From Pitch competitions to Global tech challenges, here are the key events driving startup growth and investment opportunities this season.
Startup Events:
- Name: NVIDIA GTC 2026
Date: 16–19 March 2026
Location: San Jose, California, USA
Description: A premier global artificial intelligence & GPU technology conference with startup and VC sessions, pitches, training labs, and workshops for founders and developers integrating AI into products.
Website: https://www.nvidia.com/gtc/ - Name: Startup Festival (Prague)
Date: 11 March 2026
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Description: A free admission startup festival offering one-on-one consultations, networking with founders and mentors, and opportunities for startups to get expert feedback.
Website: https://www.startupfestival.org/ - Name: START Global Summit
Date: 19–20 March 2026
Location: St. Gallen, Switzerland
Description: A global startup & innovation summit featuring pitch sessions, investor showcases, founder masterclasses, and high-impact networking.
Website: https://www.startglobal.org/start-summit - Name: CloudFest 2026
Date: 23–26 March 2026
Location: Cologne (Köln), Germany
Description: Startup-relevant cloud & digital infrastructure conference with startups, investors, and corporates exploring cloud innovation, scalability, and partnerships.
Website:https://www.cloudfest.com/ - Name: Google I/O 2026
Date: 19–20 May 2026
Location: Mountain View, California, USA (and online)
Description: Google’s flagship developer and innovation conference showcasing new technologies, AI tools, and platforms used widely by startups and developers globally.
Website: https://io.google/ - Name: Podim Conference 2026
Date: 11–13 May 2026
Location: Maribor, Slovenia
Description: A leading startup & tech event in Central and Eastern Europe featuring curated startup pitches, VC matchmaking and mentorship sessions.
Website: https://podim.org/ - Name: Energy Tech Summit 2026
Date: 15–16 May 2026
Location: Bilbao, Spain
Description: Climate-tech and clean-energy startup conference with investor participation, startup competitions and innovation showcases.
Website: https://www.energytechsummit.com/ - Name: ImagiNxt 2026
Date: 22–23 May 2026
Location: Jio World Centre, Mumbai, India
Description: A global technology and startup festival designed to connect startups, investors and policymakers and encourage collaboration and innovation.
Website: https://www.imaginxt.in/ - Name: Turing Fest 2026
Date: 6–7 May 2026
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Description: A growing European tech & startup conference focused on scaling digital startups, growth strategies, community networking, and founder-to-founder learning.
Website: https://turingfest.com/ - Name: AI Summit Europe 2026
Date: 6–8 May 2026
Location: Riga, Latvia
Description: A technology and business summit focused on practical AI adoption, innovation strategies, startup showcases, and connecting AI founders with international investors.
Website: https://aisummiteurope.eu
Startup Funding Opportunities:
- Name: VentureWell Ocean Enterprise Accelerator – Stage 0 Spring 2026
Date: 7 April 2026 (deadline)
Amount: Up to $15,000
Equity Taken: None (non-dilutive award)
Website: https://venturewell.org/ocean-enterprise-accelerator/ - Name: Startup Pitch Competition – Convergence India & Smart Future Cities Expo
Date: 23 March 2026 (event pitch registration closes before competition dates)
Amount: ₹1 Lakh & networking / exposure + entry to global pitch platforms (like Expand North Star)
Equity Taken: None (prize + exposure)
Website: https://www.convergenceindia.org/startup-pitch.aspx - Name: Creative Business Cup 2026 – Startup Awards
Date: 15 April 2026 (deadline)
Amount: Up to €25,000 + investor support
Equity Taken: None (prize)
Website: https://creativebusinesscup.com/competition - Name: Chicago Innovation Awards – Early Stage
Date: 10 April 2026
Amount: Cash/recognition + exposure
Equity Taken: None
Website: https://www.chicagoinnovationawards.com/ - Name: Startup Prize: Health
Date: 15 June 2026
Amount: Cash prizes + investor exposure
Equity Taken: None
Website: https://startupprize.com/health/register/ - Name: Startup Global Pitch Competition 2026
Date: JULY 2026 (regional finals & global pitch events)
Amount: $100,000+ prize pool (varies by region/track)
Equity Taken: None (cash prizes)
Website: https://www.startupcan.ca/startup-global-pitch-competition/ - Name: FastPitch Startup Competition – Spring 2026
Date: 12 April 2026 (deadline)
Amount: Up to $25,000 in cash & mentorship
Equity Taken: None
Website: https://fastpitch.org/startup-competition - Name: EIC Accelerator Funding Cut-off
Date: 8 July 2026
Amount: Up to €2.5 M grant + €10 M equity investment
Equity Taken: Yes (for investment portion)
Website: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-accelerator_en - Name: SoGal Global Pitch Competition
Date: 31 March 2026 (deadline)
Amount: Up to $100,000 in prizes & access
Equity Taken: None (prize only)
Website: https://www.sogalfoundation.org/pitches
