Geopolitics Alpha

Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Published . Updated .

Meet the next wave of VCs judging the Startup Battlefield 200 contenders on the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register by September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT, to save up to $200 and to get a front-row seat to one of the most intense startup pitch competitions.

Directly affected

  • No company is named in this report.

Indirectly affected

  • LMT Lockheed Martin

    Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises

  • RTX RTX

    Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises

  • NOC Northrop Grumman

    Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises

  • GD General Dynamics

    Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises

  • ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense

    A fund of aerospace and defense companies

  • BA Boeing

    Defense and aerospace orders move with conflict spending

  • LHX L3Harris

    Defense contractors get more work when conflict spending rises

  • HII Huntington Ingalls

    Shipyards benefit when naval spending rises

  • PPA INVESCO AEROSPACE & DEFENSE ETF

    GA selected PPA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article.

  • WAR U.S. GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY AND AEROSPACE & DEFENSE ETF

    GA selected WAR as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article.

Price reaction, T-5 to T+3

TickerT-5T-3T-1T0T+1T+2T+3
LMT———————
RTX———————
NOC———————
GD———————
ITA———————
BA———————
LHX———————
HII———————
PPA———————
WAR———————

Meet the next wave of VCs judging the Startup Battlefield 200 contenders on the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register by Sept 25, 11:59 p.m. PT, to save up to $200 and to get a front-row seat to one of the most intense startup pi…

Source: TechCrunch

Price since this story was published: IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)

Since the first closing price after “Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026,” IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) is -3.02%. The S&P 500 fund (SPY) is -0.88% over the same days, a -2.13% difference versus the market. industrial stocks (XLI) is -2.10%, a -0.92% difference versus that group of stocks.

ITA
SPY
XLI

IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) on one side of this defense story

Companies carried with this story

  • ITA IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

    IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence in the 21 Sep 2026 story “Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.” Reason on file: GA selected ITA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article

  • PPA Invesco Aerospace & Defense Etf

    In “Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026,” Invesco Aerospace & Defense Etf (PPA) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: GA selected PPA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article

  • WAR U.S. Global Technology And Aerospace & Defense Etf

    For “Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026,” U.S. Global Technology And Aerospace & Defense Etf (WAR) is linked, with no stored direction, medium confidence. Reason on file: GA selected WAR as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article

How defense news reaches IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)

On 21 Sep 2026, “Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026” is the story that connects IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) to Defense.

What ties IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA) to the headline is this: GA selected ITA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article

A second company, Invesco Aerospace & Defense Etf (PPA), is listed for a different reason: GA selected PPA as a RELATED security because its canonical security name directly matches this event's themes: defense. This is an explainable DERIVED market relationship, not a claim that the security was named in the source article

Price levels for IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)

ITA traded between 201.08 and 217.79 across 20 sessions. The latest close on file is 207.60. PPA traded between 151.56 and 162.12 across 20 sessions. The latest close on file is 156.07. WAR traded between 27.98 and 32.67 across 18 sessions. The latest close on file is 28.45.

What the saved facts support for IShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)

27 out of 100

“Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026” scores 27 out of 100. The score uses 1 sources, and 3 linked companies.