TechCrunch has announced the fourth group of judges selected for the Startup Battlefield 200 competition, which will take place during TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. The event is scheduled for October 27-29, 2025, at San Francisco's Moscone West, where 20 early-stage startups will compete for an equity-free prize of $100,000 and the Disrupt Cup.
The newly introduced judges include Allison Baum Gates, General Partner at SemperVirens Venture Capital; Katelin Holloway, Founding Partner at 776; Miloni Madan Presler, Partner at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP); Sara Ittelson, Partner at Accel; and Rinki Sethi, Founding Partner at Lockstep and Chief Security Officer at Upwind Security.
Allison Baum Gates, a general partner at SemperVirens, specializes in investments across healthcare, fintech, and enterprise SaaS. Her portfolio includes over 70 companies, with nine achieving unicorn status and 24 exits. Gates, a lecturer at Stanford GSB, is also the author of "Breaking into Venture" and "Beyond the Pitch: The Psychology of Raising VC Funding," set for release next year.
Katelin Holloway brings over two decades of operational experience from companies such as Pixar and Reddit to her role as founding partner at 776. Her investment strategy at Alexis Ohanian's early-stage VC firm focuses on startups that aim to expand human potential and resilience, covering sectors from health to sustainability.
Miloni Madan Presler, a partner at IVP, focuses on backing businesses that address real-world challenges through innovation. Her investment criteria prioritize companies that enhance fragmented ecosystems, automate outdated processes, and deliver data-driven platforms capable of industry transformation.
Sara Ittelson, who joined Accel in 2022, primarily invests in early-stage consumer, enterprise, and artificial intelligence companies. Before her tenure at Accel, Ittelson held leadership positions at Faire as Head of Strategic Partnerships and at Uber in Global Business Development.
Rinki Sethi, a founding partner at Lockstep and CSO at Upwind Security, contributes extensive cybersecurity expertise. Her career includes senior security leadership roles at Twitter, BILL, Rubrik, Palo Alto Networks, IBM, eBay, and Intuit, where she shaped security strategies at high organizational levels.
This announcement constitutes the fourth wave of judge revelations, with TechCrunch indicating one final group of judges will be disclosed prior to the event. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is expected to host over 10,000 tech and venture capital leaders, featuring more than 250 speakers across 200+ sessions.
