Microsoft Imagine Cup
Microsoft's global startup competition for student founders building AI-powered products with Microsoft tools. Teams of up to four students enter the Launch track (early stage) or the Scale track (startups with traction). Winners receive cash, Azure credits, mentoring and a place at the World Championship.
Up to 4 students
Imagine Cup FAQ · Oct 2026
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Imagine Cup FAQ · Oct 2026
Programme
AI & Machine Learning
Microsoft
Yearly competition
Intermediate
Free
Competition
- When
- Usually opens in January, October, November and DecemberRegistration usually opens in autumn and submissions close in early January. Imagine Cup 2027 was marked coming soon in October 2026.
- Who can apply
- Students aged 18 or over, enrolled at an accredited high school, college or university during the competition period, in teams of up to four students, from countries not prohibited by US export rules.
- Where
- Online rounds, in-person finals
Dates move from year to year. Check the official page before you plan around them.
What it is
Imagine Cup is Microsoft's long-running student technology competition, now framed as a startup competition for student founders. Teams build AI-powered solutions and compete in two tracks:
- Launch: for teams with a prototype or MVP who have taken no dilutive funding and only limited outside funding.
- Scale: for student startups that already have users, revenue or capital.
For the 2026 cycle, every submission had to use Microsoft AI services. Categories have included education, retail and security.
Who can apply
According to the official FAQ for the 2026 cycle: participants must be at least 18, enrolled at an accredited institution that grants high school or college degrees during the competition period, and from a country not prohibited by US export rules. Teams have up to four members, all students. Each person can be on only one team.
Timeline
Registration usually opens in the autumn and the submission deadline falls in early January, with semifinals in spring and a World Championship around May. In October 2026 the site showed "Imagine Cup 2027 - Coming Soon", so check for the exact dates.
How to get in
- Start from a real problem you can test with real users, not a demo idea.
- Build an MVP that uses Microsoft AI services meaningfully, as the rules require.
- Show evidence: user interviews, pilot results and a clear business model.
- Record a tight pitch video. Judges assess the product, the market and the team.
What you get
Prizes have included cash, Azure credits, mentoring and travel to the finals; check the current year's prize list. Even without winning, you finish with a tested product and a pitch.
Pair it with on Sefism
- Build the product with the AI engineering roadmap and AI agents roadmap.
- Think like a founder with the Indie products roadmap.
- Use Azure for Students credits for hosting, and start from FYP ideas.
Best for: student teams turning an AI project, often a final year project, into a startup.
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