HUNGARIAN ORCA AEROSPACE QUALIFIES FOR THE FINAL OF THE STARTUP WORLDCUP CHAMPIONSHIP

The spring innovation event series is off to a strong start. The 10 most promising Hungarian startups competed at the first Startup World Championship in Budapest. Founded by Silicon Valley-based Pegasus Tech Ventures, the international competition's semi-finals are organized in 70+ countries and the finals will see the best compete for a $1 million grand prize. In addition to the traditional startup presentations, the program also includes a mini-conference and the inevitable networking.

"We are very curious about projects in Central Europe, a region that is not so well known to US investors, so we were delighted to be approached by Pozi.io. The Startup World Cup is a good opportunity for everyone from the semi-finals to the final in California. Not only the winners, but all participants can benefit from participating in such an event," says Michail Lapidus of Pegasus Tech Ventures.

The CEU iLAB not only provides the space for the competition but has also taken a major role in the professional program. The renowned multi-award-winning incubator also provides mentors and a panel of judges to help make the event happen. "We believe that international events drive Hungarian startups forward. During the spring startup season, we have taken an active role in several such events, and we are happy to host the Startup World Cup." - says Andrea Kozma, Head of CEU iLAB.

The finalists were selected from 50 of the best domestic projects by investors, funders, and representatives of the international startup world. The winner was Orca Aerospace, which designs sustainable aerospace devices, and will have the chance to represent Hungary in the Silicon Valley final this year. POZI.io will provide the air tickets.

In another rich competition for special prizes, London-based China's First Independent Business School offered Babypurp the opportunity to participate in its China Start Unicorn Camp program. Vienna's business agency invited the winning team to a week-long ViennaUP spin-off, while HTTpool rewarded Babypurp with a $5,000 Twitter package.

The Hungarian startup ecosystem also joined the sponsors. Neticle, which started as a startup a few years ago, offered free services to 3 teams and a significant discount for the others for a year. The GiiK incubator will provide a year of coworking opportunities and product manufacturing capacity to the founders of BES.System. Host CEU iLAB and Impact Ventures investor Elemér Eszter offered to mentor to three more teams.

"We are delighted to have been able to mobilize so many active supporters to provide additional opportunities for our competition participants. The support we received from the Ministry of Innovation was also a great help in making our event a reality. We see the Pegasus Tech Ventures event as an opportunity to build important new connections and bridges, and the founders of Pozi.io want to use this event to bring Hungarian startups into the international ecosystem." - says Roland Kovács, CEO of Pozi.io.

After the exciting competition, the invited startups, investors, and startup professionals were invited to the Draper Startup House network event.

Check out the participants, startups, and competition here!