TCCNA Global Startup Challenge

TCCNA Pitch

Date: June 11, 2026

1st Prize: $12,500+

2nd Prize: $7,500+

Application Deadline: Sunday, April 26, 2026

Finalists Announced: Friday, May 8, 2026


Location:
Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
5701 Marinelli Rd, Rockville, MD 20852

AGENDA

Registration / Networking / Showcase
12:00 PM – 12:20 PM

Welcome Remarks
12:20 PM – 12:35 PM

Strategic Partnership Ceremony: TCCNA & ITIC
12:35 PM – 12:50 PM

Keynote
12:50 PM – 1:15 PM
Keren Yu, President of ITIC
ITIC & the Future of Taiwan–U.S. Innovation Linkage

Pitch Competition
1:15 PM – 2:30 PM

Break / Showcase
2:30 PM – 2:40 PM

Panel Discussion:
14:40 – 15:10
The Founder’s Odyssey: Surviving the Early Years to Scale Globally

Carl Hsu
CEO, Sunlite Idustial Corp

Anya Cheng
Founder & CEO, Taelor

Roger Lo
Founder & CEO, METAIAM

Award Presentation & Closing
3:10 PM – 3:30 PM

Networking / Showcase
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

What Do You Get?

  • The winner will be awarded a Grand Prize of $12,500 and 2nd Place $7,500 in cash.
  • Opportunity to set up a dedicated presentation area to showcase your products to VC and attendee audiences.
  • Direct access to angel investors and VC/PE networks.
  • Receive strategic media exposure.

Guidelines

  • Must be a pre-seed or seed-stage company.
  • Less than 3 years of licensed/registered operations.
  • Cannot have raised more than $1 million in funding.
  • Must demonstrate a proven business model.

WHAT TO EXPECT

  • After the application deadline on Sun, April 26, 2026, the Committee will initiate a formal review process to determine the finalists who will present at the TCCNA Global Startup Challenge – Pitch Competition.
  • Each finalist will have five minutes to pitch their product or business idea to a panel of judges, potential investors, and a live audience. Each presentation will be followed by five minutes of Q&A and feedback from the judges.
  • All applicants and finalists will have the opportunity to set up a display area to showcase their product, prototype, or solution for demonstration and networking purposes.

SPEAKERS

President of ITIC
ITIC & the Future of Taiwan–U.S. Innovation Linkage

JUDGES

President of ITIC
VC arm of ITRI

Founder and CIO
Kronyx Capital Partners

Senior Research Scientist, MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) and MIT.Nano
Consortium Manager, MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, SGAI HealthLink, Inc.

Chief Acquisition Officer,
Federal Contracting Consultant

David (Te-Wei Wu) Wu 吳德威

Partner at Acorn Pacific Ventures

MENTORS

Steven Chen

Partner &Chairman, Cyber Seed Investment