Apply for the 2023 competition to meet investors, pitch your startup and receive mentoring to take your startup to the next level.
Donor Name: Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship
Country: Global
Type of Grant: Competition/Award
Deadline: 02/28/2023
Size of the Grant: $350,000
Details:
The competition, now in its 23rd year, gives collegiate entrepreneurs real-world experience to pitch their startups, enhance their business strategy and learn what it takes to launch a successful company. Hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship—which is Rice University’s internationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship—and Rice Business.
The competition is designed to give collegiate entrepreneurs a real-world experience to pitch their startups to investors, receive mentoring, network with the entrepreneurial ecosystem, enhance their startup strategy, and learn what it takes to launch a successful startup.
Focus Areas
- Energy, Cleantech and Sustainability
- (including but not limited to): Agriculture/Agtech, Batteries & Storage, Decarbonization/Climate Tech, Energy Infrastructure, Oil & Gas Technologies, Renewable/Alternative Energy, Recycling, New and Non-Carbon Fuels, Transportation/Electric Vehicles, Water
- Hard Tech
- (including but not limited to): Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Materials, Aerospace/Spacetech, AR & VR (augmented & virtual reality), Autonomous Vehicles, Drones, Machine Learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence), Quantum Computing, Robotics, Smart Sensors
- Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions
- (including but not limited to): Aging/Gerontology, Biotech, Diagnostics, Digital Health, Disease Management, Public Health, Medical Devices, Personalized Medicine, Pharma & Therapeutics, Prevention
- Digital Enterprise
- (including but not limited to): Big Data, Blockchain, Cyber/IoT Security, Cloud & Edge Computing, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Media & Advertising, SportsTech, Supply Chain/Logistics, Workforce
- Consumer Products and Services
- (including but not limited to): Analytics, Consumer Web, Education/EdTech, Food & Drink, Gaming, Mobile, Personal Devices, Social Impact, Subscription Services, Wearables & Clothing
Award Details
This will be the 23rd year of the competition! In that time, it has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more than $1.5 million in cash and prizes.
Benefits
- They provide an intense, immersive experience over the course three days for student startup founders to pitch to investors, receive multiple rounds of feedback and advance their startup.
- There will be over $1 million in prizes, and all 42 teams who compete at Rice University in Houston are guaranteed to win cash prizes. Currently, the minimum cash prize is $800 and the grand prize winner receives a $350,000 investment (typically in the form of a convertible debt note.)
Eligibility Criteria
- Multiple student startup teams from the same school, institution or university center may apply to compete.
- There is no limit on the number of applications per school.
- Startup teams comprised of students from more than one school may apply.
- Student startup teams from universities across the US and across the world can apply. There no fees to apply or to compete.
- If you meet these requirements, then most likely you are eligible to apply! Your startup and startup team are eligible if it:
- has at least two current student founders or management team members, and at least one of those students is a current graduate degree-seeking student
- is student-driven, student-created and/or student-managed
- falls into one of five sectors
- has not raised more than $250,000 in equity capital prior to July 1, 2022
- has not generated revenue of more than $100,000 in any 12-month period prior to July 1, 2022
- is seeking funding or capital (or will be in the next 12 months) and is a is a potentially viable investment opportunity
- is incorporated in the US, or has started the process to do so by January 1, 2023.
For more information, visit Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
