Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Grants, Pitch Competitions, Awards, and Summits.
Be sure to check out the challenges hosted by the NFL - yeah, the National Football League, very cool.
Custom Weekly Emails: Want me to send you a custom weekly email? I’ll curate these opportunities just for you, plus give you a full list of all open opps AND you’ll get the new stuff before anyone else. Get started here.
~Diane
💪 The Biggies
Newly Added:
🎤 Pitch Competitions
We Make Future Startup Competition – Winner competes for Startup World Cup
Many categories | Mar 12 | Apply Here
Longevity Show Pitch Competition – Recognition + Tickets to Longevity Conference
Age Tech | Apr 14 | Apply Here
Pitch Captain Competition – €50,000 Prize pool
All tech + Data Center | Apr 15 | Apply Here
IFT FIRST Pitch Competition – $10,000
Food Tech; Food Science | May 31 (my guess) | Apply Here
RAISE the STAKES 2026 – €10M total pool
AI | Jun 1 | Apply Here
💰 Grants
Ladies Who Launch Impact Grant – $10,000
Women-led; Impact focused | Mar 17 | Apply Here
💼 Events
AZTechWeek - Arizona – Decentralized Conference
All startups | Apr 6-12 | Apply Here
WebSummit - Vancouver – 20,000+ attendees
All startups | May 11-14 | Apply Here
Seed the South Capital Summit - Charlotte – Masterclasses; Meet VC’s
SE US; All startups | May 18-19 | Apply Here
AI & Big Data Expo - San Jose – 8,000+ attendees
AI; Big Data; Deep Learning; IoT | May 18-19 | Apply Here
Experiential Marketing Summit 2026 - Las Vegas – 1,000+ attendees
MarTech; Event Tech | May 18-20 | Apply Here
Home Delivery World USA - Nashville – 3,000+ attendees + Apply to Speak
E-Comm logistics; Packaging; Last-mile | May 20-21 | Apply Here
TechCon SoCal 2026 - San Diego – Fireside chats; Exhibitor pavilions
All startups | May 21-23 | Apply Here
Mining Transformed - Ontario – Demo in a real mine
Mining Tech | May 25-27 | Apply Here
🔨 Challenges
NFL Innovation Hub Challenge – Pilot with NFL
Sports Tech; Events; FinTech | Mar 22 | Apply Here
Yes/Boston Innovation Challenge – Pilot solution with UpLink
Boston; Health; Sustainable Food | Mar 23 | Apply Here
MD4 Open Innovation Challenge – $250,000
Food security; AgTech | Mar 30 | Apply Here
Aerospace Open Innovation Challenge 2026 – S$400,000 + Pilot solution
Singapore; Space Tech; Digitalization | Apr 17 | Apply Here
BEYOND 2026 - Call for Speakers – Speak at Conference
Europe; Middle East | Apr 30 (my guess) | Apply Here
iF Social Impact Prize – €100,000 total pool
UNSDG’s; Design-related | May 20 | Apply Here
NFL HealthTECH Challenge – $100,000
Football helmet safety | May 28 | Apply Here
Closing Soon! Last Chance!
🎤 Pitch Competitions
Peak26 Outdoor Innovation Pitch Competition – $50,000 services + investments
Michigan; Outdoor Recreation | Mar 3 | Apply Here
Seed the South Pitch Competition – $50,000 investment
Southeast US; All startups | Mar 6 | Apply Here
Rural Tourism Pitch Competition – $20,000
Nevada; Tourism | Mar 7 | Apply Here
💰 Grants
Detroit Startup Fund Grants – $50,000
Detroit; All businesses | Mar 2 | Apply Here
EDGE Grant Competition – $400,000 total pool
Delaware | Mar 6 | Apply Here
💼 Events
Bio Investment & Growth Summit - Miami – Biotech associations; policy; venture capital
BioTech | Mar 2-3 | Apply Here
MWC26 Barcelona - Spain – 100,000+ attendees
AI; All Tech; Mobile | Mar 2-5 | Apply Here
CONEXPO-CON/AGG - Las Vegas – 2,000 attendees
Construction Tech | Mar 3-5 | Apply Here
LUXE PACK Los Angeles - LA – 5,000+ attendees
CPG; Consumer brands; Packaging | Mar 4-5 | Apply Here
Natural Products Expo West - Anaheim – 60,000+ attendees
Food & Bev; CPG; Organic | Mar 4-6 | Apply Here
🔨 Challenges
European Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Alliance – €1,000,000
Europe; Mobility and Transport | Mar 3 | Apply Here
WE Empower UN SDG Challenge – Trip to UN General Assembly
UNSDGs; Women-led | Mar 8 | Apply Here
🏆 Awards
Knorr-Bremse Circular Technology Award – €150,000
Europe; Green Tech; Recycling | Mar 2 | 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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