TechChill Founders Battle
Listen up, startups! It’s time to take the stage and bring your A-game to a competition that could land you an investment up to 750k EUR!
You’ll get the chance to showcase your business to an audience of international investors who are hungry for the next big thing. So what are you waiting for?
Put on your best shoes, wear the best hoodie and get ready to pitch your startup in front of international investors and stakeholders looking for the next unicorn!
About
➞ Your chance for a spotlight
TechChill's yearly startup competition, TechChill Founders Battle, showcases emerging companies in their early stages. The contest selects 20 of the most promising startups. Chosen semi-finalists will have the chance to pitch their business concepts on TechChill's stage to an audience of more than 200 investors and other attendees.
➞ How we pick the lucky 20
All eligible applications will be evaluated by VCs, and industry experts. In the first phase, the evaluators will focus on the business idea, its scalability, the team behind it, and the overall quality of the application. We make sure that each of the applications has at least 4 independent evaluations by qualified investors. The platform of choice for multiple years running is our good friend HopoHopo. The 20 companies with the highest average scores will receive a confirmation. So, channel your inner startup superhero, keep your entrepreneurial spidey-senses tingling, and may the odds be ever in your favour!
➞ How we pick the Top finalists?
TOP startups will consist of startups selected by the syndicate partners in advance and startups selected by investor jury at the semi-finals happening on TechChill stage. All startups will be competing for prizes, while only few startups selected by the funds will be evaluated for the up to investment prize.
➞ You should know these dates
December 8 Applications open
February 1 Application deadline
March 2 TOP 20 announced
TBC Pitch training for TOP 20 (online)
TBC Online session with HopoHopo
March 25 Pitch Bootcamp in-person @Fantadroms
March 26 TOP 20 semi-finals on TechChill stage
March 27 THE FINAL TOP startup pitches & awards
➞ Got Qs?
Still unclear about something? Feel free to reach out to Rihards rihards@techchill.co
Who can apply?
➞ Stage & Previous funding
Your startup has not received more than 700k EUR in exchange for equity. Grants are fine. Most likely, the company is not older than 3 years, but there could be exceptions.
➞ Marketplaces, deeptech, and anything between
The 2026 competition is sector-agnostic. What it means in practice is that the applications are open to everyone regardless of their represented industry. The fifty best startups will then be split into five groups which make the most sense.
➞ Baltic, Nordic, CEE startups - we are calling for you!
This year, we would like to invite startups from the Baltics, Nordics and the CEE, including companies with HQs elsewhere but with a dominant base in these regions.
HOWEVER, you must be able to join the event in-person so you can pitch live.
We don’t accept applications from Russia and Belarus.
Prize pool
➞ Investment of up to 350,000 EUR from BADideas.fund
All TechChill Founders Battle companies looking for investment will be evaluated by BADideas.fund team who are on the lookout for the next supposedly "bad idea" that will rock the industry and grow to be a major disruptor!
➞ Investment of up to 150,000 EUR from Buldit 5G fund
Buildit 5G Fund focuses on hardware-driven companies - from industrial automation and IoT to deep tech and dual-use innovation - where engineering excellence meets global ambition. Buildit invests €100k - €250k in startups with a validated prototype, and up to €1.5M in those with early revenues and a clear path to scale.
➞ Investment of up to 150,000 EUR from the Outlast fund
All of the companies will be evaluated by the Outlast fund team, who are looking for Software companies focusing mostly on B2B SaaS, AI, Digital Health, FinTech and others.
➞ Investment of up to 100,000 EUR from the Latvian Business Angels Network
Selected startups will have the opportunity to pitch directly to LatBAN members, who have invested more than €6 million in the past 3 years. We are actively looking for ambitious founders. Standout teams will be considered for direct syndicate investment from LatBAN, as well as ongoing mentorship, connections, and access to our broader investor network.
➞ Up to 5000 EUR worth of legal and tax advice from Sorainen
The international business law firm Sorainen will help a selected startup resolve any legal and tax issues they may encounter when building the next success story - from intellectual property to shareholder agreements or licensing issues. From the very beginning of the startup to the journey of scaling, the right legal advice can be the guiding roadmap on the way to success. Sorainen will give your startup the boost it needs!
With 300+ lawyers and tax specialists, and offices in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Sorainen has the resources to support you on all business law and tax issues across the entire Baltic region.