disrupt posts

San Francisco's SOMA district – already buzzing with startups on any given day – became the undisputed center of the tech universe this week with TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2012. The annual conference gives entrepreneurs a chance to launch their startups and network with investors while gathering luminaries across industries for engaging speaker sessions throughout the show.

And gather they did. From Newark mayor Cory Booker's thoughts about bringing more technology to government to Jack Dorsey's candid discussion about Square, Disrupt SF offered no shortage of thought-provoking sessions for the record 3,000+ attendees. Many of those attendees packed the house for TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington's signature hard-hitting questions in Mark Zuckerberg's first interview since Facebook's IPO.

The event culminated on Wednesday afternoon when a panel of expert judges, including Marissa Mayer, Michael Arrington and David Sacks, awarded the Startup Battlefield winner honors to YourMechanic – a website and app that lets users describe their car troubles, find a local mechanic and coordinate payment details. Beating out the 30 other startups competing in the Battlefield, YourMechanic took home the coveted Disrupt Cup and $50,000 in prize money and keeps good company with other Battlefield winners like Yammer and Dropbox.

The event offered plenty of action in the main hall as well, with more than 200 startups exhibiting over the course of the three days. And while Disrupt has always welcomed internationally based companies to the show floor, this year the team introduced the International Pavilions, a dedicated exhibition space for 125 companies from countries including Chile, Turkey, Korea, Israel, Argentina and Brazil to showcase innovation happening around the globe.

Read TechCrunch's complete coverage here and stay tuned for updates as the team starts to plan TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 – it'll be here before you know it!

Get ready for TechCrunch Disrupt SF, our sixth annual conference that brings together early stage startups and notable influencers in the technology community. We're expecting a great turn out and already have confirmed our first set of notable speakers that will share their insights and expertise during the show:

• Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO, Salesforce.com
• Ben Horowitz, co-founder and partner, Andreessen Horowitz
• Joel Klein, executive vice president and CEO, News Corp education division

The conference has also extended the deadline for applications to its Startup Battlefield, giving more entrepreneurs the opportunity to compete for the top spot. TechCrunch selects 30 un-launched startups to debut at the show, exposing them to an audience of innovators, angels, venture capitalists, media and industry experts. Former competitors to have launched on the Battlefield include Yammer, Mint.com and Dropbox.

To apply, eligible companies should have a product they will launch on stage for the first time, or have a product that has not been widely exposed and has not been public for more than three months. Applications must be received before July 13 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

Learn more about our speakers here and conference details are available here. Hope to see you there!