Built around the theme Pitch. Partner. Propel, the PitchFest gives founders direct exposure to active investors and industry buyers who are seeking quantum, HPC and AI technologies ready to scale beyond the lab and into production. The winner will receive $1,000 cash prize and exclusive mentorship with a VC, including strategic coaching, pitch refinement, and fundraising readiness.

The winner will be selected by our prestigious Startup Advisory Board:

• Manjari Chandran-Ramesh - Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners
• Nardo Manaloto - Managing Partner, Qubits Ventures
• Amine Souiri - Founder, Stealth Startup
• Charles Beyrouthy - Managing Partner, Forma Prime
• Jeroen Bakker - Partner, Novo Holdings
• Sierra Ré Clouse - Founding Managing Partner, Barclo Venture Studio
• Olivier Tonneau - Founder & Partner, Quantonation
• Michael Baczyk - Investor, Heartcore
• Jerome Foret - Managing Director, Quantum Launchpad
• Denise Ruffner - Co-founder, DiviQ

Startup Advisory Board Member, PitchFest Judge and Managing Partner at Qubits Ventures Nardo Manaloto said “We’re entering a new era where frontier technologies like quantum, advanced computing, AI, and new infrastructure are moving from the lab into the market. The challenge for founders isn’t just capital; it’s finding investors who understand the technical depth and the long game. PitchFest helps bridge that gap by putting early-stage startups in front of aligned investors who can bring not only funding, but also ecosystem access, strategic guidance, and follow-on support.”

This year’s programme is engineered to maximise deal-flow and discovery, featuring:

• Live, investor-facing pitches on the Innovation Stage, showcasing breakthrough applications in quantum computing, security, sensing, networking, AI-enhanced workflows, materials, data-centre optimisation and life-science/biotech innovation
• A cross-vertical startup cohort, curated to reflect the convergence of quantum and AI with HPC, enterprise infrastructure and emerging scientific computing
• Selection and strategic guidance led by the Startup Advisory Board, with investors from Novo Holdings, Qubits Ventures, Barclo Ventures, Quantonation, Stealth Startup, Amadeus Capital, Forma Prime, Quantum Launchpad and Heartcore
• Structured one-on-one investor + buyer meetings, connecting founders with VCs, CVCs, national labs, integrators and enterprise R&D teams looking for pilots, investment opportunities and strategic collaborations
• A high-traffic Startup Zone designed to support continuous deal conversations, product demos and relationship-building throughout both conference days

DeepTech Startups already joining the PitchFest 2026:

• Diffraqtion - Photonic quantum systems for scalable hardware and sensing applications
• Genesis Quantum - Quantum-classical hybrid compute architectures and advanced simulation technologies
• QuantZero - AI-driven quantum models for materials, chemistry, and next-generation optimisation
• Data Cybernetics - Scientific software innovating at the intersection of HPC, cybersecurity, and quantum-ready infrastructure

With Boston’s globally recognised concentration of venture funds, research labs, biotech anchors, financial institutions and cloud providers, Quantum. Tech World 2026 provides a rare opportunity for founders to build commercial traction in front of stakeholders who are actively investing, partnering and procuring frontier technologies.

Applications are open to startups across the full deep-tech spectrum, including quantum technologies, AI/ML, advanced compute, scientific software, materials, life-science tools, cybersecurity, data-centre infrastructure and next-generation hardware.

Founders looking to raise capital, secure strategic partners or launch pilots into enterprise and national lab environments will find the PitchFest to be a high-impact platform to accelerate growth.

Pitch. Partner. Propel. Apply to the Startup PitchFest.