There’s still time to get your pitch applications in for the ‘startup Olympics’: the Startup World Cup 2025.
Startup World Cup Australia is looking for local startups and scaleups to pitch at their Sydney and Melbourne events, which will give winners a chance to compete for a hefty US$1 million investment prize at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco.
Applications are currently open for the two Startup World Cup Australia pitch competitions in Melbourne on July 22 and Sydney on August 7.
Mark these dates down for your applications:
- Startup World Cup Melbourne – Apply by July 1 for July 22 event. Apply here.
- Startup World Cup Sydney – Apply by July 14 for August 7 event. Apply here.
Hosted by Startup&Angels, the pitch nights will put fast-growing tech builders in front of some of Australia’s top investors like Rampersand, LaunchVic, Birchal, Climate Tech Partners and Giant Leap.
It’s the first-ever Startup World Cup Melbourne event, while Startup World Cup Sydney returns as part of Startup&Angels’ Investor Week slate of events (August 4-7).
Both Sydney and Melbourne winners will be flown to the US, with flights covered, to compete in the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in October. The winner of the Startup World Cup takes home that US$1 million in funding supplied by Silicon Valley-based global VC Pegasus Tech Ventures.
The Startup World Cup is a global conference and competition that brings together the world’s most innovative startups, VCs, entrepreneurs and tech CEOs from across six continents.
Since launching in 2017, the tournament has become the largest startup competition in the world, with more than 50,000 attendees, including 2500 investors and 500 speakers.
Previous speakers have included Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Netflix co-founder Mark Randolph and Pfizer CTO Lidia Fonseca.
The competition kicks off with more than 100 regional events around the world from Shenzhen to Sao Paulo to Sydney. Each winner gets to represent their region at the semi-finals and grand finale hosted during a three-day event in San Franscisco, while getting to attend workshops, seminars and networking parties.
In 2024, founder Danny Assabgy and his Sydney-based proptech Build Buddy, a platform that helps users design, approve and build their new home, represented Australia at the San Francisco Grand Finale.
The 2024 Startup World Cup winner was US-based clean energy company EarthGrid PBC, which is developing the world’s first way to tunnel, trench and excavate using patented plasma tunnel-boring tech.
More info: Startup World Cup Australia
Or if you’re just happy to come along, network and enjoy the ride, get tickets to the events below:
* Startup Daily is an official media partner for Startup World Cup Australia.
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