Startup World Cup Grand Finale 2026

2026-11-04 · 09:00:00 · San Francisco

Hilton San Francisco Union Square

333 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94102

Held at Hilton San Francisco Union Square, this three-day global pitch competition brings together over one hundred regional startup champions competing for a one million dollar investment prize.

Global finale of Startup World Cup (organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures): 100+ regional champions pitch before leading investors for a $1M investment prize, alongside 2,500+ participants, 20+ speakers and 100+ investors. Semifinals Nov 4, Grand Finale Nov 6.

Founder brief

Who should attend

Founders seeking exposure to international venture investors, competitive benchmarks, and insights from global operators will gain the most value here. It works well for early and growth-stage teams evaluating how top international startups present their metrics and market opportunity on stage.

What happens

Proceedings kick off at nine in the morning with introductory entertainment and formal remarks, followed by a sequence of startup presentations and fireside chats featuring executives from Google, Cloudflare, Adobe, and Brex. Midday programming includes lunch, an investor panel discussion, and additional fireside discussions.

Who's in the room

More than two thousand five hundred attendees assemble alongside one hundred investors and over twenty speakers. Confirmed speakers include Daymond John of FUBU, Marc Tarpenning of Tesla, Paul Fipps of ServiceNow, Sachin Kansal of Uber, Suzanne Philion of Waymo, and Will Grannis of Google Cloud.

How to prepare

Study how the competing regional winners construct their quick-turn stage decks and defend unit economics during high-stakes presentations. Keep your own concise summary ready for hallway conversations, and review the executive backgrounds of participating panellists in advance to ask direct questions during open discussion tracks.

Organizer: Startup World Cup

Register

At a glance

Tickets
49 USD (discount code SWC_GF_UNIV_49)
Format
The event features startup presentations, a pitch competition, fireside chats, panel discussions, and an awards ceremony.
Prizes
$1,000,000 investment prize

Agenda

  1. 09:00 · Entertainment (African Drummers)
  2. 09:05 · MC Opening
  3. 09:10 · Fireside Chat w. Yossi Matias (Google)
  4. 09:33 · Startup Presentations
  5. 10:05 · SWC Chairman Welcome Speech
  6. 10:20 · Fireside Chat w. Michelle Zatlyn (Cloudflare), Cindy Stoddard (Adobe)
  7. 10:42 · Startup Presentations
  8. 11:14 · Fireside Chat w. Camilla Matias (Brex), Charly Kevers (Carta)
  9. 11:36 · Fireside Chat w. Lori Greiner (SharkTank)
  10. 12:00 · Lunch (Lion Dance)
  11. 13:00 · Ask the VCs Panel
  12. 13:24 · Fireside Chat w. Jessica Jensen (LinkedIn), Court Lorenzini (Docusign)
  13. 13:46 · Startup Presentations
  14. 14:18 · Pitch Competition
  15. 15:32 · Judges Panel
  16. 15:50 · Media Panel
  17. 16:13 · Startup Presentations
  18. 16:45 · Fireside Chat w. Mark Papermaster (AMD), Dheeraj Pandey (Nutanix)
  19. 17:08 · Fireside Chat w. Ben Kus (Box), Satish Iyer (Dell)
  20. 17:30 · Youth Track Presentations
  21. 17:41 · Sponsors Speeches
  22. 17:48 · Entertainment (SWC Dance Group)
  23. 17:53 · Awards Ceremony

Speakers, judges and hosts

  • Daymond John — Star of ABC's Shark Tank & Founder of FUBU, FUBU (Speaker)
  • Marc Tarpenning — Co-founder, Tesla (Speaker)
  • Paul Fipps — President, ServiceNow (Speaker)
  • Sachin Kansal — CPO, Uber (Speaker)
  • Suzanne Philion — CMO, Waymo (Speaker)
  • Will Grannis — CTO, Google Cloud (Speaker)

Browse more

More events in Bay Area

See all events in Bay Area