TechCrunch Disrupt 2021 Impact

3 founders share strategies for navigating bias and building confidence

Entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups are more likely to face an uphill climb than their white, male counterparts, but their challenges stretch beyond systemic bias and lack of access to capital.

The enormous challenges and abundant opportunities in climate tech

The decarbonization of the planet will be the next major disruption of the century, according to SOSV managing general partner Sean O'Sullivan and Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Nosh uses AI to help people and businesses cut down on their food waste

When founder Somdip Dey was a computer science masters student at the University of Manchester, his parents got in a terrible car accident. He sent all of his money back to his parents in India to hel

Duolingo doesn’t want to disrupt the college degree

CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn returned to Disrupt this year to explain how the sophistication of public markets impacts the company's strategy.

The whole package: How plastics and sustainability startups achieve success

As people around the world become more aware and look to minimize the waste they produce, tech startups are coming up with solutions to help people and companies meet their sustainability goals.

Nth Cycle wants to revolutionize metals processing for recyclers and mine operators

There’s a lot of value in waste; just ask metals processing company Nth Cycle, which has developed a technology to help mining and recycling companies recover every bit of critical minerals from the

Carbix spins emissions into gold — or at least useful minerals

Pollutants pouring from smokestacks around the world may be bad news for the atmosphere, but if you catch them before they get out there, you could reduce emissions and collect some valuable materials

Flite Material Sciences uses lasers, not chemical coatings, to keep ice and rust off surfaces

Dan Cohen was on the hunt for a coating that could keep ice, snow and frost off of solar panels when he discovered a technology that could cut costs and reduce the environmental footprint of a broad s

Animal Alternative makes a platform play in the growing market of cultured meat

Traditional meat production is about as far from a sustainable process as we’ve got, but our chances of getting everyone to give up “real” meat are lean. Animal Alternative is one of

Verdi aims to give farmers granular control over crop irrigation

Verdi, which launched today at TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield, refers to its smart valve clusters as “swarms.” The term denotes the kind of high-density implementation the company is looki

Built by a refugee, Enlight’s edtech tool bets it can help students hope harder

Raised in a Tanzania refugee camp, Dieumerci Christel’s first brush with entrepreneurship began with a stick of gum. In the early 2000s, kids in his camp were all gravitating toward a brand of gum n

Seth Rogen explains how Houseplant promotes cannabis without breaking the rules

"That's us, developing a relationship and trust with customers in places where weed is not legal yet."