Announcing the TC Top Picks of Disrupt Berlin 2018

We called on early-stage startup founders to apply for TC Top Pick status at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2018, which takes place on 29-30 November. We knew that many founders would heed the call but — holy smokes — the response was thunderous. Sheer volume combined with sheer brilliance to make our job of selecting up to five outstanding startups in 10 categories difficult to say the least.

Never ones to turn away from a challenge — or from learning about amazing tech startups — we persisted, and the results are at hand. Read on to find the list of winners and what they receive.

We created the TC Top Pick designation as just one way to recognize exceptional pre-Series A startup founders. We carefully reviewed and vetted each application and chose up to five startups from each of these categories:

AI/Machine Learning, Blockchain, CRM/Enterprise, E-commerce, Education, Fintech, Healthtech/Biotech, Hardware, Robotics, IoT, Mobility and Gaming

TC Top Pick founders receive a free Startup Alley Exhibitor Package, which includes a one-day exhibit space in Startup Alley, three Founder passes (good for both days of the show), use of CrunchMatch — our investor-to-startup matching platform — and access to the Disrupt Berlin 2018 press list. They will also receive a three-minute interview on the Showcase Stage with a TechCrunch editor — and we’ll promote that video across our social media platforms.

That’s a pretty sweet deal, and all that’s left is the big reveal. Maestro, may we have a drum roll please? Introducing the TC Top Picks for Disrupt Berlin 2018.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

• Gravete: World’s first AI-enabled classified ads aggregator.
• iRecommend Software: Delivers 1:1 AI powered recommendations across retail, recruiting, and real estate industries.
• Retorio: “Your AI-based communication coach.”
• Seez: Automates the car-searching process by searching all car websites, negotiates price down using AI and estimates fair market value.

Blockchain

• Brickblock: A platform to seamlessly and transparently connect cryptocurrencies with real-world assets.
• Passbase: We aim to empower people with a universally trusted digital identity.
• Rlay: Decentralized information verification protocol.
• WorkChain.io: Real-time payroll on the blockchain.

CRM & Enterprise

• Communiti: LinkedIn for Slack teams. Search users with certain skills such as iOS Developer or UX Designer. Post a job listing to collaborate.
• fraudDB: A B2B fraud database that helps businesses prevent fraud.
• Nuzzera: Your Spotify for news — the first two-sided market for professional journalism.
• Stack: Desktop-app displaying all web-applications on a single screen.

E-commerce

• Dresslife: Making fashion shopping easy, like having your personal stylist.
• Inova Diamonds: Changing the way diamonds and jewelry are sold online.
• Lonelyfork Standards: An innovative food-tech digital platform business that offers “food standards as a product.”
• Money Farm Gambia: Gambia’s first crowdfunding platform connecting farmers to investors.

Education

• ChallengeRocket: AI-powered recruitment. Reach and assess hidden programming talents with programming challenges.
• HCM Deck: The #1 employee development platform.
• i2x: Leverage your data. Coach your team. Make customers happy. i2x is real-time speech analytics powered by AI.
• Morressier: World’s largest platform for early-stage research.
• Processim Labs: Transforming smartphones into pocket simulators that college professors can use as powerful and convenient teaching games!

Fintech

• Evarvest: Invest globally, like a local. A modern way to invest in the brands you know, love and trust.
• Fin.do: Allows instant money transfers in any currency, avoiding banks’ high fees and exchange rates.
• FinMarie: Germany’s first online financial platform for women.
• Youcheck Online Services Limited: Identity and address verification services for Sub-Sahara Africa.

Gaming

• anzu.io: Immersive-first 3D advertising platform.
• MakerBrane: A digital and physical platform that lets anyone design, build and trade their own playworlds.
• Moonic Oy: Our company wants to help people who are trying to create music with products that are effortless and quick to use.
• Smartboard: The world’s first universal board game console.
• Wolf3d: Creates 3D avatars of people for VR/AR communication and games using a smartphone.

Hardware, Robotics and IoT

• Arculus: Helps multi-variant manufacturers cope with the market’s bespoke customization demand, being more efficient and cost-effective.
• GkeyLab: Virtual (VR), Augmented (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR).
• Moggie: A cat care system that improves cat ownership experience across the globe.
• Nucleus Technologies: Offers a solution based on augmented reality (AR) to improve workers’ efficiency and safety across industries.

Healthtech & Biotech

• Cooltec: We aid man with becoming fathers.
• DiaMonTech: Developing a medical device for non-invasive measurement of blood sugar values.
• Legacy: The Swiss private bank for men to store their most valuable assets.
• Testcard Diagnostics: The innovative medtech behind the “urine test-in-a-postcard” concept. Its accompanying mobile app provides an immediate result.
• Zana: An intelligent assistant that responds to health questions and empowers people to get and stay healthy.

Mobility

• Dazzle.ai: The AI customer experience platform for travel. Dazzle exists to create conversations that end with a transaction. Every channel. Always on.
• Fishtripr: Brings together millions of outdoor lovers and professional fishing guides.
• Load Me FZE: Operates as an online marketplace for shipments and trucks.
• Trippo: A mobile app that allows users to capture and organize travel ideas they discovered on ANY app or website by simply taking a screenshot.

It may be too late for you to be a TC Top Pick this year, but it’s not too late to buy a Startup Alley Exhibitor Package and exhibit alongside our Top Picks and more than 400 companies in Startup Alley.

Exhibiting at Disrupt makes sense for early-stage founders, but don’t just take our word for it. Vlad Larin, co-founder of ZeroQode, had this to say following his experience:

Startup Alley is the place where technology worlds collide. You shake hands and talk with all kinds of people looking for new ideas, collaboration and inspiration — people who want to learn and exchange ideas about the latest products and industry trends.

TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin 2018 takes place 29-30 November. Come join us and discover a world full of new opportunities. We can’t wait to see you there!