Startup World Cup Returns to San Francisco for 2026 Grand Finale
2026-11-04
Hilton San Francisco Union Square, 333 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA
333 O'Farrell St, 94102
Held at Hilton San Francisco Union Square, this three-day global pitch competition gathers 200 regional champions competing for a $1 million investment prize.
Startup World Cup Grand Finale is a three-day global pitch competition bringing together 200 regional champions to compete for a $1 million investment prize. The event features high-level networking, a corporate innovation seminar, and prominent speakers from top technology and venture capital firms. Over 5,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and corporate leaders gather in San Francisco for the finale.
Founder brief
Who should attend
Founders seeking serious capital, international visibility, or enterprise partnerships will benefit from attending. It offers exceptional scale for teams wanting to benchmark their pitching against international peers and connect directly with institutional investors and corporate executives.
What happens
Opening rounds kick off on November 4 with 200 regional champions pitching to an investor panel. A corporate innovation seminar follows on November 5 covering artificial intelligence and venture investing, culminating on November 6 with the top 10 finalists competing live.
Who's in the room
Hosted by Pegasus Tech Ventures CEO Anis Uzzaman and Director Janice Mok, over 5,000 attendees include venture capitalists, corporate leaders, and founders. Featured speakers include Marc Tarpenning of Tesla, Will Grannis of Google Cloud, Suzanne Philion of Waymo, and Sachin Kansal of Uber.
How to prepare
Refine a concise, metric-driven verbal overview of your business that quickly explains market opportunity and traction. Given the presence of major technology operators and venture capitalists, focus on clear positioning for both investment inquiries and strategic corporate relationships.
Organizer: Pegasus Tech Ventures
At a glance
- Prizes
- $1 million investment prize
- Attendance
- 5,000+ entrepreneurs, investors, corporate leaders, and innovators
- Sectors
- Agnostic
Agenda
- November 4, 2026 · Opening Rounds — 200 regional champions pitch before an elite panel of investors
- November 5, 2026 · Corporate Innovation Seminar — Discussions on AI, corporate innovation, and venture investing
- November 6, 2026 · Grand Finale Championship — Top 10 startups compete live for the $1 million investment prize
Speakers, judges and hosts
- Anis Uzzaman — Founder and CEO, Pegasus Tech Ventures (Host)
- Janice Mok — Director, Startup World Cup (Host)
- Marc Tarpenning — Co-Founder, Tesla (Speaker)
- Paul Fipps — President, Global Customer Operations, Service Now (Speaker)
- Sachin Kansal — CPO, Uber (Speaker)
- Suzanne Philion — CMO, Waymo (Speaker)
- Will Grannis — CTO, Google Cloud (Speaker)