Microsoft Imagine Cup 2027

About

Early-stage, for-profit software startups founded on or after 2 November 2024 can compete in seven categories for cash prizes, Azure Startup Credits, recognition, and Microsoft mentorship.

Benefits

• 💰Champion cash prize
  $250,000 USD cash award to the Imagine Cup Champion
• ☁️Champion startup credits
  $1,000,000 USD in Startup Credits for the first-place winner
• 🥈Second prize
  $50,000 USD cash and $350,000 USD in Startup Credits
• 🥉Third prize
  $25,000 USD cash and $350,000 USD in Startup Credits
• 🎓Top Student Startup
  $25,000 USD cash and $250,000 USD in Startup Credits for the highest-scoring eligible Student Startup
• 🏅Category Winners
  Recognition as an Imagine Cup Category Winner plus Microsoft executive mentorship, social and blog features, a feature in the Top 20 Startups list, and business-changing enterprise access
• 🌟Top 20 Startups
  Recognition as an Imagine Cup 2027 Top 20 Startup and business-changing enterprise access
• ☁️Azure Progress Credits
  Eligible startups two years old or younger can earn $1,000 USD in starter credits and up to $150,000 USD in total Azure Progress Credits based on verified progress and service usage
• 📣Promotion
  At least one social post and one blog feature promoting the winning startup for First, Second, Third, and Student Prize winners
• 🧑‍💼Executive mentorship
  One mentoring session with a Microsoft executive for First, Second, Third, and Student Prize winners
• 📈Startups to Watch
  A feature in Microsoft’s “Startups to Watch” report for First, Second, Third, and Student Prize winners
• 🤝Discretionary activations
  Category Prize recipients and Finalists may be invited to mentoring, coaching, networking, promotional, technical-review, and other activities at Microsoft’s discretion; these do not guarantee any business outcome

Eligibility Criteria

• Mandatory: entrant must be at least 18 years old at the time of entry
• Mandatory: startup must be a legal entity founded on or after 2 November 2024
• Mandatory: startup must be developing a software-based product or service capable of evaluation under the judging criteria
• Mandatory: startup must be an early-stage startup (pre-seed through Series B) that has not raised Series C or later-stage funding as of the entry deadline
• Mandatory: startup must be privately held and for-profit
• Mandatory: startup must be headquartered in a country where Azure services are available
• Mandatory: startup must not have received more than $350,000 in lifetime free Startup Credits
• Mandatory: startup must not be an educational institution, government organization, consultancy, or agency
• Mandatory: startup must not be involved in cryptocurrency mining
• Mandatory: startup and team members must comply with applicable law, export controls, sanctions, and the Official Rules
• Mandatory: entrant must not be a resident or ordinarily resident of, and startup must not be organized in, headquartered in, or operating from, any country, state, province, or territory subject to comprehensive U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the Crimea, Donetsk, or Luhansk regions of Ukraine
• Mandatory: entrant and startup must not be on OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List or otherwise sanctioned, and must not be on the U.S. Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List or another restricted party list
• Mandatory: entrant and startup must not be a government employee or official, including from a government-owned or controlled entity or public international organization, unless prize acceptance complies with applicable law
• Mandatory: entrant and startup must not be a previous Imagine Cup winner
• Mandatory: entrant and startup must not be involved in any part of the execution or administration of the competition
• Mandatory: entrant and startup must not be a Microsoft Corporation employee or intern, or a Microsoft subsidiary employee, during the Entry Period
• Mandatory: each startup may submit only one entry and select only one category
• Student Startup category additional mandatory requirement: all founding team members must be enrolled students at an accredited educational institution granting high-school or college/university or equivalent degrees at any time between 30 September 2026 and 31 May 2027
• Preferred: none stated

Participation Commitments

• Create or access an Award Force account, create a startup profile, identify an Authorized Representative, select one competition category, and provide required company, founder, location, product, consent, and source-attribution information
• Provide a valid Azure Subscription ID associated with the startup and submitted solution by the submission deadline
• Sign up for Microsoft for Startups with the Imagine Cup participant code and obtain an Azure Subscription ID, or use an existing Microsoft for Startups account
• By 28 February 2027, the startup must have an active Azure Subscription ID and be using at least 10 Azure services for the submitted solution, with at least $1.00 of usage on each Azure service
• Submit all required application responses and materials in English
• If advancing to Stage 2, submit a pitch deck, a 2–3 minute product demonstration video, an Azure architecture diagram or technical overview, and written responses in English by Microsoft’s deadline
• A startup may register up to four official team members unless the Competition Website specifies otherwise; each person may represent only one startup, and all official team members must be identified before the submission deadline
• Each startup may submit only one entry and may enter only one category
• At least one official team member from each selected startup must participate in required Finalist Activations
• Finalists and the Student Prize winner must complete required verification, documents, mentoring, coaching, production reviews, technical reviews, and rehearsals by Microsoft’s deadlines
• World Championship presentations must be in English and delivered by at least one official team member if invited
• If the World Championship is in person, participants are responsible for obtaining a valid passport and any necessary visas and for associated expenses; Microsoft may provide an invitation letter but does not guarantee visa approval
• Microsoft does not take any equity in businesses submitted to the competition
• Applications open on 2 November 2026; submission deadline is 28 February 2027 at 23:59 CST; expert review is 1–12 March 2027; category live interviews are 16–31 March 2027; final judging and selection are in April 2027; announcements and finalist preparation are in May–June 2027; the World Championship is in May–June 2027 with the exact date to be determined

Target Sector

Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Retail & Consumer

Target Location

Startup must be headquartered in a country where Microsoft Azure services are available. The entrant must not be a resident or ordinarily resident of, and the startup must not be organized in, headquartered in, or operating from, any country, state, province, or territory subject to comprehensive U.S. sanctions administered by OFAC, including Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and the Crimea, Donetsk, or Luhansk regions of Ukraine. Microsoft for Startups eligibility also excludes sanctioned or restricted parties and imposes other legal and export-control restrictions.