2025 Pitching Challenge Encourages International Innovation and Economic Development
DALLAS, Aug. 19, 2025 -- North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA), a 501(c)3 regional consortium of over 50 municipalities, agencies, corporations, and academic institutions across North Texas working to create the most connected, smart, and resilient region in the country, has announced the Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge is returning for the second year at the 2025 Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) in Barcelona alongside Texas cities Frisco and McKinney, Plug and Play, and Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, a 5G-enabled innovation hub where startups and global industry leaders deploy and prove out developing technologies in a real-world testing environment. The 2025 North Texas delegation will also include AMSYS Innovative Solutions, Utsun Law Group, and Toyota Mobility Foundation.
Similar to the 2024 event, this year's pitch competition will select five startups to compete to win piloting and funding opportunities in the United States. Submissions for the pitch competition open today, August 19, on Marketplace.city and will close on September 10, 2025.
"It was truly incredible to see the international response and excitement during last year's SCEWC Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge," said NTXIA Executive Director Jennifer Sanders. "We knew we needed to hold this pitch competition again, especially after seeing the success of last year's winner, VisionCraft.ai, as they traveled across the U.S. in pursuit of deploying their solution. This annual competition is a reminder and a strong example of the importance of supporting international innovation and economic development. We are honored to have an incredible community of smart city cross-collaborators in the U.S. to support these companies, and we are looking forward to awarding another winner and supporting another international startup with their goal of entering the U.S. market."
The 2025 Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge is focusing on problem statements across the future of transportation, public safety, connectivity, and infrastructure. Companies interested in participating in the pitch event will need to ensure their solutions address one of these key challenge areas, with a solution focused on the following:
- Transportation including but not limited to: autonomous delivery, people movers, VRUs, and AI-powered smart parking.
- Public Safety including but not limited to: crowd management, facility safety and security, emergency response, and predictive analytics.
- Connectivity including but not limited to: 5G/6G, supply chain infrastructure and IIoT, noise and vibration monitors and IIoT, and resilient networks.
- Smart Infrastructure including but not limited to: predictive analytics for infrastructure maintenance, resource conservation and technology to manage AI and data center growth, sustainable infrastructure and building technologies, and smart buildings including ports, campuses, venues, and airports.
Companies will also need to ensure their technology is ready to be deployed for testing and development in real-world smart city environments.
"With a tech talent pool that is twice the national average, Frisco is a driving force for innovation," said Gloria Salinas, Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of the Frisco Economic Development Corporation. "We are home to 15 corporate innovation and R&D Centers, including five Fortune 500 companies across a diverse range of industries. Our city boasts more than 500 tech firms and startups, and we are proud to be at the forefront of smart city technology, with pilots like Drive.AI and Google Wing Drone Delivery, and the implementation of computer vision technology to make traffic signals more responsive to traffic flows by using AI. The conference and pitch competition provide a platform for individuals and organizations to showcase technology that has the potential to shape the future of urban living not only for the residents of Frisco, but also for people around the world."
Finalists will be provided passes to the 2025 SCEWC in Barcelona, where the final pitch will take place. Winners of the competition will be rewarded with travel, pilot, and funding opportunities in addition to the NTXIA Champion Texas Belt Buckle and Cowboy Hat. Prizes include:
- Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners will commit $5,000.00 in funding towards a pilot, one year of office space at Curiosity Lab that includes the use of campus infrastructure and space in the Innovation Center, and access to a global partner network for additional market support.
- Frisco and McKinney, Texas will provide travel and accommodations to the U.S. in Texas and Georgia for senior leadership, not to exceed $10,000.00. This includes airfare, hotel, ground transportation, food, and office or co-working space in McKinney and Curiosity Lab for the initial visit.
- Plug and Play will provide four hot desk spaces in Frisco or McKinney for one year.
- NTXIA, Frisco and McKinney, Texas, and Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners will create a curated itinerary of high-level meetings with decision makers in City Departments to explore pilot implementation, as well as corporate innovation and R&D centers where dual-use technology is of interest to corporate innovation leadership.
- Winners will also be introduced to high-level executives at Plug and Play, University of North Texas, the Dallas College system, major healthcare institutions in Texas like Baylor Scott & White Health, Fortune 500 corporations, the North Central Texas Council of Governments, Chambers of Commerce, and major sporting and entertainment venues in Texas.
- Winners will receive global exposure through various media channels.
"Our ecosystem offers a unique real-world environment where companies of all given sizes can test, deploy, and validate their technologies," said Curiosity Lab Executive Director Seth Yurman. "We've become an innovative smart city hub that allows international companies to have a soft-landing pad in the U.S. to continue to develop their technologies and, when ready, can enter the U.S. market. Our work with VisionCraft.ai, the 2024 competition winner, is a testament to this competition and the doors we can open for companies for their success and growth. We're proud to, once again, uplift and support international startups as they work to improve our everyday lives with their trailblazing technologies."
Judges for the 2025 Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge include NTXIA Executive Director Jennifer Sanders, Frisco Economic Development Corporation Director of Innovation Jeremiah Anderson, McKinney Economic Development Corporation Senior Vice President Michael Talley, Plug and Play Director David Steele, Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners Managing Director Valerie Chang, AMSYS Innovative Solutions Vice President of Enterprise AI John Rohrer, and Toyota Mobility Foundation Program Manager Trey Ingram.
Five finalists will be selected by the Smart Cities Global Startup Challenge committee to pitch their solutions in person at SCEWC on Wednesday, November 5 in the SCEWC Expo. Each company will have 10 minutes for their pitch, followed by a five-minute Q&A session with the judges. Once all presentations and Q&A sessions are final, the judges will deliberate for 10 minutes and will then announce the winner. The Challenge is also supported by Marketplace.city with its Clearbox Source market intelligence product which will promote the opportunity, accept applications and compile vendor submissions.
"North Texas is growing at an incredible rate and having innovation to continue to foster growth in our technology sectors is a huge economic driver for us," said Michael Kowski, President & CEO of the McKinney Economic Development Corporation. "Our hope in supporting this pitch competition and these innovators is to help companies flourish in a new market and to provide the connections and testing requirements needed to see them succeed. This will help foster North Texas' smart city ecosystem and showcase how we can harness the power of innovation to create diverse and resilient communities."
"AMSYS is honored to join North Texas Innovation Alliance, alongside Lenovo and NVIDIA, in a sponsorship collaboration at Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. We believe it is important to showcase how strategic partnerships can accelerate the future of Connected Cities," said John Rohrer, Vice President of Enterprise AI at AMSYS Innovative Solutions. "With the opening of our new Frisco, Texas Innovation Hub, we are strengthening our commitment to Sovereign AI, education, and healthcare innovation while expanding our leadership in advancing smart community solutions globally. We are looking forward to seeing this year's finalists compete in Barcelona, and cannot wait to welcome the winners to Frisco."
Find out more about the Smart Cities Global Pitching Challenge and submit your 2025 application here.
About The North Texas Innovation Alliance
The North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA) is a 501(c)3 consortium of key cross-sector stakeholders working to develop and implement a smart region strategy for North Texas. The NTXIA is building the most connected, smart and resilient region in the country – bringing together government entities on all levels, transit agencies, utilities/infrastructure, public safety, educational institutions and some of the world's top technology developers in the private sector to pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. The organization's mission is to break down silos and drive the collaborative use of data, technology and community to address the most pressing topics and create solutions that will improve quality of life, drive inclusive economic development and promote resource efficiency. For more information, please visit www.NTXIA.org, or follow LinkedIn.
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