VDS Startup Competition
Showcasing the world’s most disruptive startups. Pitch, connect, and grow at VDS Startup Competition, where innovation meets global opportunity.
Who is participating?
The VDS Startup Competition welcomes startups from around the world that are dedicated to creating solutions with a positive social impact, serving as catalysts for sustainable and positive change across all sectors.
Participating startups have at least an MVP and present compelling proposals for investors, financial institutions, and companies. These projects are technically and commercially viable, scalable, and have the potential for internationalization and application in other countries.
Deadline: June 27th 2025
VDS Startup Competition tracks
Startups participating in the VDS Startup Competition choose between the Early Stage Track or the Growth Stage Track, and then select two technology categories in which to compete.
- Early Stage Track
Companies must be between bootstrapped to seed stage funding, i.e. self-funded or at your first formal round of external funding up until Series A. Startups here must have been founded between 2018-2025, employ under 100 people and build or market software or hardware products. - Growth Stage Track
Companies must have raised external funding and can be within Series A > B/C, i.e. at or beyond your first significant round of venture capital financing. Startups here must have been founded between 2010-2025, and build or market software or hardware products.
Categories
- Digital Transformation & Enterprise Solutions
- Consumer Technologies & Services
- Social Impact & Sustainability
- Media & Entertainment
- Emerging Technologies
Selection process
The VDS Startup Competition is organized by VDS in collaboration with Sesamers, the global platform that connects founders, investors, corporates, and tech events to foster meaningful growth opportunities across Europe.
A jury of international experts will select 50 startups as semi-finalists, designating them as the Top 50 of the 2025 edition. From these, 10 startups in the Early Stage track and 10 in the Growth Stage track will be selected as finalists. These 20 startups will present their projects on the main stage of VDS on October 23, in front of more than 12,000 professionals from 120 countries, including over 800 investors.
After the presentations, two winning startups —one in the Early Stage category and one in the Growth Stage category— will be announced and awarded a visibility and growth package that includes exhibition space at VDS 2026, international media exposure, and access to top-tier investors.
*General Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.
Details about VDS 2025: https://vds.tech/vds-startup-competition/
To get discount or ticket, write a letter to info@it-kharkiv.com from the corporate mail. In the letter, be sure to include the name of the event and the name of your company.