Imagine Cup 2027 welcomes eligible early-stage startups building innovative solutions with commercial potential. Startups must be registered legal entities founded on or after November 2, 2024, must not have raised Series C funding or later, and must meet the applicable Microsoft for Startups eligibility requirements. Individual entrants must be at least 18 years old.

Applicants should demonstrate a viable solution ready for customer deployment and a credible path to market.

No. Imagine Cup 2027 is a startup competition presented by Microsoft for Startups, welcoming eligible early-stage startups across seven categories.

Student founders continue to have a dedicated Student Startup category with a separate judging pathway, criteria designed for student-stage companies, and a dedicated prize. Eligible student-led startups can compete for recognition through this category while remaining eligible for applicable overall competition awards.

Yes. Startups must be registered legal entities. For the dedicated Student Startup category, all official team members must have been enrolled at an accredited educational institution offering high school, college, university, or equivalent degrees at any time between September 30, 2026, and May 31, 2027, subject to the Official Rules.

Yes. U.S. export regulations prohibit the export of goods and services to Cuba, Iran, Belarus, North Korea, Sudan, Donetsk region of Ukraine, Luhansk region of Ukraine, Syria, Russia, and the Region of Crimea. Residents of these countries or regions are not eligible to participate.

Additional legal, sanctions, export-control, and Azure-availability restrictions may apply.

A startup may register up to four official team members unless the competition website states otherwise. All official team members must meet the applicable eligibility requirements.

No. Previous Imagine Cup winners are not eligible to participate.

Apply through Award Force, the official Imagine Cup application platform.

You will create a startup profile, identify the official team, select one category, provide the required information and materials, accept the Official Rules, and submit before the deadline.

Choose the one category that best aligns with your startup's primary solution, customer, and market.

Eligible student-led startups may enter the Student Startup category or one industry category. Each startup may submit only one entry.

Your selected category determines which judging panel reviews your startup and how your solution is evaluated.

• Developer Tools
• Retail
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Cybersecurity
• Financial Services
• Deep Tech + Physical AI
• Student Startup

Microsoft may reassign an entry when necessary to support consistent evaluation.

Prepare your:

• Startup legal name, website, founding date, headquarters, and primary markets
• Founder and team information
• Product and customer-problem summary
• Market opportunity and business model
• Traction and customer evidence
• Go-to-market approach
• Microsoft technologies and Azure services used

Microsoft may reassign an entry when necessary to support consistent evaluation.

Applicants must submit the required startup information, pitch deck, product demonstration, and pitch/demo video in English, along with applicable technical and eligibility information.

Additional materials or validation may be requested during later competition stages. All required submission materials must be completed by the applicable deadline.

No. Corrections are not guaranteed after the deadline. Review all responses, files, links, permissions and answers before the submission deadline February 28, 2027.

Award Force is the third-party platform used to collect and manage Imagine Cup applications.

Confirm that the application shows a submitted status in Award Force. A saved or incomplete application is not a submitted entry.

Use the password-reset or account-recovery option. If the issue continues, contact Award Force support and include your startup name, account email, browser, device, screenshot, and a brief description of the issue.

Never share passwords or authentication codes.

Business Verification confirms that the startup information submitted to Microsoft is accurate and can be associated with a legitimate company.

Microsoft may review company information, founder details, the startup website, LinkedIn profiles, and other supporting documentation.

Eligible startups may be asked to complete Business Verification as part of Microsoft for Startups onboarding or before advancing to later competition stages.

Completing Business Verification does not guarantee competition advancement, startup benefits, credits, or a prize.

Yes. The Microsoft for Startups video explains how to sign in, use a referral code, and submit a Microsoft for Startups application.

This video covers Microsoft for Startups enrollment. It does not cover the Imagine Cup application in Award Force.

The competition progresses through eligibility screening, category judging, selection of the Imagine Cup 2027 Top 20 Startups, finalist preparation, and the Imagine Cup Championship.

Selected startups advance through the applicable judging stages, with the Imagine Cup Top 3 competing at the championship. Advancement is determined through the competition's judging and selection processes.

Initial judging considers:

• Business and startup profile
• Problem and market opportunity
• Product and technical approach
• Team and execution potential

Later judging considers:

• Customer value and validation
• Market opportunity and commercial potential
• Technical excellence and innovation
• Team and execution readiness

No. Winning a category does not automatically guarantee selection for the Imagine Cup 2027 Top 20 Startups or advancement to the Imagine Cup Championship. Category winners and Top 20 startups are selected through the applicable judging and selection processes.

Explain the solution’s:

• Architecture
• Microsoft technologies
• Azure services
• Security
• Reliability and scalability
• Technical differentiation
• Product maturity

Yes, provided the startup has the necessary rights and permissions and satisfies the Microsoft technology and Azure requirements in the Official Rules.

Applications close February 28, 2027, at the time specified in the Official Rules. All required application materials must be submitted before the deadline.

• March 2027: Screening and eligibility review
• April 2027: Category judging and Imagine Cup 2027 Top 20 Startups selection
• May–June 2027: Finalist preparation and Imagine Cup Championship

Dates and competition activities may change.Selected startups will receive instructions through official competition communications.

No. Imagine Cup participation does not guarantee acceptance into Microsoft for Startups, Startup credits, additional benefits, competition advancement, or a prize. Eligibility and benefits are subject to the applicable program terms.

Approved, eligible startups may receive a unique participation code to support Microsoft for Startups enrollment. Codes are intended for the designated recipient and must not be transferred or shared publicly.

Receiving or redeeming a code does not guarantee program acceptance, additional Startup credits, or competition advancement.

To meet the technical requirements for judging, startups must have an active Azure subscription, provide a valid Azure Subscription ID, use at least 10 Azure services supporting their submitted solution, and demonstrate at least $1 in Azure usage.

All applicable technical requirements must be satisfied by the submission deadline, February 28, 2027, unless otherwise specified in the Official Rules.

No. Azure validation, Azure usage, Business Verification, and startup credits are separate from judging. None guarantees advancement or a prize.

Contact Imagine Cup Support for:

• Eligibility questions
• Application requirements
• Award Force access
• Submission-status questions
• Competition communications
• Judging-stage instructions

Use Microsoft for Startups Support for:

• Program enrollment
• Business Verification
• Participation-code redemption
• Startup benefits or credits
• Portal and account access
• For more information on Microsoft for Startups Support visit our Support Hub

Use Azure Support for subscription, service configuration, quota, billing, usage, or technical issues.

Never send passwords, authentication codes, or sensitive credentials when requesting support.