The 2020 RBPC was the first virtual edition of the competition
2020 was the 20th year of the competition with 520+ startup teams from around the world submitting applications for 42 slots. More than 180 corporate and private sponsors and close to 200 judges: local and national angel investors, venture capitalists, corporate venture reps, sector specialists participated virtually from around the world. After 3 days, the competition concluded with $1.3+ Million in prize money awarded and pledged with 7 teams each winning $100,000 or more.
The connections and the networking that you can get after the RBPC can literally change your startup's life.
Robert Hatcher, 2020 Grand Prize Winner
Founder, Aurign
Congratulations to the 2020 Winners
2020 Elevator Pitch Competition
The Mercury Fund Elevator Pitch Competition is a fast-paced, high-energy event. Each competitor has to pitch their startup in 60 seconds for a chance at prizes. This is a great opportunity for our judges to a get a glimpse at all of the startups and kicks off the competition.
2020 Finals
After the elevator pitches and semi-finals, 7 startups moved on to the live finals!
2020 Competitors
Team Name | School | Video Pitch |
---|---|---|
Acoustic Wells | MIT | |
Algen Air | University of Maryland | |
Apollo | University of Iowa | |
Astek Diagnostics | University of Maryland, Baltimore County | |
Aurign | Georgia State University | |
Beltech | University of Chicago | |
BIOMILQ | Duke University | |
Cardiosense | Northwestern University | |
Cellens | Tufts University | |
CelluDot | University of Arkansas, Fayetteville | |
Contraire | Oklahoma State University | |
Drivemate | Ohio University | |
Educational Vision Technologies | University of California, San Diego | |
Encapsulate | University of Connecticut | |
Envirobe | George Washington University | |
EVA | Rice University | |
Fractal | Harvard University | |
Iconic Air | West Virginia University | |
ImmunoACT | Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (India) | |
KnoNap | Georgetown University | |
LittleMoochi | Carnegie Mellon University | |
LorCan Technologies | University of Waterloo (Canada) | |
MedLock | University of Virginia | |
Morfeo | Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico) | |
NanoCare | Texas State University | |
nanopathdx | Dartmouth College | |
NOMA AI | University of Pittsburgh | |
NUnode | Northwestern University | |
Ocean Access | Norwegian University of Science and Technology | |
Phylomics Diagnostics | Georgetown University | |
Quantum Lock Technologies | University of Tennessee | |
QV Bioelectronics | University of Manchester (UK) | |
RefresherBoxx | RWTH Aachen University (Germany) | |
Relavo | Johns Hopkins University | |
ReMatter | Stanford University | |
RIZIN Technologies | University of Louisville | |
SeebeckCell Technologies | University of Texas at Arlington | |
SlumberFlow | University of Michigan | |
Steeroflex | University of California San Diego | |
TeguTech | Imperial College London | |
Upright Oats | Yale University | |
Vigti Pvt. Ltd. | Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) |
Read About All the Startups
Previous Competitions
For 21 years the Rice Business Plan Competition has provided student startups with mentorship, guidance and capital to help support them on their entrepreneurial journey! In 2020, the competition went virtual for the first time. Check out a few of our previous competitions' content, including elevator pitch videos, final pitches, photos and LivePlans.