The SPIE Startup Challenge is a high-stakes, global competition where entrepreneurs with light-enabled products have 5 minutes to pitch their businesses to a team of expert judges. Winning teams share more than $85,000 in cash and other prizes.

Traditionally, the SPIE Startup Challenge is held annually at Photonics West in San Francisco; the largest research conference and trade show for light-based products in North America with over 1,300 companies and 22,000 attendees. In this challenging year, the Startup Challenge's 11th year, the industry-judged competition will be moving to an all-online, live-pitching format.

Stay tuned for exact dates, starting with a kick-off webinar that includes announcing this year's semifinalists.

Join the SPIE Startup Challenge Community: Business strategy, pitch reviews, and competition logistics are all discussed on the SPIE Startup Challenge workspace on Slack. Send an email to innovation@spie.org to be added to the discussion space.

Questions? Contact us at innovation@spie.org