E
ach year TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield attracts thousands of pitches. From those, 200 are selected; 20 advance to the final stage for the $100,000 prize and the Cup. The remaining 180 also impress and compete in separate categories.
**Fintech finalists**
- **Clox AI** – AI fraud detection for digital documents, speeding verification for finance and lending.
- **Cypher** – Cloud fractional CFO services focused on metrics that matter to startups and investors, offering cap‑table and investor reporting.
- **Identifee** – AI platform that consolidates CRM, BI, and sales tools for community banks, replacing costly multi‑tool stacks.
- **Kruncher** – AI automates VC and PE workflows from deal screening to portfolio monitoring, scaling decision capacity.
- **Lootlock** – Pre‑paid debit cards for kids tied to chore‑earned funds, teaching financial responsibility.
- **Muse** – AI tax platform delivering personalized strategies and insights to banks and payroll firms, claiming faster optimization than humans.
- **ti¢ker** – AI‑powered research and trading platform giving individual traders real‑time forecasts and automated signals, democratizing institutional tools.
**Real estate & proptech finalists**
- **Genia** – AI turns architectural drawings into code‑compliant, physics‑validated structural designs, cutting drafting time tenfold.
- **Investwise** – AI optimizes data‑center hardware and cooling for maximum performance and profitability.
- **Smart Bricks** – Dubai‑based AI platform analyzes U.S. and UAE properties, surfacing high‑return opportunities for individual investors.
- **Soundspace Technology** – Provides affordable, recurring‑credit creative spaces, replacing hourly studio rentals with gym‑style memberships.
- **Surfaice** – AI copilot for construction development that automates design, documentation, and cost projection, enabling rapid scaling of repeatable projects.
- **Unlisted Homes** – AI pre‑market platform creates searchable profiles for 21 million U.S. homes, letting buyers join waitlists years before listing.
- **Zown** – AI brokerage that refunds up to 1.5 % of the broker’s commission to buyers, giving first‑time buyers extra down‑payment power.
