2026 MIT $100K Launch
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Applications are now open for the $100K Launch Competition! Applications will close on Tuesday, March 31st at 11:59 pm ET. 

Please find the complete list of prize rules and eligibility requirements on the MIT 100K Website.

More about MIT Launch:
MIT Launch is a comprehensive business plan competition in which teams compete to plan and prepare their venture for the marketplace.

There will be two rounds: semifinals and finals. The presentation will consist of a 5-minute pitch followed by 5-minutes of Q&A by the judges. In the semifinals, competitors will present full business plans to a panel of judges and receive mentorship along the way. In the finals round, competitors will present onstage to a 2,000+ live audience from Cambridge, Boston, and beyond.

The Grand Prize is $100,000.

Teams are encouraged to focus on the market opportunity and the unique value proposition of their solution. The judges want to see that you have clearly identified a significant problem and compellingly articulated a scalable solution to it. Additionally, you want to showcase how your team is well-positioned to create and capture value, demonstrating a clear go-to-market strategy in the process. In Launch, we are looking for teams that have the ability and willingness to execute on their plan and make use of the provided funding. Please note that if you are selected, you will be required to attend a mandatory pitch practice.

GENERAL RULES

There is no fee for entry.

Submissions may be entered by individuals or teams.

Each team may enter one idea.

Each team must have at least one currently registered MIT student; if you are submitting as an individual, you must be a currently registered MIT student.

Currently registered MIT students include all full-time and part-time undergraduates and graduate students, including PhD/doctoral candidates.

MIT students must submit their @mit.edu email address at submission time.

Required events must be attended in-person by at least one MIT student on each team. Team members who are not MIT students are also encouraged to attend, but at least one MIT student per team is required to attend.

A single individual cannot be the sole qualifying student for two teams.

Entries must be the original work of entrants.

Teams must disclose any funding already received at the time of registration.

Teams must not have accepted any equity funding (e.g., venture capital (VC), Angel, or other dilutive funding) for the idea being presented. In other words, the team cannot have sold equity to anyone outside the team – including non-managing founders. This includes convertible notes and Simple Agreements for Future Equity (“SAFEs”). The only exception to this restriction is if the team has accepted an investment from a STUDENT-LED venture fund (e.g. General Catalyst’s Dorm Room Fund, First Round Capital’s Rough Draft Ventures). This exception is permitted only for ACCELERATE and LAUNCH, and only if the dollar amount accepted from student-led venture funds, combined with any other funding from non-equity sources, does not exceed $150,000 if applying to ACCELERATE or $250,000 if applying to LAUNCH. This exception is not applicable for PITCH.

Teams must not have accepted non-equity external funding in excess of $250,000 if applying to LAUNCH. Non-equity funding includes prizes, grants, donations from friends and family, and bank loans.

There are forms of funding and questions of eligibility that may fall into a gray area. In these cases, the $100K Organizing Committee will deliberate on the eligibility and communicate the decision to the team. The decision of the Organizing Committee on the eligibility of the entrant is final and cannot be appealed.

The Judging Panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry.

ELIGIBILITY DETAILS

Teams are encouraged to seek the involvement of MIT faculty, alumni, post-docs, researchers, staff, students from other schools, and people from outside the MIT community. All team members must be full-fledged members of the team.

By submitting a business plan, you represent and warrant to the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition that you have all right, title and/or interest in the business plan submitted and the information it contains is accurate and complete, and that by submitting the document to the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition you are not and will not be violating any contract or third party rights including any patent, copyright, trade secret, proprietary or confidential information, trademark, publicity or privacy right.

The Judging Panel of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition reserves the right to disqualify any entry that in its judgment violates the letter or the spirit of the Competition guidelines, processes and rules of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. The decisions of the Judging Panel are final and binding.