Qualcomm Ventures is hosting its first-ever pitch event for startups with female founders, with a $500,000 prize on the line
- On July 10, Qualcomm Ventures will host the Female Founder Summit, an event in San Francisco where 10 startups with female founders will pitch to a panel of judges.
- The winning startup will receive a $500,000 investment, and the startups will also have opportunities to network with other investors and partners.
- This is the first time Qualcomm Ventures is hosting a pitch event specifically for female founders.
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Qualcomm Ventures will hold its first startup event for female founders, where they will get the chance to win $500,000 in investment capital.
At an event called Female Founder Summit on July 10, entrepreneurs and investors will gather together in San Francisco, where 10 early-stage startups that have at least one female founder will participate in a pitch competition in front of a panel of judges.
Quinn Li, senior vice president and global head of Qualcomm Ventures, says that this gives these founders the opportunity not only to get funded, but also to give a network of investors and mentors.
"There's a need to have more startups with female founders," Li told Business Insider. "We're trying to recognize there's a lot of good companies with female founders, and we can help the companies get access to capital as well as a network of partners and investors to really help these companies get their business going."
The startups at this competition are focused on artificial intelligence, connected devices, augmented and virtual reality, and more. Just last November, Qualcomm Ventures announced a $100 million fund to invest in AI startups.
The startups AON Devices, AR Wall, BlinkAi, Blue Canoe Learning, Embodied Labs, Lab4U, Lily AI, On Second Thought, Raybaby, and Wavelength Global will participate at this summit.
The winning startup will receive the same benefits as other portfolio companies in Qualcomm Ventures, which not only includes funding, but also guidance from the technology experts in its network. Even if a startup does not win the competition, they will get access to other investors at the event who might be interested.
Qualcomm Ventures has hosted pitch competitions in the past, but this is the first one that's focused specifically on female founders.
"We are interested in trying to make positive progress to recognize the challenges the tech industry as a whole faces and do our part to promote and recognize these startups with female founders," Li said.