Cal State East Bay to Host First-Ever Startup World Cup - East Bay Regional on Sept. 10

Ten of Northern California's most promising startups will go head-to-head in a live pitch competition on Wednesday, September 10 at 5 p.m., at the Startup World Cup - East Bay Regional, hosted for the first time in the East Bay region.

The high-stakes event at Cal State East Bayis part of the Global Startup World Cup, organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures, a venture capital firm known for backing game-changing companies like SpaceX, Airbnb, and Twitter/X.

At the end of the evening, the winning startup finalist will be able to compete at the Startup World Cup Global Grand Finale on October 17, 2025, at the Hilton Union Square in San Francisco for a chance to win a $1 million investment prize.

Four East Bay winners will also receive cash awards. The Top Finalist will receive a $10,000 cash prize, the Hayward Horizon Award from the City of Hayward. The second-place winner will receive a $5,000 cash award provided by Cal State East Bay's Small Business Development Center. The third-place winner will receive $2,500 cash award, one from the City of San Leandro and another from Fremont Bank.

The event at CSUEB is one of over 100 regional competitions held worldwide - spanning North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia - all leading to the Grand Finale.

"This is a proud moment for Cal State East Bay. Hosting the Startup World Cup - East Bay Regional reflects our university's commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development in the region," said Nancy Mangold, Executive Director, East Bay SBDC. "We're proud to support the next generation of changemakers and welcome the global startup community to our campus for the first time."

Finalist Startups Competing

• Cache DNA
  
  
• Coreshell Technologies
  
  
• Epixego Inc.
  
  
• Hadron Energy
  
  
• Nanowear
  
  
• Quino Energy, Inc.
  
  
• Rockfish Data
  
  
• Sylvatex
  
  
• Tallied Technologies Inc.
  
  
• Tomato.ai