the winner of Startup Battlefield Intero Biosystems

In the final stages of TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, the Startup Battlefield competition culminated in the announcement of the winner: Intero Biosystems. This Denver-based startup, co-founded by Charlie Childs and Madeline Eiken, emerged victorious after presenting a live demo to a panel of esteemed judges. Intero Biosystems specializes in developing 1mm human intestinal "organoids," lab-grown tissue that accurately mimics the human gut, enabling pharmaceutical, biotech, food, and chemical companies to test drug efficacy and safety before human trials.

The startup's flagship product, GastroScreen, is utilized by various industries to ensure the safety and effectiveness of their products. The other finalists that made it to the finale were Apate, Flox Intelligence, Industrial Next, and Satlyt. The Startup Battlefield competition, a three-day event in San Francisco, brought together 20 of the best startups from more than 1,700 alumni, collectively raising over $30 billion in funding and achieving over 200 successful exits.