Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Grants, Pitch Competitions, Awards, and Summits.
Anyone working to make French Fries more French Fry-y? McCain and Big Idea Ventures are teaming up to find the world’s crispiest fry innovation.
Lots of deadlines coming up soon!
~Diane
💪 The Biggies
Newly Added:
🎤 Pitch Competitions
Compute Challengers 2026 – Pitch at Compute Summit 2026
Quantum; Green compute; Energy Infrastructure | Jan 26 | Apply Here
Lightning Round VII Pitch Competition – $100,000 investment
AI; Deep Tech | Jan 29 | Apply Here
Freedom Pitch – $100,000 investment
Human trafficking; Child Safe Tech | Feb 12 | Apply Here
SaaStock USA Pitch Competition – $500,000 investment
AI; B2B; SaaS | Mar 9 | Apply Here
Startup World Cup Nigeria Challenge – Regional Finals for $1,000,000 investment
Nigeria; All startups | Mar 31 | Apply Here
💰 Grants
Catalyst 2026 – $100,000
Social impact; Wireless; Mobile-first | Feb 24 | Apply Here
💼 Events
MVS2026 – San Francisco – Submit for Investor matching
Military Vet and Spouse | Feb 11–12 | Apply Here
Automated and Connected Vehicles Digital Summit 2026 – Online – 20+ experts and presentations
Sustainable mobility; Smart infrastructure | Mar 24–25 | Apply Here
SaaStock USA – Austin – 2,000+ attendees
AI; B2B; SaaS | Apr 15–16 | Apply Here
eMerge Deep Tech Summit – Miami – 20,000+ attendees; 1,000+ investors
AI; Quantum; Deep Tech | Apr 22–24 | Apply Here
🔨 Challenges
Vodafone See Your Business Pitchside – €25,000 in advertising at Six Nations Championship game
Ireland; All businesses | Feb 13 | Apply Here
Avalanche Build Games – $1,000,000 total pool
Crypto; All projects | Feb 13 | Apply Here
IBC Technical Papers – Call for Entries – Present at IBC2026
Media; Entertainment; All Tech | Feb 20 | Apply Here
Vitafoods Europe Startup Challenge – Pitch at Vitafoods Europe
Europe; Food & Bev; Nutraceutical | Feb 20 | Apply Here
Radicle Corn Challenge – $1.75M investment pool
AgTech; Bioplastics; Sustainable fuel | Feb 25 | Apply Here
High North Young Entrepreneur Contest – 40,000 NOK
Arctic-related | Mar 15 | Apply Here
The Golden Crisp Innovation Challenge – Pitch to McCain
French Fries; BioTech; Logistics; Packaging; Smart appliances | Mar 20 | Apply Here
FLOSS/fund Open Source – $100,000
India; Open Source | Mar 31 | Apply Here
Innovate for Impact Challenge – $50,000
AgTech; Sustainability; Food security | Apr 15 | Apply Here
World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Challenge – $100,000
Crisis response; Supply Chain; Social impact | Apr 30 (rolling apps) | Apply Here
🏆 Awards
Romanian Startup Awards 2026 – Recognition
Romania; All startups | Feb 25 | Apply Here
Knorr-Bremse Circular Technology Award – €150,000
Europe; Green Tech; Recycling | Mar 2 | Apply Here
Hustle Awards 2026 – Recognition; Promo package
UK; All startups | Mar 27 | Apply Here
Closing Soon! Last Chance!
🎤 Pitch Competitions
Compute Challengers 2026 – Pitch at Compute Summit 2026
Quantum; Green compute; Energy Infrastructure | Jan 26 | Apply Here
Lightning Round VII Pitch Competition – $100,000 investment
AI; Deep Tech | Jan 29 | Apply Here
SiGMA Pitch South America – €500,000 in services
Sports Betting; Gaming | Jan 31 (my guess) | Apply Here
Tacoma Rising Pitch Competition – $10,000
Washington; Early-stage | Jan 31 | Apply Here
TechChill Founders Battle – €1,000,000 total pool
Baltics; Nordics; CEE; All startups | Feb 1 | Apply Here
Idea Funding 2026 – $50,000 in services
Arizona; All startups | Feb 1 | Apply Here
💰 Grants
Prosperous Future Grant for Nordics – €65,000
Nordic-Baltic; Green Tech; Sustainability; Social Impact | Jan 30 | Apply Here
Future of Health Grant – 50,000 CHF
Switzerland; HealthTech; Digital Health | Jan 31 | Apply Here
Skip’s $10,000 2026 Kickoff Grants – $10,000
US; All businesses | Jan 31 | Apply Here
Visa Grant Program – $10,000
Canada; Women-led | Feb 1 | Apply Here
💼 Events
Gulfood – Dubai – 8,500+ Exhibitors
Food & Bev; CPG; Consumer Brand | Jan 26–30 | Apply Here
DealFlow Discovery Conference – Atlantic City – Network with investors
High-growth private companies | Jan 27 | Apply Here
InsurTech Conference – Athens – 200+ industry leaders
InsurTech; AI | Jan 28 | Apply Here
Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival – Investor Lounge; 14,000+ attendees
All Tech | Jan 30 | Apply Here
The NGA Show 2026 – Las Vegas – 3,500+ attendees
Grocery; CPG; Food & Bev | Jan 31 | Apply Here
Retail Supply Chain Conference – Orlando – 2,000+ attendees
Supply chain; Retail Tech; e-comm | Jan 31 | Apply Here
🔨 Challenges
Open Horizons Open Call – €55,000
EU; Women-led; Deep Tech | Jan 29 | Apply Here
BioVerse Challenge 2025 by Thermo Fisher – Access to Thermo Fisher Facilities
India; BioTech; MedTech | Jan 30 | Apply Here
Sustainability Open Innovation Challenge 7th Edition – S$3,000,000 for pilot
Singapore; Renewable Energy; Green Industries; Sustainable Materials | Jan 30 | Apply Here
Circular Lab Waste Management Open Call – €2,000 + Run pilot with Ecoembes
Waste solutions; Recycling | Jan 31 | Apply Here
Kerala AgTech Open Call – Explore local partnerships
India; AgTech; Sustainability | Jan 31 (my guess) | Apply Here
NiYA Startup Pitch 2.0 – ₦100m
Nigeria; All tech; Young-ish founders | Jan 31 (my guess) | Apply Here
Design Equality BE OPEN Competition – €5,000 + Trip to UNSDG event
Young entrepreneurs; Gender equality | Jan 31 | Apply Here
Flywheel Investment Conference – $150,000 investment
Washington; All startups | Jan 31 | Apply Here
🏆 Awards
Globee Awards for Artificial Intelligence – Recognition
AI | Jan 28 | Apply Here
One Hour Pitch Deck: Bootstrapped founder-friendly services to get you a big step forward in your journey. Deck upgrades, grant content, or get the same due diligence reports VC’s use when screening your deck. Book a 15-min clarity call at onehourpitchdeck.com to learn more about positioning your startup for funding.
🚪 Beyond the Deal Room curates grants, pitch competitions, awards, and tech summits for 13,000+ founders, VC’s and startup organizations. Over $60M global opportunities, mostly non-dilutive, are available across all verticals each year.
Disclaimer: I receive no compensation for promoting any of these events. While I try to be as accurate as possible when posting requirements such as deadlines, it’s your responsibility to confirm all requirements.
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