HomeFundingFinal chance to apply for the finals of our big Pitch Competition...

Final chance to apply for the finals of our big Pitch Competition at this year’s EU-Startups Summit

On 24-25 April, Malta will transform into the heart of European innovation as we host the 2025 edition of the EU-Startups Summit. Bringing together around 2,500 founders, startup enthusiasts, investors, and corporates, this year’s edition promises to be our biggest and most exciting one in the 11-year history of the event.

Besides having two stages, fantastic networking opportunities, and a buzzing exhibition hall, the EU-Startups Summit will have once again a thrilling Pitch Competition, welcoming 15 of Europe’s most promising seed and pre-seed startups on the main stage. Applications will close on February 2! Apply here today!

The Prize Package

The stakes are high! Valued at over €755,000 the prize is juicier than ever! Packed with funding opportunities, and credits for great tools and services to supercharge your startup’s growth, this prize could truly transform your entrepreneurial journey. Let’s see what is in it:

  • $250k in Google Cloud credits, a Google Workspace discount for a year, startup success manager and dedicated customer engineering right from the get-go, as well as technical and networking support.
  • €250k Funding Opportunity with Look AI Ventures. The winner will get fast-tracked and invited to pitch directly in front of Look AI Ventures‘ investment committee, and after the due diligence process, there will be a funding opportunity of up to €250k.
  • $120k Funding Opportunity with Techstars. The winner will be fast-tracked to receive priority review in order to join Techstars. This ensures that the startups’ business plan will be reviewed by the Techstars investment committee and the most relevant program managing director, and in case of a positive due diligence process, the startup will get the opportunity to join a Techstars accelerator program (incl. a $120k investment).
  • €100k Funding Opportunity with Ventures.eu, after a successful due dilligence phase. Ventures.eu is a new VC Fund focused on investing in European innovation.
  • €10.8k in credits for JetBrains licenses for essential development and team tools including award-winning tools such as IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, and JetBrains AI, trusted by 50,000+ startups worldwide.
  • €10k of powerMBA credits to help you upskill your employees or yourself with some of their courses.
  • €10k in X (formerly known as Twitter) advertising credits to put your startup at the heart of the conversation. Plus a year of X Premium+ (T&Cs apply).
  • €9.9k of credits for an explainer video maker account of simpleshow.
  • €5k Business cash prize contributed by Airwallex to accelerate the Winner’s business growth (T&Cs apply).
  • €5k worth of 3-year CLUB membership and an exhibition table at the EU-Startups Summit 2026, including 3 event tickets.

Who can apply?

  • Startups in pre-seed or seed stage
  • Less than 3 years old, with no or less than €750K venture capital raised
  • Based in Europe (EU, or UK, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, etc.)

The Jury

The 2025 EU-Startups Summit Pitch Competition jury includes experienced investors. Below we are listing the four jury members, but of course many more investors will be in the audience during the pitch competition finals.

How to Participate

After applying via this link, we will carefully sift through all of the applications and hand-pick the finalists who will join us on the main stage at this year’s EU-Startups Summit on April 24-25 in Malta, where they will pitch for 3 minutes in front of our jury and a huge audience of investors, media, and startup enthusiasts.

HEADLINE SPONSOR

Malta Enterprise is Malta’s economic development agency, facilitating economic growth, investment, and innovation, by offering a range of support services for local and foreign enterprises setting up a productive presence in Malta. As a key player in Malta’s economic landscape, it contributes to the nation’s prosperity by attracting investments, supporting businesses, and driving innovation, thereby reinforcing Malta’s position as an attractive destination for entrepreneurs and investors alike. Malta Enterprise actively cultivates a vibrant startup ecosystem, playing a pivotal role in fostering a conducive environment for startups and offering tailored support and incentives to empower emerging businesses.

OUR SPONSORS

Scytale is the global leader in compliance automation, helping startups get compliant and stay compliant with frameworks like SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, NIS 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS and more, without breaking a sweat. Compliance experts offer personalised guidance to streamline compliance, enabling faster growth and boosting customer trust.

Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spending management to embedded finance. With its proprietary infrastructure, Airwallex takes the friction out of global payments and financial operations, empowering businesses of all sizes to unlock new opportunities and grow beyond borders. Proudly founded in Melbourne, Airwallex supports over 100,000 businesses globally and is trusted by brands such as Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas, SHEIN and many more.

The M. Demajo Group is a leading business player in Malta, with a successful history spanning 114 years. The Group’s growth and diversification have resulted in a wide coverage of business sectors through a commitment to long-term results. M. Demajo Group’s workforce is 500 strong and their various activities have been developed through organic growth, acquisitions, partnerships, and startups. Its strong financial situation and ethical standards, its business reputation, and its renowned track record as a business partner are all key factors in its continued expansion.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is a flagship initiative of the European Commission to turn disruptive European science into groundbreaking commercial propositions and accelerate the scale-up of “game-changing” innovations. It is a key building bloc of a reinforced European ecosystem and the New European Innovation Agenda, filling the gap between R&D support, private investors, and the market. With a budget of over €10 billion under the Horizon Europe Programme (2021-2027) it seeks to position Europe as a global leader in the current wave of deep tech innovation.

Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr is the "Editor in Chief" of EU-Startups.com and started the blog in October 2010. He is excited about Europe's future, passionate about new business ideas and lives in Barcelona (Spain).
RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular