Travel startups from across the world will have the opportunity to pitch to the global market as Global Startup Pitch, by WiT and Phocuswright, returns for 2025.
Now in its fourth year, the competition is calling for entries from across four regions – Asia Pacific, Emerging Markets, Europe and North America – in two categories, Seedup: Under three years old and have raised no more than $5 million and Scaleup: Three to eight years old and have raised no more than $10 million.
In a departure from 2024, when the finals were held virtually, the grand finals will be held at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona, June 10-12. Winners of each region will join us for a spotlight presentation opportunity at WiT Singapore, Oct 6-8, as well as The Phocuswright Conference in San Diego, November 18-20.
“Although virtual events made it easier for startups around the world to participate, we wanted this year’s competition to be a lot more integrated with our physical events throughout the year," said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder of WiT. "From feedback, our startups tell us they value the opportunity to be present at our conferences and grow their networks and partnerships."
“Our conference attendees shared feedback that they are inspired by seeing the latest innovations live on our event stages," said Pete Comeau, managing director of Phocuswright. "By bringing the finals of the Global Startup Pitch to Phocuswright Europe, we are serving the preferences of our audience in addition to providing a platform for early-stage companies to gain exposure in-person in front of some of our industry’s top decision makers.”
Deadline for entries is April 15. Finalists will be announced in May to prepare for the grand finals on June 10 in Barcelona.
Last year, 10 winners emerged from nearly 200 entries for the global competition:
Asia Pacific:
Belli (Seedup)
Neoma (Scaleup)
Emerging Markets
atlaseek (Seedup)
Flapper (Scaleup)
Europe
Trapi (Seedup)
Hotel Treats (Scaleup)
North America
Nowadays (Seedup)
The Host Company (Scaleup)
Wildcards: Revolutionizing the in-destination experience
iWander (Seedup)
Autio (Scaleup)
Nowadays and Hotel Treats won the People’s Choice awards when they presented at WiT Singapore last October.
This year’s Global Startup Pitch is supported by American Express Global Business Travel (AmexGBT), a Phocuswright Strategic Partner of Innovation.
“Amex GBT is proud to be part of the Global Startup Pitch Competition. These companies are indicators of where entrepreneurs and investors see areas of opportunity and growth in our industry," said Evan Konwiser, chief product and strategy officer of Amex GBT. "Business travel is a complex ecosystem. Startups are vital to making sure our industry continues to evolve, innovate and push boundaries to solve challenges and companies like Amex GBT and others supporting this competition are crucial to helping boost their ability to scale.”
Past sponsors and supporters have included JetBlue Ventures, Amadeus, Yanolja Cloud, Stripe, Netactica, Cambon Partners, MakeMyTrip, Velocity Ventures and AWS.
The Global Startup Pitch is part of WiT and Phocuswright’s ongoing commitment to cultivate innovation, which also includes Phocuswright’s Innovation: Launch, Startup Programs, PhocusWire’s Hot 25 Travel Startups, WiT Bootcamps and more.
*This article was originally published on PhocusWire sister publication WiT.