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CompetitionNew
One of the premier startup competitions in the world. Finalists pitch live to investors, industry experts, media and business leaders. The date shown is the early-bird deadline. Contact: Michelle Murdough, michelle@sxsw.com
Details about SXSW Pitch CompetitionCompetition
Big Ideas Contest
Blum Center
UC Berkeley’s flagship social-impact contest, awarding up to $20K per team.
Details about Big Ideas ContestCompetitionNew
2027 Tulane Business Model Competition
Tulane Freeman School of Business
A competition for student-led startups that test their business models against real customer needs using Lean Startup principles. In 2025, three finalists shared a $125,000 cash prize.
Details about 2027 Tulane Business Model CompetitionAlways-open programs
Funds and competitions in the directory that accept applications year-round or on a recurring cycle. These have no single deadline — check each program’s own site for its current round. Showing 12 of 53.
- Bakar Labs Campus ProgramsBakar Labs programs that fund and train Berkeley faculty, students and postdocs to turn research into ventures, including the Bakar Fellows Program.
- Bee PartnersFounded in 2009, Bee Partners is a pre-Seed venture capital firm that partners with revolutionary Founders working at the forefront of human-machine convergence across technologies that include…
- Berkeley Angel NetworkThe Berkeley Angel Network is a group of angel investors who are alumni, faculty and former faculty of UC Berkeley. We are an affinity group of the Berkeley Haas Alumni Network. The mission of the…
- Berkeley Catalyst Fund IA Venture Capital Fund Benefiting UC Berkeley. The Berkeley Catalyst Fund* works closely with UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC San Francisco, associated incubators and…
- Berkeley Catalyst Fund IIA Venture Capital Fund Benefiting UC Berkeley. The Berkeley Catalyst Fund* works closely with UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC San Francisco, associated incubators and…
- Berkeley Center for Responsible, Decentralized IntelligenceBerkeley RDI advances AI and decentralized tech; its free, non-dilutive Xcelerator backs pre-seed and seed AI and agentic AI startups worldwide.
- Berkeley Frontier FundAlumni-run philanthropic venture fund investing in Berkeley-network frontier tech startups and returning a share of profits to campus programs.
- Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship ProgramCourses, mentoring hours, $5,000 seed grants, accelerators and competitions that help Haas and UC Berkeley students launch new ventures.
- Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Startup Seed FundThe Trione Student Venture Fund was endowed by a gift from Victor Trione, MBA 70, and provides a prize package that includes $5,000 to enable experiential learning,and office space, to 20 early-stage…
- Berkeley SkyDeckUC Berkeley's flagship six-month startup accelerator, with $200K investment per startup, 900 advisors, investor intros and Berkeley talent.
- Berkeley SkyDeck FundVenture fund investing in Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator startups and donating 50% of its carried interest to UC Berkeley research and education.
- Berkeley SkyDeck Fund IThe Berkeley SkyDeck Fund is the investment partner for UC Berkeley’s SkyDeck Accelerator Program. They invest $200K into each startup that goes through SkyDeck, as well as participate in later stage…
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Accelerator cohorts, grants, competitions and startup roles are all welcome — submissions are reviewed weekly.
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