Last days to register: The startup competition that will get you into the US market
Winners of the MerageNext 2025 competition will receive grants, mentoring, and access to the Innovation Bridge program in California.
Winners of the MerageNext 2025 competition
Capital raising in the Israeli high-tech sector may be starting to recover, but early-stage startups are still struggling. In fact, capital is concentrated in a relatively small number of companies, and all others are forced to compete for limited resources.
In such a climate, programs that provide entrepreneurs with initial funding while preparing the ground for global growth are of special importance. This is the goal of MerageNext 2026 – a startup competition offering a cash grant, mentoring, critical connections in Israel and the USA, and an entry ticket to the Innovation Bridge program in California.
The goal of the competition is to help entrepreneurs build companies with global growth potential, connect to the business and technological ecosystem in Israel and the United States, and advance from the idea or initial product stage to the market, customers, and investors.
Note: There are only a few days left to register, as the deadline is August 20. Participation in the competition is free of charge.
The competition is being held for the 12th year under the leadership of the Merage Institute and in collaboration with Microsoft for Startups and the Growth Division at the Ministry of Economy. Microsoft supports the program through judges, experts, relevant connections, and technological credits for the winning ventures.
Everything you need to know
One of the prominent trends this year is that entrepreneurs are arriving more mature for the process: more companies are arriving with a prototype, users, and sometimes even paying customers. At the same time, AI is turning from a category name into an infrastructure layer in vertical products. The MerageNext competition is designed to give such ventures the initial push, tools, and connections that will help them grow and compete in international markets.
The competition is intended for early-stage Israeli startups operating in fields such as cyber, digital health, climate, fintech, foodtech, agritech, mobility, and more. It will focus on the business and technological growth potential, the quality of the team, the innovation of the solution, the maturity level of the product, the size of the market opportunity, the ability to reach the American market, and the ability to present a clear plan for further growth. For example, an AI venture will be evaluated not only on the use of AI itself, but on the business value it creates, the depth of the problem it solves, the quality of the data or model, and its ability to be implemented in the relevant industry.
Participants will receive business support, mentoring, refinement of the value proposition, preparation for presentation to investors, and connection to a network of executives, investors, and business partners in Israel and the USA. Afterward, they will present their venture to a judging committee at the Pitching event, which will take place on October 11 at Microsoft Reactor.
Each of the 10 winners will receive a grant of $10,000 and an entry ticket to the Innovation Bridge program in California. The top three teams will also receive Microsoft credits of up to $150,000.
The judging committee will include investors, partners, and senior executives from VC funds, angels, industry experts, innovation managers, and representatives from Microsoft for Startups, the Merage Institute, and the Growth Division. The list of judges includes representatives from entities such as Moneta VC, ICI Fund, FinTLV Ventures, Welltech Ventures, Honda Xcelerator Ventures, NextLeap Ventures, Hearst Ventures, Talos Capital, VentureIsrael, SeedIL Ventures, Urbanity Ventures, Supersonic Capital, SOSA HLS & Defense Innovation Hub, alongside experts in the fields of HealthTech, FoodTech, Agri-Food, Climate, Advanced Manufacturing, Defense, Space, Mobility, and Life Sciences.
