Stripe x Startup Battlefield

TechCrunch is joining forces with Stripe to spotlight Australia’s most ambitious startups. Together, we will select 10 finalists to pitch live in a Startup Battlefield-style competition at Stripe Tour Sydney 2026 for the chance to win $10,000 in Stripe fee credits. The winner will also be automatically admitted to Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in October 2026

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield is coming to Australia — and we’re partnering with Stripe to find the country’s most exciting early-stage startups. On August 19th, we’re bringing the world’s most iconic startup pitch competition to Stripe Tour Sydney —selecting 10 of Australia’s most promising early-stage startups to pitch live in front of investors, press, and the Australian tech ecosystem.

Startup Battlefield has launched over 1,700 companies globally, including Dropbox, Cloudflare, Discord, and Trello. Alumni have collectively raised $32B and produced 250+ exits. The last time Battlefield came to Sydney, the winner went on to build HealthMatch — now over $25M raised and 1 million patients globally.

The deadline to submit this application is Monday, July 6th, 2026 at 11:59 PM AEST.

You step onto the Startup Battlefield from the moment you submit this application, so put your best foot forward and Apply Now.

All applicants will be invited and registered to attend the Sydney Stripe Tour on August 19th.

The Stripe x Startup Battlefield winner will also secure a place in the highly competitive Start Up Battlefield 200, with potential eligibility to present at TechCrunch Disrupt, held in San Francisco, CA in October 2026.

Startup Battlefield will be part of Stripe Tour Sydney on August 19th. This year’s event brings together business leaders, founders, and developers to explore the future of payments and commerce—but the real excitement happens when TechCrunch takes the stage with the Startup Battlefield pitch competition. Watch early-stage startups compete for recognition, investor attention, and the chance to launch their companies into the spotlight, all while learning from Stripe experts and industry leaders about AI, emerging revenue models, and the next wave of fintech innovation. Whether you’re scaling a business, investing in the next big thing, or building the future of payments, Stripe Tour Sydney is where the internet economy meets its future. Register now →

Stripe is building programmable financial services for millions of businesses globally. Millions of companies use Stripe to accept payments online and in person, embed financial services, power custom revenue models, and build a more profitable business.

Headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, Stripe processes over $1.9 trillion of payments annually, equivalent to 1.6% of global GDP. Stripe users include all of the top AI companies, 90% of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and 86% of the Forbes AI 50.

Through its scale and investments in R&D—particularly artificial intelligence and stablecoins—Stripe accelerates the utility of frontier technology in the global economy.

Finalists will pitch on Aug 19th in Sydney Australia. Applications close on July 6th