A website called UK Visa Portal is publicly exposing the passports and selfie photos of applicants who signed up and paid the site to obtain a U.K immigration visa, TechCrunch has learned.

An anonymous person notified TechCrunch about the security lapse, saying that the website is exposing at least 100,000 documents from people who uploaded their passports and selfies to the website as part of the application process.

The website is not affiliated with the U.K. government, and some have complained that they mistakenly paid a fee to this company instead of using the official GOV.UK website.

TechCrunch confirmed that UK Visa Portal is the source of the data leak and verified the authenticity of the exposed data by contacting affected individuals to ask if their information was accurate.

UK Visa Portal does not have a way to report security issues through its website, nor does its website provide names or contact information for the company’s management. TechCrunch sent an email to the address listed on UK Visa Portal’s website to alert the company that it has an ongoing security lapse and to ask who in management can accept specific details to resolve the issue. Given the sensitivity of the exposed data, TechCrunch explained that it could not share specifics with the company’s general customer support inbox because it could not guarantee that the exposed data would not be misused.

Instead, TechCrunch heard back from the company’s purported attorneys and public relations firm. TechCrunch explained again that given the nature of the exposed files, it could only share details directly with the company’s management, and asked that they put TechCrunch in touch with them.

TechCrunch has not heard back from UK Visa Portal’s management. The security lapse has still not been fixed.

While the security issue is ongoing, TechCrunch believes it’s in the public interest that people who use the company’s services are aware of the issue. TechCrunch is not publishing precise details in an effort to minimize any further risk to their information.

It is not necessary to use a third-party service to apply for a U.K. electronic travel authorization, unless you are retaining an immigration attorney, and applicants should apply through the U.K. government’s website.

For decades, the U.S. has had a plutonium problem. Around 100 tons of the stuff was made during the Cold War to go into powerful atomic bombs. But as nuclear stockpiles were dismantled, the government had to store the radioactive material in high-security facilities.

Now it wants startups to help get rid of some of it.

The Department of Energy said Tuesday it has selected five nuclear startups to enter into negotiations with the government to receive a portion of the plutonium, which could potentially be used to power a new generation of nuclear reactors. The Department of Energy previously identified 34 tons of plutonium for disposal.

The five startups include Oklo, Standard Nuclear, Shine Technologies, Flibe Energy, and Exodys Energy.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright was previously on Oklo’s board, but he resigned when he joined the administration and said he has divested his shares. Sam Altman was Oklo’s board chair following its merger with his acquisition company, AltC; Altman resigned the position last year.

While plutonium does exist in nature, it is more typically a by-product of bombarding non-fissile uranium with neutrons. Once formed, that isotope of plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years, meaning the government can’t just wait it out.

Oklo is developing a reactor that can run on traditional uranium fuel as well as plutonium. The plutonium would help the company fuel its first reactors. Exodys Energy is also developing a reactor that can operate using some plutonium as part of mixed oxide fuel, or MOX, which blends uranium with plutonium. Flibe Energy is working toward a reactor that would run on plutonium and other by-products of fission reactors.

MOX is currently produced in France, and while the U.S. had plans to make it in South Carolina, the first Trump administration canceled the project after it blew through budgets and timelines. One of Oklo’s partners in the project, U.K.-based Newcleo, said it intends to build its own MOX fuel fabrication facility nearby.

Not everyone is thrilled with the plan, though. Since the plutonium came from nuclear weapons, the security concerns are significant. “Countries have tried this before, and they concluded that, as nice as it would be to use that plutonium as fuel, it’s really just a liability and we need to dispose of it permanently,” Scott Roecker, a vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, told the New York Times.

For the startups, the next step is to enter into advanced negotiations with the government over security and the transportation of the plutonium. 

Every year I read through thousands of Startup Battlefield applications. And every year, I see the same pattern: The founders who belong on this stage are often the ones who almost didn’t apply.

They think they’re too early. They think they need more traction. They think the program is for companies further along than they are.

So here’s what we’re actually looking for and how to make sure your application reflects it. The deadline to be considered is May 27, which is tomorrow — time is running out for you to apply right here!

And if you’re not up to speed on this year’s Startup Battlefield details, it’s once again a premiere part of TechCrunch Disrupt, which will be in San Francisco October 13-15 and concludes with the crowning of this year’s future champion. And that list of champions includes some incredible companies, from giants like Cloudflare and Discord, to the most recent crop of winners, who you can learn about in detail right here.

What gets a company selected for Startup Battlefield

Startup Battlefield is not a competition for the most polished companies. It never has been. It’s a competition for the most promising ones.

We’re looking for companies with ideas that feel meaningfully different and category-defining, with the potential to make a major impact in their industry or geography. For every application, the question we ask is simple: Does this change something? Not incrementally. Genuinely.

Product and disruption. What are you building, and does it represent a real shift in how something works? We’re not looking for a better version of what already exists. We’re looking for the thing that makes the existing version feel obsolete.

The founding team. Why you, why now, why this problem? Your origin story is part of the application. The founders who can articulate their conviction clearly, not just their market size, are the ones who stand out.

Industry and geographic diversity. The Startup Battlefield 200 is a global cohort. We actively look for companies from every corner of the world and every vertical in tech. If you’re building something important in a geography or sector that doesn’t often get a spotlight, that matters to us.

What doesn’t disqualify you from Startup Battlefield

Having press coverage. Local coverage is fine. Industry coverage is fine. A few founder profiles are fine. We’re looking for companies whose core technology hasn’t had its moment yet. If you’ve had some coverage but the product hasn’t been showcased, that’s exactly what Disrupt is for. Apply and show us what you have.

Being pre-launch. You need a working MVP, but you don’t need customers. You don’t need revenue. Pre-launch companies are genuinely welcome.

Having applied before. Many Startup Battlefield 200 companies applied more than once before being selected. A previous rejection says nothing about your company’s future or your chances this time.

Raising money. Bootstrapped, pre-seed, and seed companies are all welcome. Series A companies are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, particularly founders building in capital-intensive industries or raising in markets where funding dynamics differ from Silicon Valley norms.

Tips for a strong Startup Battlefield application

Show your product working. This is the single most important thing. Not a mockup. Not a simulation. Not an animated explainer video with upbeat background music. Your MVP in action, in real time. Even if it’s rough, even if it’s a screen recording from your phone. We want to see it work.

Know your competitive landscape. “We have no competitors” is not a credible answer, and it raises questions about how well you understand your market. Name your competitors, acknowledge them honestly, and then explain clearly and specifically why you win. This is one of the most important parts of the application and one of the most commonly underdeveloped.

Tell your story. Why did you start this company? What did you see that others didn’t? What makes you the right person to build it? The founding narrative is a meaningful part of how we evaluate teams and it’s the part most founders underwrite. Don’t skip it.

Don’t overpolish. Write clearly, show the product, tell the truth about where you are. We can see around rough edges. What we struggle to see around is an application that’s been so carefully managed that the actual company is invisible.

Resubmit if you need to. If you submit before you’re ready, don’t panic. You can resubmit until the May 27 deadline. You cannot edit an already submitted application, but you can submit a new one.

Learn what it takes from the founders who’ve done it

Build Mode, TechCrunch’s podcast for early-stage founders, is the best place to start. Hear directly from past Battlefield companies like Forethought AI and Glīd, breakout founders like Artisan and TaskRabbit, and top-tier investors like General Catalyst on what it takes to build a company worth putting on a global stage.

Listen to Build Mode →

The deadline to apply for Startup Battlefield

Applications close May 27, 2026, and you can still apply right here. Selected companies are notified approximately two months before TechCrunch Disrupt.

If you’re on the fence, apply. The worst outcome is you don’t get selected this cycle and you’ll have a stronger application next year for having gone through it.

We built this program to find you before the world does. The application is your first pitch.

Apply for Startup Battlefield 200 →