Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Grants, Pitch Competitions, Awards, and Summits.

Guess what - you can run a pilot with Honda… it’s a Honda Pilot (I’ll see myself out, thanks).

Healthcare and Accessibility startups: join FoundersBoost’s Fall cohort program. It’s virtual, startups receive up to $50K non-dilutive funding, plus cool stuff like Demo Day in San Francisco. Learn more here. Applications due by Sept 15. (hint: say that Diane Bailey referred you!)

~Diane

Defence Innovation Pitch Day – Recognition
Germany; DefTech; Security | Sept 15 | Apply

Brewbound Live Pitch Slam 2026 – $10,000 in advertising + Tix to Brewbound Live
CPG; Beverages | Oct 16 | Apply

Nosh Pitch Slam 2026 – $10,000 in advertising + Tix to Nosh
CPG; Food & Bev | Oct 16 | Apply

SXSW EDU Launch Startup Competition – Pitch at event
EdTech | Nov 1 | Apply

WHX Tech Startup Competition – $30,000 total pool
Healthcare; Med Devices; BioTech; FemTech | Nov 4 | Apply

Cypher Tank Pitch Competition – $300,000 total pool
Bitcoin; Freedom tech | Sept 25 | Apply

Ultra Long Duration Energy Storage – £3,000,000 total pool
UK; Batteries; Energy storage | Sept 30 | Apply

TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 - Boston – 1000+ attendees
All startups | Nov 4 | Apply

IBTM World - Barcelona – 12,000+ attendees
Event tech | Nov 17-19 | Apply

AWS re:Invent - Las Vegas – 2,200+ sessions; Deep dives
Cloud; AI | Nov 30 - Dec 4 | Apply

Sahara CodeSwitch Africa Challenge – $10,000
Africa; AI voice models | Sept 15 | Apply

Future of Voice AI Challenge – $25,000 total pool
Dubai; AI voice agents; FinTech; GovTech | Sept 22 | Apply

Ben Franklin Big Idea Contest – $50,000
Pennsylvania; All businesses | Oct 16 | Apply

PaymentsNext Innovation Challenge – ₹7.5 Lakh total pool + PaySprint credits
India; Payments; FinTech | Oct 31 (my guess) | Apply

AI & Digital Bridge Awards 2026 – $100,000 total pool
Kazakhstan; AI; EdTech; GovTech | Sept 6 | Apply

Global Deep Tech Awards – Recognition; Pitch at event
Deep Tech; Chips; Life Science; AI; Space Tech | Sept 7 | Apply

InsurTech America Innovation Challenge – $30,000 total pool + Pitch at Startup World Cup
InsurTech; RegTech | Oct 7 | Apply

Innovation that Speaks Italian Award – Present at conference
Italian-US | Sept 18 | Apply

SOCAR WIN Innovation Program – $20,000 for Pilot
Energy systems; Decarb | Sept 12 | Apply

Honda Innovation Challenge 2.0 – ₹1.6 Crore Total Prize Pool + Pilot with Honda
India; Mobility | Oct 2 | Apply

🤩 View the full list of 100+ open opportunities - including all Last Chance Opportunities - by signing up here.

Next Thread Initiative Designer Award – $300,000
Sustainable fashion | Aug 31 | Apply

Lowe’s Creator: Into the Blue – Co-develop with Lowe’s
Home products | Sept 1 | Apply

Brooklyn Pitch Competition – $450,000 total pool
Brooklyn; Local impact | Sept 4 | Apply

Beyond the Deal Room curates grants, pitch competitions, awards, and tech summits for 13,000+ founders, VC’s and startup organizations. Over $100M global opportunities, mostly non-dilutive, are available across all verticals each year.

For Startup Organizations: Bring this list to your newsletter and community groups for FREE. Reply to this email for details.

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.

📣 Who am I? Your biggest cheerleader. Startup operator, accelerator operations leader, and advisor to early-stage founders. Named a Top 100 Women Tech Leader (2024). I help founders tap into non-dilutive funding—grants, competitions, and beyond—to build traction between VC rounds. Connect with me on LinkedIn.