TOTAL PRIZE POOL
$680,0005 finalists receive $50,000
1 grand prize winner receives $430,000
Up to five finalists will be selected from the pool of submissions received during the first round submission phase. From the total prize pool of $680,000, each of the finalists will be awarded $50,000 for their submission based on a review by the judging panel using the Challenge criteria. Finalists will be encouraged to use their winnings to improve upon their submissions. After the Virtual Accelerator Phase, Demo Day, and final judging, the winner(s) will be selected by the Department and receive the remainder of the prize money.
Samsung will offer a Galaxy S7 Edge, a Galaxy Tab S2 9.7″, a Gear S3 watch, a Gear VR headset, and an Oculus Mobile software developer kit (SDK) to each of the five finalists.
IBM will award an IBM Bluemix package to one Challenge winner. If the Challenge winner is a “Student” team, IBM will provide up to one year of free access to Bluemix for learning purpose. If the Challenge winner is an “Entrepreneur or Startup”, IBM will provide access to the IBM Global Entrepreneur Program and up to $120,000 of IBM Cloud credits.
Microsoft will invite one winner to the BizSpark Plus program, inclusive of up to $120,000 Azure cloud services, free software, developer tools, and technical support for one year.
Oculus will award an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset to each of the five finalists.
Additional prizes may be announced throughout the Challenge.
Prizes awarded under this competition will be paid by electronic funds transfer. Winners are responsible for any applicable local, State, and Federal taxes and reporting that may be required under applicable tax laws.