SPIE Startup Challenge and Entrepreneur Program
The annual Startup Challenge
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 and vie for over $85,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion.
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. This year, the 2021 final competition will take place 10 March 2021 in San Francisco.
The 2021 application cycle opens 20 September 2020.
20 September 2020
2021 Startup Challenge launch
15 November 2020
2021 applications due
2020 Winners announced
Read the press release
Photonics West
See 2020 highlights
Business strategy, pitch reviews, and competition logistics are all discussed on the SPIE Startup Challenge channel on Slack. Send an email to 
