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Australia’s next breakout startup gets three judges
Three judges will select Australia’s next breakout startup at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield on August 19, with $15,000 in Stripe credits at stake.
Image: TechCrunch
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield is coming to Australia on August 19, when eight early-stage startups will pitch live at Stripe Tour Sydney in front of investors, press and the broader tech community. Three startups will win prizes, while the grand-prize winner will receive an automatic place in Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, taking place in San Francisco from October 13–15.
Startup Battlefield has launched more than 1,700 companies globally, including Dropbox, Cloudflare, Discord and Trello. Its alumni have collectively raised $32 billion and recorded more than 250 exits. The last time the competition came to Sydney, HealthMatch won; the company is now valued at more than $25 million and serves 1 million patients globally.
The three Startup Battlefield judges
This year’s judging panel brings together startup, investment and fintech experience:
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Jasmine Liew, head of Startup & Investor Partnerships for APAC at Stripe, brings insight into scaling companies globally and the payment infrastructure behind modern commerce.
Image credit: Stripe
Brendan Hill, an angel investor and venture partner at Ten13, evaluates companies from the perspective of someone who actively invests in teams and ideas.
Image credit: Ten13
Jarron Aizen, founder and CEO of Hapana, adds the perspective of a founder who has built a company in the Australian market.
Image credit: Hapana
Prizes and event details
The grand-prize winner will receive $15,000 in Stripe fee credits and automatic entry to Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2026. Second place receives $5,000 in Stripe credits, while third place receives $2,000.
Finalists will also meet the judges, receive press attention and present to the Stripe Tour Sydney audience of founders, operators and investors. The event will be hosted and MC’d by Isabelle Johannessen, director of Startup Battlefield. Registration is open for the August 19 event.
Enterprise Editor
Marcus follows the money. He covers enterprise software, cloud architecture, and the tectonic shifts in Big Tech strategy. He translates dense earnings calls and complex M&A activity into actionable insights about where the industry is actually heading. If a tech giant makes a silent pivot, Marcus is usually the first to notice.
via TechCrunch
