TechCrunch Startup Battlefield – Session 2: Swap Robotics

Licube Makes the Lithium Isotopes Fusion Needs | Startup Battlefield 2026

Licube produces ultra-high purity lithium and lithium isotopes (Li-6 and Li-7), critical inputs for nuclear fusion and a

Satlyt Turns Satellites Into Virtual Data Centers | Startup Battlefield 2026

Satlyt helps satellite operators unlock and monetize idle compute by turning their spacecraft into virtual AI data cente

Flox Intelligence Keeps Animals Off Runways and Rails | Startup Battlefield 2026

Flox Intelligence is preventing deadly wildlife collisions at airports and railways with real-time AI that detects anima

Laplace Intelligence: World Models for Cities & Ports | Startup Battlefield 2026

Laplace Intelligence is building agentic world models that help cities, ports, and airports roll out counterfactual futu

Veritas: Authenticating Luxury With Microchips | Startup Battlefield 2026

Veritas protects luxury brands with custom microchips that verify authenticity and enable connected post-purchase experi

Longshot Space's Hydrogen Cannon to Orbit | Startup Battlefield 2026

Longshot Space wants to launch cargo to orbit for $50/kg using hydrogen-powered kinetic launchers. Instead of a traditio

Bootstrapping Beats Venture Capital for Most Founders

Bootstrapping remains the smarter default for most founders: it protects ownership, forces real discipline, and avoids the growth model a…

Why data center deals are finally losing their secrecy

Amazon just dropped NDAs on data center deals with local governments. Here's why trust, not secrecy, is becoming AI infrastructure's…

AI hearing aids: Fortell’s $163M bet against a monopoly

Fortell raised $163M to build AI hearing aids that filter noise in real time, challenging an industry where five firms…

John Ternus Era: What Apple’s New CEO Faces

John Ternus enters Apple's top job under AI pressure, with Tim Cook still close. What the handover teaches founders about…