2020 SPIE Startup Challenge and New 6-Day Entrepreneur Program

The SPIE Startup Challenge is a high-stakes, global competition where entrepreneurs with light-enabled products have 5 minutes to pitch their businesses to a team of expert judges and vie for over $85,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion. The SPIE Startup Challenge is held annually at Photonics West in San Francisco; the largest research conference and trade show for lightbased products in North America with over 1,300 companies and 22,000 attendees.

New in 2020, we are holding a week full of training, panels, networking events for entrepreneurs, VCs, and the startup community.

Important Dates

Application opens
18 September

Registration opens
30 September

Application deadline
15 November

Who should join us in San Francisco in 2020

Business Teams

New in 2020: SPIE is holding a week full of training, panels, networking events for entrepreneurs, VCs, and the startup community. Be seen, learn, win.

Learn more

Be seen by SPIE Startup Challenge VCs from around the globe

Investors

Diversify your portfolio with US and international companies in quantum computing, medical devices, lasers, semiconductors, AR/VR, and imaging. Your next investment is here.

Learn moe

The high-stakes, global business plan competition for new entreprenuers

2019 Finalists and Winners

Impressive teams of entrepreneurs

2019 Semi-Finals

Lots of competition. See who was in the running.

2019 Winners

Lots of competition. See who was in the running.

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Startup Challenge New Pages2019 Startup Challenge finalists and winners gather on stagefocallength 26flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 7.1exposuretime 0.01orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 11:36:33 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 5D Mark IINetworking before the final beginsfocallength 50flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.5exposuretime 0.005orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 9:33:19 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIPhotonicare presents at the finalsfocallength 54flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.2exposuretime 0.00625orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:18:13 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIOrbis presents at the finalsfocallength 43flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.2exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 9:57:26 PMwidth 1067cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIOnstage at the Startup Challenge finalsfocallength 80flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 2.8exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 9:52:05 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIJudges making notes at the end of a presentationfocallength 26flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 4exposuretime 0.00625orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 9:52:26 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 5D Mark IIAppreciation from the audience during the finalsfocallength 75flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 2.8exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:00:04 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IICareWear presents at the finalsfocallength 70flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 4exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 9:42:59 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IISponsor Jenoptik takes the stagefocallength 52flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.2exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:08:09 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIOnstage at the Startup Challenge finalsfocallength 73flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.2exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:25:29 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIFinalist presenting at the Startup Challengefocallength 120flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.2exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:33:08 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIStartup founder Dirk Fabian welcomes a finalist to the stagefocallength 57flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.5exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:38:46 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIFinalist presenting at the Startup Challengefocallength 24flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 3.5exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:42:25 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIFinalist presenting at the Startup Challengefocallength 110flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 2.8exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 11:05:07 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIOrbis takes home a cash prizefocallength 54flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 5exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 11:31:47 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IIJudges listen to a finalist presentfocallength 22flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 2.8exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 10:02:15 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 5D Mark IIPhotonicare proudly displays a cash prizefocallength 43flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 5exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 11:34:27 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark IICareWear takes home a cash prizefocallength 34flash 16cameramake Canonheight 800fnumber 5exposuretime 0.004orientation 1camerasoftware Adobe Photoshop CC 2originaldate 1/31/2018 11:38:49 PMwidth 1200cameramodel Canon EOS 7D Mark II

2020 Sponsorship

Founding Partner		View Website
Lead Sponsor		View Website

Pitching your business plan

Participants must have an optics or photonics technology or application that they wish to publicly present as the basis for a viable new business. Established companies must be pre-revenue at the time of the written application. Pre-revenue in this case means revenue generated from products sold, not funding acquired through investors, grants, or other support. Learn more about the competition rules.

The application period for the 2020 competition will open in September 2019.

Questions or comments? Contact us at innovation@spie.org