If you’re a tech entrepreneur, be it aspiring, scaling or late stage, we have a programme for you. See here...
Supporting climate tech founders
Empowering underrepresented tech founders
Growing late-stage ventures, to IPO and beyond
Powering the UK's most ambitious Series A startups
Championing disabled founders and entrepreneurs innovating around disability
Our previous Rising Stars competition has evolved into four distinct UK early-stage competitions, designed to spotlight the best emerging startups.
Where 10 ambitious EIS-eligible founders pitch to win an opportunity for investment that defines their next chapter
Where SEIS-eligible founders from across the UK compete for their share of £2M investment opportunity at a Grand Final in Manchester
Where transatlantic founders aged under 26 compete for up to £500k in investment
Where exceptional founders from around the world pitch to win the backing, spotlight, and momentum that shapes what comes next
Work, Live, Thrive in the UK
Supporting global talent to work live and thrive in UK tech through our various support services
Discover the steps to apply and begin your journey
Gain access to a global talent alumni network to support your journey
Showcasing success stories from our Global Talent Visa Ambassadors
Connecting the world’s brightest minds to UK AI opportunities
Connecting the world’s brightest minds to UK Quantum opportunities
Where the next generation of transatlantic founders win up to £500k in investment, alongside the connections and momentum that define their next chapter.
Founders of the Future is Tech Nation’s flagship international competition for founders aged 25-and-under, built to discover and champion the best young builders from both sides of the Atlantic. It culminates in a live finale at London Tech Week.
AI has collapsed the cost and time to build a real company. A founder in their early 20s with the right instincts can now ship what used to take a 50-person team and five years of runway. We’re seeing an entirely new generation of AI-native founders coming through, building category-defining products straight out of university, or instead of it.
Founders of the Future is a brand-new competition from London Tech Week built to find them. There’s no shortage of pitch competitions, but almost none are designed specifically for this generation: under-26 founders, with a global stage, real VC investment on the table, and a transatlantic cohort.
We curate a cohort of exceptional founders aged 25-and-under across the UK, Ireland and the US.
An independent judging panel will select 6 finalists to pitch live at London Tech Week, Europe’s premier technology festival bringing together 45,000+ attendees from 128 countries and 600+ speakers (recent headline names include Sir Keir Starmer and Jensen Huang).
Backed by a network of world-class VCs and angels, finalists will compete for the chance to win up to £500,000 in investment.
Founders, here’s the journey in four steps:
Step 1: Get Nominated / Apply Enter the competition via our application form.
Step 2: Evaluation Our expert judging panel reviews the cohort against five criteria: value proposition, competitive advantage, traction, team experience, and potential to scale.
Step 3: Get Selected Be chosen as one of 6 finalists for the London Tech Week live finale.
Step 4: Win Big Be crowned one of the Founders of the Future winners, taking home up to £500,000 in investment and thousands in perks.
💷 £500,000 investment opportunity
Pitch for investment from some world-class VC’s, plus access to a prize stack worth thousands for shortlisted founders (cloud/AI/SaaS credits and partner perks).
🌍 Transatlantic reach (UK/IE–US)
A rare opportunity to be part of a curated cohort spanning the UK/Ireland and the US, built for founders with global ambition from day one.
🎤 London Tech Week finale
Pitch live at Europe’s premier tech festival. Six finalists. One stage. 45,000+ attendees from 128 countries watching.
Founder eligibility: Aged 25-and-under on 9th June 2026
Geography: Based in the UK, Ireland or US
Stage: Bootstrap to Series A
Sector: Sector-agnostic
London Tech Week (8-12 June) is Europe’s premier technology festival, bringing together more than 45,000 attendees from global startups, talent, corporates, investors, and policymakers.
With attendees from 128 countries and over 600 speakers – last year including Sir Keir Starmer and Jensen Huang – it’s the foremost event to connect, collaborate, and shape the future of technology.
Tech Nation and Founders Forum have a strong track record of discovering and championing the unicorn founders of tomorrow. Our flagship Rising Stars competition has supported startups like Bumble ($14b Nasdaq listing), Wise ($11b LSE listing), DeepMind ($650m Google acquisition), Supercell ($10.2b Tencent acquisition) and many more.
There are multiple steps to the competition process and we strongly recommend you save the dates for each stage in case you are selected for the shortlist and/or final.
April: Nominations open
April 30th: Nominations close
May 20th: 6 finalists announced
June 9th: Live finale at London Tech Week
Applicants are judged against five core criteria: value proposition, competitive advantage, current traction, experience of founders and teams, and potential to scale. If you meet the criteria above, we encourage you to apply.
No – Founders of the Future is transatlantic. Eligible founders can be based in the UK, Ireland or the US.
Finalists are expected to demo live at London Tech Week, although provisions for virtual attendance will be made for finalists who cannot make it on the day.
Finalists receive access to a prize stack worth thousands (credits/perks). Winners receive up to £500,000 in investment.
Please contact the team at teambrent@ff.co for eligibility and application support.
