TechCrunch brings Startup Battlefield back to Australia

TechCrunch is returning to Sydney on August 19, 2026, to host its Startup Battlefield competition in partnership with Stripe. The event will feature pitches from startups, with the top three companies winning up to $15,000 in Stripe fee credits. The grand winner of the competition will receive automatic entry into the Startup Battlefield 200—the top 200 startups selected for the TechCrunch Disrupt event—held in San Francisco. Applications for the event are open to startups across Australia and New Zealand through July 6.

The upcoming event seeks to replicate the outcomes of the first Australian competition, which took place in November 2017. That event served as a launchpad for several companies, including winner HealthMatch and runner-up FluroSat, which later merged to form Regrow Agriculture. The financial and operational milestones of the 2017 cohort include:

• The 26 Australian alumni from the 2017 class have collectively raised a funding total that exceeds $147 million.
• The 2017 winner, HealthMatch, has raised over $25 million, expanded to the U.S., and reached over 1 million patients globally with backing from investors including Square Peg Capital.
• The runner-up, FluroSat (now Regrow Agriculture), has raised over $60 million with backing from investors including Microsoft.
• Together, the 2017 winner and runner-up have raised over $85 million in combined funding.

The competition is designed to identify high-potential companies before they gain global recognition. Startups from across Australia and New Zealand can apply for the competition, with applications open through July 6.

Why it matters

The return of Startup Battlefield to Australia highlights the region’s growing maturity, with past alumni demonstrating significant global fundraising success and international expansion.