33 Health and Wellness Startups Selected for TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200

Hundreds of early-stage companies apply each year to compete in Startup Battlefield, a high-profile pitch competition that spotlights fast-growing startups across industries. From that huge pool, a smaller group is selected to join the Startup Battlefield 200, representing standout contenders across categories—including a deep bench of health and wellness innovation.

How Startup Battlefield works—and why the “200” list matters

Startup Battlefield is structured like a funnel. Thousands of startups apply, and the organizers narrow those applications down to the top 200 contenders. From there, the top 20 pitch on the main stage for the Startup Battlefield Cup and a cash prize of $100,000. The remaining 180 companies still participate as part of their category cohorts, where they continue to compete and network.

For health and wellness founders, being selected is meaningful because it signals early validation in a crowded market. The category spans everything from hospital operations and assistive devices to diagnostics, women’s health, and mental well-being—areas where clinical complexity, regulatory hurdles, and adoption barriers can be as challenging as the technology itself.

The 33 health and wellness Startup Battlefield 200 selectees

Below is the full list of the health and wellness selectees highlighted in the source report, along with a brief note on what each startup does and why it stood out.

Akara

What it does: Uses AI sensors and autonomous UV disinfection robots to prepare operating rooms for surgery faster.
Why it’s noteworthy: Faster room turnover can enable more surgeries per day—helping patients while increasing revenue for hospitals.

Arm Bionics

What it does: An Armenian startup building 3D-printed prosthetic arms.
Why it’s noteworthy: Its bionic arm is positioned as relatively affordable, expanding accessibility in its region.

ArtSkin

What it does: Develops electronic artificial skin with sensors designed to restore a sense of touch for people using prosthetic limbs.
Why it’s noteworthy: The approach is noninvasive and intended to integrate with existing prosthetics.

AWEAR

What it does: An ear-worn EEG device that monitors chronic stress and provides feedback.
Why it’s noteworthy: Similar to how a Fitbit tracks steps, the wearable aims to help users manage stress by measuring brain activity.

Axoft

What it does: Developing a tiny brain implant designed to communicate with the nervous system to treat severe neurological conditions.
Why it’s noteworthy: Built from soft material intended to connect safely with the nervous system over many years.

Care Hero

What it does: Builds a tech-empowered caregiver network supporting elderly and disabled people.
Why it’s noteworthy: Targets caregiver shortages by using technology to help caregivers support more patients.

Che Innovations Uganda

What it does: Develops medical devices, including NeoNest, an affordable transport warmer for preterm babies.
Why it’s noteworthy: Addresses a critical gap in rural parts of Africa where transport incubators are not readily available.

ELLUSTRÖS

What it does: Uses AI and image analysis to adjust seat posture for improved ergonomic fit.
Why it’s noteworthy: Aims to remove manual chair adjustments, reduce injuries, and boost productivity.

Endless Health

What it does: Offers at-home health assessments designed to predict heart health and metabolic disease.
Why it’s noteworthy: Focuses on early detection without requiring a doctor visit.

Eos.ai

What it does: Cleans, compresses, and harmonizes fragmented data stored in electronic medical records.
Why it’s noteworthy: Standardized data can improve the performance of AI models in healthcare settings.

Food for Health

What it does: Provides personalized food guidance and grocery-shopping support.
Why it’s noteworthy: The app is positioned to help consumers select foods aligned to specific health needs with scientific certainty.

GLITCHERS Lab

What it does: Uses video games to collect brain data for health research, with an emphasis on Alzheimer’s.
Why it’s noteworthy: Gamifies cognitive testing to help generate a large dataset.

Innov8 AI

What it does: Uses AI to analyze social media and flag disruptive key narratives.
Why it’s noteworthy: Designed to help companies spot negative sentiment and reputation risks quickly.

Lexi AI

What it does: Provides multilingual, AI-powered medical interpretation.
Why it’s noteworthy: Fast, cost-efficient medical translation can be critical in urgent care scenarios.

MariTest

What it does: Developing a bloodless, rapid diagnostic tool for early malaria detection and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa.
Why it’s noteworthy: Bloodless testing could reduce reliance on medical technicians and speed diagnosis in rural communities.

Meo Health

What it does: A tech-enabled recovery program for people suffering from long Covid.
Why it’s noteworthy: A drug-free approach that the company says has been clinically proven to improve symptoms.

Monere

What it does: Uses AI and a smartphone camera to analyze a user’s eyelid to monitor and reduce anemia and iron deficiency risk.
Why it’s noteworthy: A noninvasive test the company says can detect anemia quickly and easily.

Near Wave

What it does: A noninvasive handheld device that claims to measure oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentrations.
Why it’s noteworthy: Promises a faster, less painful way to collect key biomarkers.

Neural Drive

What it does: Developing a noninvasive brain-computer interface that lets paralyzed patients communicate via a “blink-to-speak” function.
Why it’s noteworthy: Positioned as quicker and more cost-effective than invasive devices for restoring communication.

NUSEUM

What it does: A B2B precision nutrition AI platform that turns complex health data into evidence-based food, grocery, and recipe recommendations.
Why it’s noteworthy: Aims to help clients across food delivery, e-commerce, diagnostics, health, and insurance deliver better food choices to end customers.

Ovulio Corp.

What it does: A saliva-based hormone monitor designed to help manage fertility, menopause, and conditions like PCOS.
Why it’s noteworthy: Unlike alternatives, the device is noninvasive and reusable.

Pharos

What it does: Automates extraction of patient safety data from medical records for reporting to regulatory agencies.
Why it’s noteworthy: Uses AI to reduce clinical staff workload while helping prevent patient deaths and harm.

PillarBiome

What it does: Uses AI to provide personalized, science-backed recommendations by analyzing gut microbiome data.
Why it’s noteworthy: Microbiome data can be a rich source for tailoring dietary recommendations.

RADiCAIT

What it does: An Oxford spinout using AI to convert routine CT scans into PET-like scans, reducing reliance on scarce and expensive PET imaging.
Why it’s noteworthy: Promises PET-level insights from a standard CT scan at lower cost and higher speed.

Serene Sleep

What it does: A simple, minimally invasive procedure intended to permanently stop snoring and treat sleep apnea.
Why it’s noteworthy: Addresses a widespread condition often managed with bulky solutions like CPAP masks.

Some Other Place

What it does: Recently rebranded as Hug; connects users with trained, empathetic human listeners for real-time peer support.
Why it’s noteworthy: Offers a space to share emotional burdens without judgment, which can be immediately relieving for many people.

SpotitEarly 

What it does: An at-home cancer breath test using AI and trained dogs to identify multiple early-stage cancers from compounds in a breath sample.
Why it’s noteworthy: Builds on studies suggesting dogs can detect cancer by smell, aiming to translate that ability into a diagnostic method.

Sybil Health

What it does: Provides science-backed holistic therapies and lifestyle adjustments to help women manage hormonal changes during menopause.
Why it’s noteworthy: Advises women on managing symptoms with hormones or complementary alternative and naturopathic therapies.

Vital Audio

What it does: Uses bioacoustics to capture vital signs—such as heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory metrics—from short voice samples.
Why it’s noteworthy: Could help health systems monitor thousands of patients, including those in remote regions.

VIZQ Technologies

What it does: Uses AI- and VR-powered technology to expand access to speech and language therapy for children.
Why it’s noteworthy: Aims to help fill the gap created by shortages of speech therapists.

Vocadian

What it does: Uses voice AI to diagnose fatigue among frontline workers.
Why it’s noteworthy: The technology could boost productivity and help prevent accidents.

Yuzi Care

What it does: Matches families with birth and postpartum doulas and other care providers.
Why it’s noteworthy: Part of a broader wave of digital maternal health and postpartum care startups.

Trends across the health and wellness cohort

Looking across these 33 companies, several patterns stand out—less as predictions and more as a snapshot of where early-stage healthcare innovation is concentrating.

1) Noninvasive measurement and monitoring

A notable theme is gathering clinically relevant signals without needles, blood draws, or complex lab workflows. That includes smartphone-based approaches (Monere), handheld measurement tools (Near Wave), voice-derived biometrics (Vital Audio), and novel sampling methods like breath testing (SpotitEarly ). Noninvasive collection is attractive because it can lower cost, reduce friction for patients, and expand access in settings with limited clinical staffing.

2) Automation that reduces hospital workload

From operating room prep (Akara) to regulatory reporting (Pharos) and medical record normalization (Eos.ai), several startups are focused on operational bottlenecks inside healthcare systems. These problems are often less visible than headline-grabbing therapeutics, but they can have outsize impact on throughput, safety, and staff burnout—especially when paired with reliable data pipelines.

3) Assistive and rehabilitative technology

The list also includes multiple projects aimed at improving quality of life through assistive devices and new interfaces: 3D-printed prosthetics (Arm Bionics), sensor-based artificial skin for touch feedback (ArtSkin), and a “blink-to-speak” brain-computer interface (Neural Drive). The connective tissue here is accessibility—whether through affordability, noninvasiveness, or compatibility with existing devices.

4) Personalized nutrition and wellness, driven by data

Several startups are translating health data into tailored guidance—whether for food selection (Food for Health), B2B recommendation engines (NUSEUM), or gut microbiome-driven insights (PillarBiome). This reflects a broader push toward individualized recommendations, where the product challenge is not just “more data,” but turning complex inputs into practical decisions people can follow.

5) Women’s health and maternal support

Ovulio Corp. (fertility, menopause, PCOS), Sybil Health (menopause support), and Yuzi Care (doula and postpartum matching) underscore continued momentum in women’s health and maternal care—markets that historically received less product and research attention than their clinical importance warrants.

Conclusion

The health and wellness startups selected for Startup Battlefield 200 span a wide range of clinical and consumer needs, from hospital efficiency and regulatory safety to diagnostics, rehabilitation, and women’s health. Together, they reflect a healthcare innovation landscape increasingly focused on noninvasive measurement, practical automation, and scalable support for patients and providers.

Based on reporting originally published by TechCrunch. See the sources section below.