Arizona Innovation Challenge
The Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), one of the largest business plan competitions in the country, is designed to advance innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by assisting early-stage ventures to scale. 所有的美联社plicants receive feedback on their business plan from experienced entrepreneurial 法官. Semif脊柱ists gain access to Venture Raise, a twelve-week hybrid accelerator that will prepare startups for funding. 十个 F脊柱ists will be awarded $100,000 and 开始 Venture Scale, a six-month accelerator of customized support and one-on-one matching with ACA Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.
31 SUCCESSFUL EXITS
MORE THAN 2,800
$5.86B
$123M
Application
Applications for the 2024 Arizona Innovation Challenge are now CLOSED.
First Round
All ventures must submit a complete application to participate in the First Round of judging. Submissions will be screened for eligibility and 然后 judged by experts from the Arizona business community. The Arizona Commerce Authority maintains complete discretion in making f脊柱 decisions regarding a company’s eligibility or ability to continue in AIC. Judges will assess the applications over a month-long 期.
Once all applications have been reviewed, applicants will be able to review their scores and feedback. Applications that did not meet eligibility criteria or may not have been deemed competitive enough to successfully continue will be notified.
Note: The ACA aims to respect the time and effort that companies commit to participating in the Arizona Innovation Challenge. In turn, we expect that applicants respect the time and resources required to host the AIC. Upon applying, applicants should intend to complete all phases of the AIC. However, should a company choose not to participate in a subsequent round of the AIC or Venture Scale, a company representative should immediately inform the ACA Innovation Team, providing 法官 ample time to consider a replacement company.
Semif脊柱ist Round
Judges will select approximately 25 startups to continue to the Semif脊柱s. Startups selected as semif脊柱ists will have the opportunity to update their application materials based on the feedback received from 法官 or due to any material changes to the business since their initial submission.
Additionally, the ACA will ask Semif脊柱ists to submit additional application materials, including an investor pitch deck. The ACA will communicate the specificities of the semif脊柱ist application process directly to qualifying startups. Semif脊柱ists will have one to two weeks to submit the requested materials. Judges will evaluate semif脊柱ists’ submissions over a three-week 期 and select 15 startups to advance to the f脊柱 round of AIC.
F脊柱ist Round
在 f脊柱 round of AIC, startups will pitch to a panel of 法官 from the business, entrepreneurship and venture capital community. Each company’s pitch presentations will be followed by an interactive question and answer session to evaluate company and founder potential. After every f脊柱ist completes their pitch, the 法官 will confer to select up to 10 companies to recommend as awardees. Following this recognition, AIC awardees will contract with the Arizona Commerce Authority and matriculate into the Venture Scale program.
Schedule
- Applications Open: 8月 1, 2024
- Applications Close: 8月 30, 2024
- First-Round Judging: September 3 through September 30, 2024
- Semif脊柱ists Announced: October 3, 2024
- Semif脊柱ist Applications Open: October 7, 2024
- Semif脊柱ist Applications Close: October 11, 2024
- Semif脊柱ist Judging: October 21 through November 8, 2024
- F脊柱ists Announced: November 14, 2024
- F脊柱 Pitches: November 21, 2024
- Awardees Announced: December 2, 2024
Contact
The Arizona Commerce Authority is here to help. Please fill out the form and a member of our Venture Development & Innovation team will be in contact soon.