The annual pitch competition welcomes participants leveraging optics or photonics technologies or applications as the basis for a viable business

Applications are now open for the 2026 SPIE Startup Challenge. The annual entrepreneurial pitch competition is held by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, as part of SPIE Photonics West. In 2026, Photonics West will be held 17-22 January in San Francisco's Moscone Center, with the SPIE Startup Challenge finals being held 20 January.

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Jenoptik’s Ralf Kuschnereit, 2025 SPIE Startup Challenge winner Max-IR Lab's Trey Daunis, and 2025 SPIE President Peter de Groot.

The SPIE Startup Challenge is a competitive entrepreneurial platform for new businesses that utilize optics and photonics for innovative products or applications. Participating teams compete for sponsored prizes, in addition to gaining increased visibility with potential investors. Cash prizes of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500, provided by Startup Challenge Founding Partner Jenoptik, will be awarded to the top three finalists.

The 2026 SPIE Startup Challenge will also include the inaugural SPIE Jay Kumler Innovation Award, which honors former President of Jenoptik North America and SPIE Fellow Jay Kumler. Kumler, who passed away earlier this year, was a longtime leader and mentor in the industry, as well as a founding and driving force behind the Startup Challenge. The award, given by the competition judges, will go to the finalist who best exemplifies Kumler’s commitment to advancing optics and photonics innovation.

Light-based technologies enable developments in a proliferating number of areas, from healthcare and high-speed communications to quantum computing, AR/VR/MR, and self-driving vehicles. The annual SPIE Startup Challenge — which will be celebrating its 16^th year — provides a distinctive and vibrant platform for optics and photonics startups that are creating innovative products, applications, and technologies. Startup Challenge winners who have gone on to wider commercial success include Cellino Biotech, Double Helix Optics, PhotoniCare, C. Light Technologies, Circle Optics, and In A Blink.

The industry-judged competition will hear from teams of finalists pitching new products in photonics-enabled healthcare and deep tech. Competition judges include venture capitalists and business-development experts from the photonics industry who will vet applicants for their business case, financial case, and competitive advantages. Teams applying for the Startup Challenge will get feedback on their business and pitch from business-development experts and investors.

The SPIE Startup Challenge application deadline is 7 October. Learn more about the competition, and apply here.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, we have invested more than $25 million in the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org.

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