$80K New Venture Competition
About the program · 2 linked sources
The New Venture Competition (NVC) is BU's premier pitch competition, awarding $80,000+ in equity-free prizes. Two tracks: General (for-profit) and Social Impact. Per-track prizes: 1st $20,000, 2nd $10,000, 3rd $6,000, Audience Choice $500. Open to BU students and recent alumni. 25+ years running, 1,000+ applications, $500K+ awarded historically. Culminates at Innovators' Night (500+ attendees). 2026 winners included Magnesis Robotics (General Track) and Farms for Thought (Social Impact Track).
Also known as: BU NVC, New Venture Competition
How we know this: the figures on this page come from the linked sources (last verified 2026-06-25); what those sources do not state is left unknown.
Key numbers
Funding range
$20,000
Equity
None
Application
Annual
Campus Wide
Last activity
2026-06-25
High confidence
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$80K New Venture Competition
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Student experiences · Read or add a note
Student notes
$80K New Venture Competition
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Known startups and winners
Competition winners and notable student ventures from our research.
Astra Wellbeing
2nd place
placement
Boston University
BU NVC 2nd place 2023; seven-figure acquisition in 2026 (Johar Singh '24).
AttorneyAlert
$5,000
prize won
Boston University
2026 BU New Venture Competition General track 3rd place (Brian Namnoum '26).
Farms for Thought
$20,000
prize won
Boston University
2026 BU New Venture Competition Social Impact 1st place (Emma Hudson '27).
Magnesis Robotics
$20,000
prize won
Boston University
2026 BU New Venture Competition General track 1st place (Pranav Sultania '27, Isabella Santarpia '27).
Naya
$10,000
prize won
Boston University
2026 BU New Venture Competition General track 2nd place (Julia Yusupov '25).
News & articles
News articles and official sources documenting $80K New Venture Competition at Boston University.
2 sources
Boston University
Innovate@BU
--- title: "Innovate@BU" source_url: https://www.bu.edu/innovate capture_date: 2026-06-25 source_type: web --- University-wide entrepreneurship initiative at Boston University. Launched 2018 with $20M+ investment. Executive Director: Siobhan Dullea (CAS'91). Open to all BU students across 17 schools and colleges. Offers programs, events, coaching, competitions, and community. Housed in IDG Capital Student Innovation Center at 730 Commonwealth Ave. Funded entirely by donations (not student tuition). Programs include New Venture Competition ($80K+), Summer Accelerator ($10K stipends), Innovation Pathway, Enlight Fellowship, First-Year Innovation Fellowship.
Read on Boston University
Boston University
$80K New Venture Competition
--- title: "$80K New Venture Competition" source_url: https://www.bu.edu/innovate/programs-competitions/new-venture-competition capture_date: 2026-06-25 source_type: web --- Annual pitch competition with $80,000+ prize pool. Two tracks: General (for-profit) and Social Impact. Prizes per track: 1st $20,000, 2nd $10,000, 3rd $6,000, Audience Choice $500. Open to BU students and Class of 2025 alumni. 25+ years running. Over 1,000 applications and $500K+ awarded in history. Culminates at Innovators' Night. 2026: 20 semi-finalists, 10 finalists. 525+ attendees. $86K total awarded including special awards. 2026 winners: Magnesis Robotics (General), Farms for Thought (Social Impact). 2025: 25th anniversary year.
Read on Boston University