Big Bang! Connect. Learn. Compete.

The Big Bang! Business Competition provides a forum for innovators to collaborate, develop and test business ideas.

Entry to the Big Bang! Competition is now closed. The 2027 Big Bang! Competition will begin accepting entries in December 2026.

There are 18 finalists in this year's competition, you can watch their two-minute pitch videos to learn about their ventures and RSVP to the Big Bang! Awards Ceremony to see who wins an award on May 19.

Check out this year's Finalists' pitch videos here! 

The Big Bang! competition helps you to grow as an entrepreneur and as a leader. You'll find opportunities to connect with fellow innovators, learn and apply business concepts in educational workshops, build your team, grow your network—and compete for cash prizes.

The Big Bang! awards prizes for the competition's top innovation overall, as well as for winning ventures in the following sectors:

• Animal Health + Industry
• Education + Educational Tools
• Energy + Sustainability
• Food + Agriculture
• Human Health + Industry
• Social Entrepreneurship

Helpful Information

• Big Bang! Rules and Tools
• Big Bang! Workshops
• Prizes and Sponsors
• FAQs
• Meet the 2026 Winners

Competition Overview

The Big Bang! Business Competition runs from March to May and is held in conjunction with the Big Bang! Workshop Series.

Events and competition deadlines are noted below. The Big Bang! culminates with the annual Awards Ceremony, where we announce the winners and award prizes. 

To participate in the Big Bang! Business Competition, at least one of your team or venture's founders must be affiliated with a California-based institution of higher education. Refer to the competition overview, eligibility and requirements on the Rules and Tools page for details.

All Big Bang! teams must register and submit deliverables through the competition platform, StartupTree, by the designated deadlines. We cannot accept emailed submissions.

Questions? If you have a question that isn't answered here, watch an information session or check out our FAQ page.

Meet the 2026 First Place Team

This year’s $25,000 first-place prize went to First Bite, an all-UC Davis undergraduate team developing a medical device designed to help secure breathing tubes for intubated infants in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. The First Bite team developed the device to address the critical challenge of breathing tubes becoming displaced during treatment, putting vulnerable patients at risk. 

Team founder Camilla Lindh, a biomedical engineering major, said the device is simple to use, quick to install and provides oral soothing through the pacifier component, reducing patient discomfort while facilitating development of the natural sucking reflex. This minimizes oral aversion and enhances feeding habits once patients are discharged, ultimately reducing hospital costs and facilitating long-term recovery.

The team plans to use the prize funding to support manufacturing efforts, finalize prototyping and testing, conduct outreach with hospitals and distributors, and continue work with the UC Davis Technology Transfer Office on a provisional patent.

In addition to Lindh, the team includes Rachel Amstutz, David Melnichuk, Lakshmi Penumasta, all biomedical engineering students; and Phineas Tucker, a student in biomedical engineering and pre-med. 

Big Bang! Fast Facts

• The Big Bang! Business Competition runs March through May.
• The competition is designed for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs.
• Our online Big Bang! Workshop Series is a powerful complement to the business competition. Build your skillset, grow your network.
• You don’t have to enter the competition to participate in the workshops.
• Teams must have at least one founder affiliated with a California-based institution of higher education.
• Competition finalists compete for cash prizes.
• You may participate in the Little Bang! Poster + Pitch Competition concurrently with the Big Bang! 

Helpful Links

• Big Bang! Rules and Tools
• Big Bang! Workshop Series
• Big Bang! Prizes
• Big Bang! FAQs

Workshop Series

The Big Bang! Workshops Series runs in January and February each year. It offers the knowledge and skills you need to move from concept to company—and to effectively compete in the Big Bang! Business Competition. Big Bang! workshops are open to anyone and are free of charge. Participants learn to:

• Understand IP and venture law
• Develop a business canvas and elevator pitch
• Evaluate the potential market
• Create a pitch presentation
• Develop a business model
• Delivering a compelling Pitch

Register for a Big Bang! Workshop

While participation in the workshops is not required to enter the Big Bang! competition, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to grow your entrepreneurial skillset and your network—and to help your venture thrive.

2027 Events and Timeline

The 2027 Big Bang! schedule will follow the same approximate timeline as the 2026 dates, which are listed below for reference. The official 2026 Big Bang! schedule will be released in fall, 2026. Join our mailing list to stay informed about everything happening at the Institute, including Big Bang!
 

Thank you, Big Bang! Sponsors

Thank you to our generous sponsors. Learn more and meet our prize sponsors.

It’s amazing to see how far our teams can go. In October many of their ideas are just that: ideas. By May, with a ton of hard work, support and mentorship, many of these ideas are ready for prime-time as companies, licensed technologies or nonprofits.
—Professor Andrew Hargadon