With just two days remaining, the application window for the sTARTUp Pitching 2026 competition is about to close, offering early-stage startups a final opportunity to compete for major investment prizes and global exposure at the renowned sTARTUp Day business festival.<\/p>\n
Scheduled to take place from January 28 to 30, 2026, in Tartu, the festival will once again bring together visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators seeking to shape the future of technology and business.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s competition offers an angel syndicate investment of up to \u20ac200,000, coordinated by the Estonian Business Angels Network (EstBAN), alongside a deep-tech investment of up to \u20ac200,000 from BSV. EstBAN syndicates have previously invested nearly \u20ac2.7 million in rising startups such as VSight, Jeff App, Fractory, TranslateWise, ATOM Mobility, and Adact. BSV\u2019s contribution targets early-stage R&D projects addressing complex technological challenges with strong commercial viability.<\/p>\n
Finalists will also compete for mentorship programs, legal services, and cash awards supported by PurposeTech, Securetec, Lanmer, Beamline, Swedbank, Sorainen, Triniti, Spendbase, and Values360Ventures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe impact of sTARTUp Pitching has been phenomenal,\u201d said Jana Saastamoinen, Head Organizer of sTARTUp Day. \u201cLast year\u2019s winner, SafePAS, demonstrated how the competition can accelerate a startup\u2019s growth \u2014 they secured new investments, expanded partnerships, and advanced their diagnostic technology within months. We\u2019re excited to help the next generation of bold founders achieve similar success.\u201d<\/p>\n
The competition will unfold in two stages. In the initial round, participants will evaluate their progress using the KTH Innovation Readiness Level\u2122 model. The top 30 startups will advance to the finals, set for January 29\u201330 at the University of Tartu Sports Hall, where they will pitch live on the festival\u2019s main stage.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With just two days remaining, the application window for the sTARTUp Pitching 2026 competition is about to close, offering early-stage startups a final opportunity to compete for major investment prizes and global exposure at the renowned sTARTUp Day business festival. Scheduled to take place from January 28 to 30, 2026, in Tartu, the festival will<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,27,437],"tags":[2241,2242,2240,2237,1057,2243,2238,2236,2239,2244],"class_list":["post-14465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","category-europe","category-press-release","tag-bsv","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-estban","tag-estonia","tag-innovation","tag-investment","tag-startup-competition","tag-startup-day","tag-tartu","tag-tech-startups"],"yoast_head":"\n