AI Warfare: 9 Cybersecurity Innovators Shaking Up TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Thousands applied, but only 200 made the cut. At the TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Startup Battlefield, the cybersecurity sector didn't just show up—it stole the spotlight. With a $100,000 cash prize on the line, these startups are proving that in an era of AI-driven threats, the best defense is a smarter offense.

The Rise of Autonomous Defense Agents

The most striking trend from the battlefield is the shift toward autonomous security. AIM Intelligence stood out with products designed to protect against new AI-enabled attacks by using AI itself. Their approach includes conducting automated penetration tests tailored for AI-optimized threats. Similarly, HACKERverse uses autonomous AI agents to simulate hacker attacks in an isolated environment, ensuring vendor tools live up to their promises.

For developers, Corgea offers an AI-driven security product that scans and fixes code flaws in real-time. By creating AI agents capable of securing code across any popular language, they're tackling the bottleneck of manual security reviews in the DevOps pipeline.

Targeting the New Blind Spots: Deepfakes and Shadow AI

As generative AI proliferates, so do deepfakes. TruSources and Polygraf AI are leading the charge in real-time detection of manipulated audio and video. These technologies are becoming critical for identity authentication and fraud prevention.

The problem of 'Shadow AI'—employees using unmanaged AI tools—is being addressed by Mill Pond Research. Their platform detects unauthorized AI usage that could leak sensitive data. Meanwhile, ZEST Security is unifying cloud security by helping teams mitigate unpatched vulnerabilities across fragmented cloud environments.