, those that ensure an AI conforms to compliance requirements, fight disinformation, and detect AI-generated attacks. He also wants to invest in functional AI tools with built-in safety in mind, such as better AI forecasting tools and AI-enabled business negotiation tools that won’t reveal corporate secrets to outsiders.
This might sound like a list of AI startups that many VCs are pursuing, but there are areas Ralston says he won’t back. One example is fully autonomous weapons.
“There are certainly uses of AI which would (will) be unsafe: using the technology to create bioweapons, to manage conventional weapons without a human in the loop, etc.,” he explained.
In fact, he’d like to fund “weapon safety systems” that could detect or prevent attacks from AI weapons.
This is an interesting contrarian viewpoint from many of today’s defense tech founders and VCs. As TechCrunch has previously reported, some of the people building AI weapons have increasingly been floating the idea that such weapons would be better operating without a human.
Still, all things AI is a crowded field for VCs these days. That’s where Ralston hopes his YC connections could give him an advantage. Ralston departed YC in 2022, after three years as president (succeeded by Garry Tan) and over a decade as an adviser.
Ralston plans to offer mentoring of the kind he did at the storied startup accelerator and has promised to coach them through how to apply to YC. And he’s offering to help them tap into his considerable investor network.
Ralston declined to say how big this fund is, how many startups he intends to back, or who his LP backers are.
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Want to tap into the energy of 1,000+ startup founders, investors, and tech leaders descending on Boston for TechCrunch All Stage on July 15? Host your own Side Event during “TC All Stage Week,” happening July 13-19!
Whether it’s a networking mixer, workshop, morning run, fireside chat, or cocktail hour — you call the shots. Create a moment. Build your community. Increase brand visibility with a Side Event.
Along with extending the energy beyond the venue and the actual event, you’ll get:
Check out the full details on the TC All Stage Side Events page. As the host, you’ll handle the event details, and we’ll help spread the word. There’s no fee to be listed, and everything must be:
Let’s make it happen! Hosting a Side Event is an easy way to grow your network and connect your brand to Boston’s startup crowd. Apply here to lock in your Side Event before the deadline. This is your moment to show up and stand out.
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