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Season 2026/27 · the road to the Grand Finale in San Francisco, October 2027

Win
the region.
Fly
to the final.

Startup World Cup is the world's largest startup competition: 100+ regional rounds and a US$1M investment prize for the winner of the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley. The shortest line from a frontier lab to a Valley stage.
Applications Closed
Deadline 15 December 2026
Fee 0 ₽ · free
ApplySee the roadBecome a mentor
$1M
investment prize for the Grand Finale winner, on SWC's official terms
100+
regional rounds on six continents
4 + 2
minutes of pitch and jury questions, one format from city round to Valley
Win the region. Fly to the final.Free to take part6 regional clustersRussia Final · Moscow · AprilGrand Finale · San FranciscoPrize up to US$1M · on SWC terms4 min pitch + 2 min Q&AMentors and judges wantedWin the region. Fly to the final.Free to take part6 regional clustersRussia Final · Moscow · AprilGrand Finale · San FranciscoPrize up to US$1M · on SWC terms4 min pitch + 2 min Q&AMentors and judges wanted
The road to the Grand Finale

The road up:
the season's rounds

Six rounds, one trajectory. The rules for moving up are public and the same for everyone: a 4-minute pitch and 2 minutes of jury questions, from the city round to the stage in San Francisco.
01 autumn
Local rounds
15-20 venues: cities, universities, accelerators, corporations, industry communities.
→ venue winners
02 Jan-Feb
Regional quarterfinals
Moscow, St Petersburg, the Volga, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, the South. 8-10 teams in each cluster.
→ 24 teams
03 March
National semifinal
One expert assessment of every regional winner, for a balanced, investment-ready cohort.
→ 10-15 finalists
04 April 2027 · Moscow
Startup World Cup Russia Final
300+ guests and 4-6 judges from VCs, angels, corporations and founders. Pitches run 4 min + 2 min Q&A.
→ one champion of Russia
05 May-Sep 2027
Silicon Valley Sprint
An English pitch, a deck review, due diligence prep, media training, and meetings with funds and clients on the trip.
→ stage-ready
06 October 2027
Grand Finale · Silicon Valley
October 2027, San Francisco. Taking part follows SWC's official confirmation. The prize is up to US$1M in investment, subject to investment terms and due diligence.
→ world champion
Scouting all year
Partners, investors and alumni nominate teams outside the application window.
The alumni circle
Strong applicants stay in the Yellow Door × Innov8 network: deal flow, pilots, mentoring.
The title rule
Only the winner of the officially approved Russia Final is national champion. A local win moves you forward; it does not carry the SWC title.
Fixtures · season 2026/27

Season
fixtures

Dates are projected and confirmed with Startup World Cup at the start of the season. Each row is a press moment with a release in both languages.
01
September 2026
The season opens for applications - the window opens, with a call for venues and sponsors
Release no. 1 · launch
02
Oct - Nov 2026
Local rounds - 15-20 venues across cities, universities, accelerators and industries
Venue announcements and results
03
15 Dec 2026
Application deadline - a last call, then the window closes
Last call · email + social
04
Jan - Feb 2027
Regional quarterfinals - 6 clusters of 8-10 teams each
Regional winner releases
05
March 2027
National semifinal - one assessment, 10-15 finalists chosen
The finalist cohort named
06
April 2027
Startup World Cup Russia Final, Moscow - 300+ guests, 4-6 judges, 4+2 pitches
Release before the event + the champion
07
May - Sep 2027
Silicon Valley Sprint - English pitch, DD, media training, meetings with funds and clients
Champion feature + a sponsor appeal
08
October 2027
Grand Finale · San Francisco - Russia's champion on the world stage, once Startup World Cup confirms
Results + the annual impact report
Enter the tournament

Enter
the season

Any industry, any stage, a registered legal entity. Pitching teams take part free. You can save an application and come back to it, and the programme's office hours help with the English version.
Tell me when the season opens
Applications are closed · partner nominations are open all year
Application checklist
01A registered legal entity, any industry and stage, under SWC rules
02A pitch deck on SWC's official template (you get it once registered)
03Problem, solution, what sets you apart, business model: briefly
04Product status, traction, revenue or funding, customers or pilots
05The team and its relevant experience; the market and international potential
06Consents: data processing, transfer to SWC/Pegasus, media use
Startup World Cup does not cover travel to the Grand Finale; the programme raises sponsor support for the champion.
Past speakers & judges of Startup World Cup

Where
the road leads

Over the years, people who built Apple, LinkedIn, Netflix, Siri, Reddit and Cisco have judged and spoken on SWC stages. Russia's champion pitches in that league.
Steve Wozniak Co-founder, Apple Reid Hoffman Co-founder, LinkedIn Kevin O'Leary Shark Tank Vinod Khosla Khosla Ventures Marc Randolph Co-founder, Netflix Barbara Corcoran Shark Tank Alexis Ohanian Co-founder, Reddit Tim Draper Draper Associates Guy Kawasaki Apple · Canva Daymond John FUBU · Shark Tank Steve Wozniak Co-founder, Apple Reid Hoffman Co-founder, LinkedIn Kevin O'Leary Shark Tank Vinod Khosla Khosla Ventures Marc Randolph Co-founder, Netflix Barbara Corcoran Shark Tank Alexis Ohanian Co-founder, Reddit Tim Draper Draper Associates Guy Kawasaki Apple · Canva Daymond John FUBU · Shark Tank
Adam Cheyer Co-founder, Siri John Chambers Cisco Tim Westergren Co-founder, Pandora Terry Jones Founding Chairman, Kayak Tekedra Mawakana Waymo Adam Cheyer Co-founder, Siri John Chambers Cisco Tim Westergren Co-founder, Pandora Terry Jones Founding Chairman, Kayak Tekedra Mawakana Waymo
01
Steve Wozniak
Co-founder, Apple
02
Reid Hoffman
Co-founder, LinkedIn · Greylock
03
Kevin O'Leary
Investor · Shark Tank
04
Barbara Corcoran
Investor · Shark Tank
05
Tim Draper
Founder, Draper Associates
06
Vinod Khosla
Founder, Khosla Ventures
Startup World Cup
Watch Grand Finale recapsyoutube.com/startupworldcup ↗
$1M
investment prize for the Grand Finale winner
100+
regional rounds worldwide
6
continents in one startup league
Past speakers and judges of the global programme. The Russia Final's jury and speakers are announced separately once confirmed.
A finalist already · Geopixel

It has
worked
before

Geopixel came through the Russian selection with a Startup World Cup certificate that reads "National Finalist for the Russian Federation". The route from a region to an international orbit is not a theory here. It is how the programme works.
Title National Finalist for the Russian Federation
Season 2025
Route Selection in Russia → national finalist → the SWC orbit
Take the same road
Geopixel receiving its Startup World Cup National Finalist for the Russian Federation certificate
Geopixel receiving its Startup World Cup certificate as national finalist for Russia. Photo: programme archive
A pitch at the Moscow selectionA startup presenting
Roll of champions · success stories

What happens
after winning

All the stories on startupworldcup.io ↗
2023
Aillis
Japan
AI diagnosis of respiratory disease, from flu to use inside clinics.
$50M+ raised, Series B $30M
2022
SRTX
Canada
Ultra-strong textiles: Rip-Resist tights 10 times tougher than ordinary ones, from UHMWPE fibre it makes itself.
$120M+ from Founders Fund, Pegasus and others
2019
Abivin
Vietnam
AI logistics optimisation: routing, 3D loading, supply-chain analytics.
Clients save 10-30% of costs, 6 countries
2018
Leuko
USA · MIT
PointCheck™: white blood cell monitoring for cancer patients, with no blood draw.
$1.8M seed right after winning
2017
UniFa
Japan
IoT for nurseries: children's sleep, health and development, monitored.
$10M invested, sales up 6x after the title
Judging & integrity

Judging
without grey areas

Where Startup World Cup's official criteria apply, those are the ones used. Local pre-screening runs on the programme's working rubric (its weights are published once SWC and the programme's leadership approve them).
InnovationCustomer problemTractionMarket potentialBusiness modelCompetitive edgeTeamScalabilityInternational readinessPitch clarity
01Conflicts of interestJudges declare conflicts before they see applications, and a conflicted judge steps away from scoring that team.
02Scores and auditScores are normalised, individual marks are kept and tie-breaks are written down. A status can be changed only by authorised staff, and every change is logged.
03Pitch formatA 4-minute pitch and 2 minutes of jury questions, the same from local rounds to the Grand Finale.
04An open processWe publish the process and the criteria, though not the jury's private discussion. The jury's decisions are final.
Mentors · judges · scouts

People
make the programme

Become a mentor
Get the cohort ready to pitch, take decks apart, share what you know about entering markets. Russian mentors can join SWC's global network too.
The global mentor programme ↗
Join the jury
VCs, angels, corporate leaders and founders with an exit, at local rounds and the Russia Final. Judges declare conflicts before they see any application.
How judging works →
Nominate a startup
Know a strong team? Partners, investors and alumni can nominate all year, outside the application window.
Who can enter →
Mentors, jury, nominations partners@i8gl.com
Code of conduct and conflict declaration at onboarding · we write to a nominated startup only with your consent
Host a round · local venues

Host
a round

Cities, universities, accelerators, corporations and industry communities host local rounds and connect their own ecosystems to the national route.
What a venue gets
Official status as a selection venue for the season; co-branding, a brand kit and press templates; judges and mentors from the programme's network; a place in the national calendar and media plan.
What it commits to
The space, production and an agreed run of show; the 4+2 format and the shared rules for moving up; application data passed on with consent; photos, video and a report afterwards.
How to join
An application and a qualifying call → an agreement → onboarding (checklist, calendar, brand kit) → the event → a report → winners passed on.
Venue application partners@i8gl.com
Sponsors & partners

Your brand
on this road

Ask for the deck →Ask for a call
Presenting Partner
Title visibility for the season, the final's stage, the key press moments. Exclusivity only if separately approved.
On request
National Partner
Rights along the whole Russian route all year, plus the national final: logo, invitations, content, access to the cohort.
On request
Regional Partner
One regional or industry track: co-branding of its local rounds and regional quarterfinal.
On request
Supporting Partner
Selected visibility, invitations to the final and content rights.
On request
In-kind Partner
Goods and services in exchange for benefits that match their accepted fair value.
At the contribution's fair value
Custom Ecosystem
Universities, media, associations and the public sector, with a partnership built around what they need.
Custom · by contract
In-kind contributions welcome
Venues, production and staging, flights and hotels, translation, photo and video, catering, legal and accounting help, cloud and software, media inventory, services for finalists.
Fair value, the person accepting it, a deadline and quality criteria are all recorded. Rights start once the contribution is accepted in writing.
From request to logo
Request →Qualification →Package →Compliance →Contract →Payment / in-kind →Logo and rights →Report
Exclusivity, data access and SWC rights exist only where a contract says so.
Sponsorship and in-kind sponsors@i8gl.com
Newsroom · 16 press moments a season

Press

Each moment brings a release in both languages, letters to founders and partners, and a social pack. Winner news goes out only once results, photo rights and official status are checked.
01 Sep
Programme and applications launch
02 Sep
A call for local venues
03 Sep
A call for sponsors and in-kind partners
04 Oct
Applications open city by city and by industry
05 Dec
Deadline reminder · last call
06 Oct-Nov
Local finalists named
07 Nov-Dec
Local winners announced
08 Jan-Feb
Quarterfinals: who pitched and who won
09 Mar
The national semifinalists
10 Mar
Russia Final: jury, speakers, venue
11 Apr
Profiles of Russia's finalists
12 Apr
Russia's champion revealed
13 Apr
Geopixel / alumni: a success story
14 May-Sep
SV preparation + trip support
15 Oct
How the Grand Finale went
16 Nov
Annual impact report
Media kit · on requestFact sheetCleared photosSpeakers for press
FAQ · organizers

Questions
and organisers

Startup World Cup · Pegasus Tech Ventures
Runs the championship worldwide. startupworldcup.io ↗
The Yellow Door
A community of founders, investors and mentors, and the coordinator of the Russian route.
Innov8 Global
The Global Market Access platform, with an international partner network.
CIS track. The programme runs under a signed agreement for Russia. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan are separate SWC markets, and nothing happens there without SWC's approval, country by country.
Who can apply?
Startups in any industry and at any stage, registered as a legal entity. The current rules are in Startup World Cup's official FAQ, and we check them before every season.
What does it cost?
Applying and pitching are free. Teams pay their own way to the Grand Finale, and the programme helps raise sponsor support for the champion.
What does the winner get?
Russia's champion represents the country at the Grand Finale in Silicon Valley once SWC confirms. The Grand Finale prize is up to US$1M in investment, subject to investment terms and due diligence under the official rules.
Does the pitch have to be in English?
Local rounds are in Russian. The Grand Finale needs an English pitch, and the champion goes through the Silicon Valley Sprint with coaching and rehearsals.
I won a local round. Am I an SWC champion?
No. A venue win moves you along the road. The national title belongs to the winner of the officially approved Russia Final, and to nobody else.
How is my data used?
To run the competition, and with separate consent to pass it to SWC/Pegasus, partners, investors and media. Marketing consents are never bundled with the required ones.
This site's privacy noticeGrand Finale ↗Official FAQ ↗Terms ↗Privacy ↗Host a Region ↗