Intero Biosystems Wins $100,000 Grand Prize at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Startup Battlefield

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Denver-based Intero Biosystems took first place among 200 startups at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, earning $100,000 for its innovative human intestinal organoids used in drug testing.

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco, Intero Biosystems emerged the winner of the Startup Battlefield competition, prevailing over 199 other startups to claim the $100,000 grand prize. Offering a highly competitive platform, the event showcased 20 startups selected from a larger pool of 200, distinguished as the most promising ventures.

Intero Biosystems, founded by Charlie Childs and Madeline Eiken and originating from the University of Michigan, specializes in developing miniature, one-millimeter human intestinal organoids. These lab-grown tissues simulate the human gut, providing an innovative model to observe how drugs and compounds might interact with the body prior to human trials. Their flagship product, GastroScreen, is targeted at clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food, and chemical sectors to enhance drug and compound testing processes.

The final round featured five startups: Apate, Flox Intelligence, Intero Biosystems, Industrial Next, and Satlyt. The judging panel consisted of venture capitalists and tech leaders including Alexa von Tobel, Chi-Hua Chien, Dayna Grayson, Karl Alomar, and Stacy Brown-Philpot. After presentations and deliberations, Intero Biosystems was selected as the winner, with Australian startup Apate taking the runner-up position.

Apate utilizes thousands of AI-driven agents designed to mimic victims by engaging with scammers through calls, messages, phishing links, and social media interactions, offering clients insights and analytics on scam threats. Both companies now join a notable roster of Startup Battlefield alumni such as Trello, Discord, Cloudflare, and Mint, with the program collectively seeing over $30 billion in funding raised by its participants and more than 200 exits.

Intero Biosystems’ success at Disrupt 2026 highlights growing interest in advanced biotechnology solutions that improve the drug development pipeline by providing more accurate preclinical testing models. The recognition at this prestigious event underscores the startup’s potential to impact pharmaceutical research and safety assessments significantly.