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In total, 316 applications from 30 countries were received, with 50 making it to the semi-finals – the full list is available on the TechChill Milano website. The semi-finalists were chosen by 42 jury members consisting of investors and other experts from the industry who evaluated each participant's business idea, its scalability, and the team behind it. Another criterion was that the startup has not received more than 300,000 EUR in equity funding and is considered to be at the seed or early stage.

“This year's Fifty Founders Battle has truly impressed me with the quality and innovativeness of the projects. I had the opportunity to participate in the selection of competing startups last year, and I must say there has been a significant leap forward in terms of innovation and the effectiveness of pitches. Given my line of work, I analyze hundreds of startups every week, many of which often have similar models and operate in saturated markets. This year promises to be exciting because it won't be easy to decide the winners,” says Giancarlo Vergine, Founder & Managing Partner of Over Ventures

The winner of the TechChill Milano Startup Pitch Battle will receive a 10,000 euro cash prize from Federated Innovation that the team is free to spend however they like. Other prizes include:

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  • Up to 100,000 EUR investment from Eden Ventures

  • Up to 250,000 EUR investment from Look AI Ventures

  • 30,000 EUR worth of media coverage from Immediate Accelerator

  • Full tuition for Hero Training at Draper University

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  • A year's membership at PoliHub – the Innovation Park & Startup Accelerator

  • And more!

After a highly successful event last year, TechChill Milano will return to Italy for the second year in a row. This year's agenda is already live on the TechChill Milano website. Last year, the event gathered over 1000+ attendees from Italy's startup ecosystem and more. TechChill's Startup Pitch Battle is the conference's most anticipated event.

“TechChill's Fifty Founders Battle is designed to spotlight the most promising startups hailing from the region and beyond, providing them with visibility to attract investor interest and expedite their growth. And we are happy that we are able to do just that – half of TechChill Pitch Battle winners have secured a VC investment within the next 12 months following their victory," states Annija Mezgaile, CEO of TechChill.

Last year, the main prize of 10,000 EUR, no strings attached, was brought home by the Italian e-commerce startup TA-DAAN.