Rice Business Plan Competition

Rice Business Plan Competition

Funds student-led startup teams competing for investment, non-dilutive cash, and in-kind prizes at Rice University.

Eligibility · Global — university startup teams worldwide

The Rice Business Plan Competition is an annual startup competition run by Rice Business and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University in Houston. The competition gives university startup teams a formal application path, mentoring, investor judging, and prize funding rather than a research contract or loan. The verified 2026 cycle awarded $1,476,600 across investment, non-dilutive cash, and in-kind prizes; because the sources mix investment and prize instruments, this page records the total pool and leaves per-team cash award limits blank until a current prize schedule separates them cleanly.

Eligible teams must be student-driven, student-created, or student-managed, with at least two current student founders or management team members and at least one current graduate degree-seeking student. Teams may come from a college or university anywhere in the world, and the startup must stay below the published prior funding and revenue caps for the cycle. This is a company/startup path, but the student-founder requirement is strict, so ordinary operating companies without qualifying current student founders should not apply.

Applications are submitted through the RBPC applicant portal when a cycle is open. The 2026 competition took place April 9-11 in Houston after team selection, and future cycles should be checked on the official RBPC site for dates, prize sponsors, and eligibility cap reference dates. Strong applicants should prepare a startup application and pitch materials that explain the market, technology, team, traction, and funding plan in plain investor terms.