Yahoo! is joining Michael Arrington as a major sponsor at TechCrunch50, TechCrunch's second annual conference, at the San Francisco Design Center Concourse Monday through Wednesday, September 8 - 10.

More than 50 early stage companies will pitch their products and ideas in front of a host of respected VCs, execs and entrepreneurs. A panel of judges will also award $50,000 to one of the startups. Yahoo!'s Ash Patel, Head of the Audience Products Division, will serve as one of the TechCrunch50 judges this year.

The Yahoo! Search BOSS team will also be exhibiting, so if you're a start-up or interested in starting a business in this space, stop by our booth to learn more about our open search web services platform, meet the team and see a demo of the product. We'll be there from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. all three days. We'll also be giving away some swag and maybe a prize or two.

But what's a TechCrunch gathering without some socializing? Yahoo! is sponsoring the closing cocktail reception on Wednesday from 6 - 8 p.m., so don't miss it.

For more details on TechCrunch50 2008 and Yahoo!'s presence at the show -- including Ash Patel's panel on Monday from 2:15 - 5 p.m. -- check out the conference site.

Yahoo! Search Blog team