Early-Stage Tech Firms Invited to Apply for $5 Million in Funding

For the third straight year, VentureClash is providing up-and-coming tech companies the opportunity to compete for $5 million in funding to take their businesses to the next level in Connecticut.
The VentureClash 2018 first-round application process opened March 1 and closes June 8.
After two rounds of judging, approximately 10 companies will be invited to the finals event in Connecticut in the fall to compete in person for investment awards. An outside panel of judges will help to determine the winning companies.
“This is our third year of VentureClash, and we expect more high-quality companies as well as additional corporate partners in our industry verticals,” says Matt McCooe, CEO of Connecticut Innovations, which developed VentureClash.
“VentureClash and CI are helping incredible companies grow and succeed here in Connecticut. As one example, Dream Payments, the 2016 top winner of VentureClash, has gone on to raise two rounds of funding for more than $10 million.
“Dream has since launched in the United States, won major banks and insurance companies as customers, and announced partnerships with major credit and payments companies.”

Awards and Eligibility

The entire investment award pool is $5 million, with a top investment award of $1.5 million. The remaining $3.5 million will be determined by the judges’ panel on the day of the event.
To be eligible to apply, a company must:

• Have been in business for at least 12 months
• Have paying customers or customers who are actively testing the applicant’s product
• Have a compelling business reason to create a Connecticut presence, which applies to domestic and international applicants
• Be focused in digital health, financial technology (fintech), insurance technology (insurtech) or Internet of Things (including energy cost reduction technologies)