Semiconductors & AI Innovation Startup Cup

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Key Dates
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Extreme Tech Challenge at...

Semiconductors & AI Innovation Startup Cup

The goal of the Semiconductors & AI Innovation Startup Cup is to accelerate the technologies that lead to a sustainable and environmentally friendly future. By promoting innovations that reduce emissions, enhance energy efficiency, and minimize waste, the competition strives to generate significant environmental impacts.

Event Date January 7, 2025

Location CES, Las Vegas, NV

Entries Open August 5, 2024

Entries Close September 3, 2024

Competition

Categories

Semiconductors and Ecosystem

Innovations in advancing semiconductors and innovations in the supporting ecosystem, from chip design, manufacturing, materials, to the broader ecosystem including software, integration, and applications that rely on semiconductor advancements.

AI and Data Infrastructure

Hardware and software environment designed to support AI and ML workloads. This infrastructure is crucial for efficiently processing large volumes of data, training complex models, and deploying AI applications across various sectors. Key components: Computational Power, LLM, Networking and Connectivity.

Special Award: Data Center Efficiency

Data centers have a significant impact on the environment due to their high energy consumption and resource usage. Hence, innovations that improve the design and operations of a data center that reduces their environmental footprint are of interest. This competition will also award a special prize for startups with the most viable and greatest impact to advance Data Center Efficiency.

Why apply?

Global Visibility

Live Pitch at the conference in front of the live audience.

Access to Corporate Executives

Exposure to corporate executives, VCs and more attending the conference.

Potential for Corporate Strategic Partnership

Network with influential industry leaders, with potential for business development and collaboration.

Eligibility

Must be a privately-funded startup company working on tech innovations in…

See official rules

Evaluation Criteria

Finalists and Winners will be selected based on the Judges’ assessment of the following equally-weighted criteria:

TECH FOR GOOD / RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION FOR A RADICALLY BETTER WORLD – Is this innovative product addressing a significant global challenge to society and/or the environment, and can this startup’s product have a wide-reaching impact on the same?

PRODUCT/MARKET FIT – Is there traction and enough scale in the addressable market for sufficient growth/profit to be an attractive investment?

PRODUCT INNOVATION – Is this a disruptive innovation that is differentiated from competitive or substitute offerings?

TEAM – Is this team uniquely qualified to develop this project? Do they strongly understand their users and the industry and ecosystem in which they operate? Do they have the determination and endurance to carry this through to completion?

See Full Criteria

5,000+

Startup applications across 120+ countries, covering a wide spectrum of tech vertical and funding stages

$4.4B

Venture Capital Funding Raised by XTC Startup Finalists (2015-2023)

350+

VCs and CVCs on the XTC Evaluation Committee, Global Partners

36%

Female Founded finalists

Jules Hammond
BeFC

“Alone you can go fast, together we can go farther. With Extreme Tech Challenge, BeFC received expert guidance and support to refine our pitch, to connect with key opinion leaders across relevant industries and present in front of top investors.”

Susan Payne
Sustainable Planet

“I loved working with XTC and the World Food Forum because of the attention and direction they gave to each of their selected participants. I enjoyed all the people involved, including many specialists, and the thoughtful laser-beam focus they provided to each of us in one-on-ones”

Karthi Chakaravarty
EarthEn

“Extreme Tech Challenge and its ecosystem are grounded in the high-energy, breakthrough-focused culture of Silicon Valley, and we immediately met investors and corporates we haven’t met elsewhere!”

Helena Samodurova
Incooling

“It’s been a great experience for me and for Incooling. The experience of coming to the USA for the Global Finals was unbeatable. These were clearly the folks anyone would want to get in front of, and we have between 5 and 10 direct follow-ups interested in investment!”

Buffy Okeke
Zebra Cropbank

“It's like someone applied jet fuel to our efforts!”

Andy Lüring
LUMO Labs

“I was asked to become an advisory board member of The Next Web, and to me it was very logical to connect The Next Web with Extreme Tech Challenge. That’s why today we have the first Extreme Tech Challenge startup competition. It was a really big success!”

Kinga Matuła
QurieGen

“I thank Extreme Tech Challenge for perfect preparation for the whole event at TNW. The communication was extremely good. We hope we can leverage the Extreme Tech Challenge organization to unlock more opportunities for our company in Europe but also scale to the U.S. I think good ”

Key dates

August 5

Application open

September 3

Application deadline

January 7

Finalists Announcement and Reception

Empowering startups to innovate across 10 key XTC categories, inspired by the United Nations' 17 Sustainability Development Goals

Frequently asked questions

The following frequently asked questions may help answer any queries you have about XTC, what this competition involves, and what is required to participate. If your question isn't answered here please check our dedicated FAQ support page, otherwise don't hesitate to get in touch.

What are the requirements to participate?

How do I know if my start-up is eligible to enter XTC?

If we already have funding, can we still apply to XTC?

Does it cost anything to apply to XTC?

What is the timeline for submissions?

NEWSLETTER

Semiconductors & AI Innovation Startup Cup

Semiconductors & AI Innovation Startup Cup

Categories

Semiconductors and Ecosystem

AI and Data Infrastructure

Special Award: Data Center Efficiency

Why apply?

Global Visibility

Access to Corporate Executives

Potential for Corporate Strategic Partnership

Eligibility

Evaluation Criteria

5,000+

$4.4B

350+

36%

“Alone you can go fast, together we can go farther. With Extreme Tech Challenge, BeFC received expert guidance and support to refine our pitch, to connect with key opinion leaders across relevant industries and present in front of top investors.”

“I loved working with XTC and the World Food Forum because of the attention and direction they gave to each of their selected participants. I enjoyed all the people involved, including many specialists, and the thoughtful laser-beam focus they provided to each of us in one-on-ones”

“Extreme Tech Challenge and its ecosystem are grounded in the high-energy, breakthrough-focused culture of Silicon Valley, and we immediately met investors and corporates we haven’t met elsewhere!”

“It’s been a great experience for me and for Incooling. The experience of coming to the USA for the Global Finals was unbeatable. These were clearly the folks anyone would want to get in front of, and we have between 5 and 10 direct follow-ups interested in investment!”

“It's like someone applied jet fuel to our efforts!”

“I was asked to become an advisory board member of The Next Web, and to me it was very logical to connect The Next Web with Extreme Tech Challenge. That’s why today we have the first Extreme Tech Challenge startup competition. It was a really big success!”

“I thank Extreme Tech Challenge for perfect preparation for the whole event at TNW. The communication was extremely good. We hope we can leverage the Extreme Tech Challenge organization to unlock more opportunities for our company in Europe but also scale to the U.S. I think good ”

Key dates

Empowering startups to innovate across 10 key XTC categories, inspired by the United Nations' 17 Sustainability Development Goals

Frequently asked questions

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