What if one pitch changed everything?
The last time TechCrunch hosted Startup Battlefield in Sydney, two emerging startups stepped onto the stage. From that moment, the community saw more than $85 million raised.
Applications close on July 6, just a few days from now.
In 2017, medical student‑turned‑entrepreneur Manuri Gunawardena presented HealthMatch, a machine‑learning platform that matches patients with clinical trials. She won Startup Battlefield Australia, catapulting HealthMatch to over $25 million in funding, expansion into the United States, and serving more than one million patients worldwide.
The runner‑up, FluroSat, leveraged the exposure from the same stage to secure a Microsoft seed round and ultimately joined Regrow Agriculture, which has raised over $60 million and counts Microsoft, Airtree, and Cargill among its investors.
From a single day in Sydney: $85 million raised, thousands of lives impacted, and global companies born from a single opportunity.
Startup Battlefield is returning to Australia, but the application window is almost closed.
On August 19, 2026, TechCrunch will host Startup Battlefield Australia in partnership with Stripe.
This time the stakes are even higher
Eight selected startups will pitch live at the Stripe Tour Sydney, facing top‑tier investors, global press, and Australia’s leading tech community. The top three finishers receive up to $15 000 in Stripe fee credits, while the grand winner secures an automatic place in Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco this October—no application or competition required, just a guaranteed spot on the world’s most iconic startup stage.
It’s not only an event for the pitching startups. It’s a pivotal moment for founders, investors, and operators worldwide who have been quietly forging world‑class work from another corner of the globe.
This is your stage
The next company nobody has heard of is building something that will matter. It could be yours.
Just six more days to apply. The deadline is July 6.