Good Soil $500K--Latinas in Tech--Dao5 $222M Fund

Check out the newest pitch competitions, awards, grants and summits you need to know about

Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Pitch Competitions, Awards, Summits, grants PLUS new VC Funds (my newest curated list).

Startup shower thoughts: too many founders focus on the “HOW”, as in, building the app or using SEO for lead gen. But the “WHY” gets lost. You can learn the HOW; there is always a way to get something done. But you can’t learn the WHY.

~Diane

💪 The Biggies

🤑 Newly Added: VC Funds, Angel Funds

➡️ Find the Full List of New VC Funds here. (10 more from this week alone - too long to put in this chart!)

Fund

For

Fund Size

Raiven Capital

ClimateTech; IoT; AI

$100M

STV

MENA; growth stage

$100M

TBD VC

Early-stage; Deep Tech; Israeli founders

$35M

Symphonic Capital

FinTech; Healthcare

$13.5

Dao5

Crypto

$222M

Aruwa Capital Management

Africa; Healthcare; Energy; FinTech; Consumer Goods

$35M

QED

India; APAC; FinTech

$300M

AI Fund

AI (Venture Studio model)

$190M

Deerfield Management

BioTech; Medical Devices; Healthcare services

$600M

TLG Africa Growth Impact Fund

Africa; SME’s

$75M

Incisive Ventures

Enterprise software; AI

$10.5M

Revo Capital

Europe; early-stage B2B; B2C

$86M

Ballast Equity Partners

Growth stage; secondaries

$93M

Uncork Capital

Early-stage; AI

$300M

🐣 Newly Added: Grants, Pitch, Awards, Summits

What

For

Prize/Why Attend

Closes

SaaStock USA - Austin; May 13-14

B2B SaaS

200+ investors; 100+ speakers

May 12

Norwalk Innovation Initiative Grants Program

Connecticut

$15,000

May 15

Seed the South Capital Summit - Charlotte; May 20-21

Southern US; all startups

VC event with founders welcome

May 19

Good Soil Seed Capital Pitch Competition, presented by Wells Fargo

All startups

$500,000 total pool

May 23

Latinas in Tech Summit 2025 - San Francisco; May 28-30

LatinX; all tech

1,500+ attendees; Keynotes, workshops; panels

May 27

Verizon LISC Grant

All startups

$10,000

Jun 30

Asia Startup Expo Q2 - Online; June 25 & Pitch Event

AI; SaaS; Consumer Tech

Panels, investment opps

Jun 24

Event Technology Awards

Event Tech

Industry recognition

July 31

😨 Closing Soon: Grants, Pitch, Awards, Summits

What

For

Prize/Why Attend

Closes

Finovate Spring - San Diego; May 7-9

FinTech; Banking

1200+ attendees; live demos

May 6

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 - Tokyo; May 8-10

Sustainable High City Tech; Mobility; AI

50,000 attendees

May 7

Connect Conference - NYC; May 10 from Teach:able

Creator Economy

Keynotes; panels; workshops

May 9

Golfweek Tech Lab - Charlotte; May 12-13

Golf; Sports

Coincides with the 2025 PGA

May 11

Another thing 😀 Make sure your deck is investor fabulous with this 30-page report. It’s the same AI tool investors are using to screen pitch decks these days. Talk about a competitive advantage.

Let me know if you apply to any of these opportunities, and especially when you WIN!

Want me to feature your pitch competition, grant, or event? Reply to this email!

Who am I? Your biggest cheerleader. Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer: I receive no compensation for promoting any of these events. While I try to be as accurate as possible when posting requirements such as deadlines, it’s your responsibility to confirm all requirements.