TechCrunch Disrupt--Stanley Food&Bev $100K--MilTech $450K

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

~Diane

💪 The Biggies

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Scale faster through funding, exposure, networking, and startup growth insights. Gain practical strategies, peer insights, and tools to scale operations effectively.

Changing the Game Grant | $100K

Five $20,000 grants for the founders creating community-centered, food and beverage-focused spaces where women’s sports are the main event.

Army Training Verse Innovation Prize Challenge | $450K

The Army CPE ST3 is launching a prize challenge to accelerate the development of the Digital Enterprise Engineering Environment (DE3), also known as the Army Training Verse. This challenge seeks innovative commercial and emerging solutions that advance an integrated, AI-enabled Modeling and Simulation enterprise.

Are you in an accelerator? Forward to your cohort peers, or connect me with your Managing Director. I’ll post the top opportunities in your community for free.

Newly Added:

🎤 Pitch Competitions

SOCO Startup Week 2026 Pitch Competition – $15,000 total pool
Colorado; All startups | July 31 | Apply

Swimming with Narwhals Startup Pitch Competition – Pitch at Music Tectonics conference
Music Tech; Media Tech; Creators | Aug 7 | Apply

LaunchCon Columbus – $40,000 total pool
Georgia; All startups | Aug 7 | Apply

Level Up with LaunchPad – $75,000
Maine; All businesses | Aug 13 | Apply

Veteran Shark Tank – $50,000
Veteran-led; All businesses | Oct 13 | Apply

💰 Grants

Stanley Changing the Game Grant – $100,000 total pool
Women’s sports; Food & Bev | July 31 | Apply

💼 Events

World Summit AI - Amsterdam – 10,000+ attendees
AI | Oct 7-8 | Apply

AI Builders Global Conference 2026 - Virtual – 12,000+ attendees
AI | Oct 14-15 | Apply

WHIS - Boston – 120+ speakers
Women’s Health; Pharma; BioTech | Oct 13-15 | Apply

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 - San Francisco – 10,000+ attendees
All startups | Oct 13-15 | Apply

StrictlyVC NYC 2026 – Speakers; networking
NYC; All startups | Sept 10 | Apply

NextGen Supply Chain Conference - Nashville – Keynotes; Small group sessions
Supply chain; Robotics; AI; Autonomous vehicles | Oct 21-23 | Apply

🔨 Challenges

Cross-Border Jobs Startup Competition – $10,000
South and SE Asia; Future of Work; Labor mobility | Aug 5 | Apply

Oil & Gas Cleantech Challenge – Present to Oil & Gas partners
CleanTech; Emissions | Aug 26 | Apply

Army Training Verse Innovation Prize Challenge – $450,000 total pool
MilTech; AI | Sept 30 | Apply

🏆 Awards

Kluz Prize for PeaceTech – $20,000
Impact-focus | July 31 | Apply

IVC 2026 Best of Show Awards – Recognition
Media Tech; AV; Entertainment Tech | Aug 28 | Apply

MedTech World Europe Award – Recognition
Europe; MedTech; Healthcare | Oct 16 | Apply

🧰 Pilots

Children’s Specialized Hospital - Pitch to Partner – $100,000
Healthcare; MedTech; Social impact | Aug 13 | Apply

Closing Soon! Last Chance!

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

Nexa Funding Opportunity – $200,000
Canada; Africa; LatAm; Climate Tech; Health Tech | July 22 | Apply

JUNI x Tesla Battery Cell Giga Challenge – Present to Tesla + Pilot
Batteries; AI; Materials | July 24 | Apply

Alibaba CoCreate Pitch 2026 – $1,000,000 total pool
AI; CPG; Product-based | July 25 (US deadline) | 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.