Startup World Cup - The St. Louis Regional Finals

Join us for the 2025 St. Louis Regional Finals of the Startup World Cup

The Startup World Cup is the largest global startup conference and pitch competition where 70+ cities send their champion team to the San Francisco Grand Finale, to compete for a $1,000,000 investment prize. For the second year in a row, St. Louis has been invited to enter a winning founder.

What started with 100 applications that turned into 50 pitches competing during STL TechWeek, has now determined our top 10 Startups taking the stage on Augsut 15th. The selected companies will present their 5-6 minute pitches to a panel of St. Louis Venture Capital Investors. The judges will vote onsite to select the winning founder, who will then be given the opportunity to represent St. Louis in the Grand Finale Startup World Cup event in California. Come out to support our regional founders as they go head-to-head to participate in the largest pitch competition in the world!

Our 2025 Top Ten:

• Assertion AI, by Yao Shepard – Assertion AI is a Generative AI company that seamlessly integrates into enterprise data environments to fully automate the machine learning workflow—from problem framing to model training—cutting AI delivery time from months to hours.
• CEdge Learn, by Sekhar Prabhakar – CEdge Learn applies AI, instructional technology and common sense to transform high-quality publications into interactive, bite-sized, self-paced, mobile-friendly digital learning experiences: It solves the ROI problem in existing degree and training programs while ensuring content quality and fidelity.
• Zaiko, by Franklin Taylor – Unlocking profits for local retailers by automating inventory processes—eliminating costly errors, capturing lost supplier discounts, and freeing up time to focus on revenue-driving activities.
• Fufu n'Sauce, by Adjo Honsou – An award-winning West African culinary brand celebrating Togolese heritage, community connection, and culture through bold, unforgettable flavor.
• Aditi Farms, by Tova Feinberg – Aditi Farms (formerly known as VertiGreens) is a modular farming startup where we grow and distribute lettuce, herbs and edible flowers to the Food & Beverage B2B market. 
• Kwema, by Ali Al Jabry – Kwema developed the world's first smart badge reel, featuring a discreet duress button that empowers nurses to call for help unobtrusively at the first sign of workplace violence.
• King of the Curve, by Heath Rutledge-Jukes – King of the Curve is a gamified, adaptive platform helping students learn faster and score higher. 
• Levitt Logic, by Jake Burrola – Through machine learning systems, artificial intelligence, and geospatial analysis, Levitt Logic (SaaS), helps real estate developers unlock actionable insights derived from government, facilitating public-private partnerships throughout the Midwest region. 
• TimeBolt, by Doug Wulff – Rapid video communications software for Work and YouTube. 
• uFab, by Tyler Richards – uFab’s ultra‑rapid circuit board printer slashes turnaround to hours, letting users treat hardware manufacturing like code commits—iterate, test, and release in a single day.

Parking:

Parking is available around T-REX in the lots between 10th & 11th street, along the street, or in the Marriott Garage across from the building.

DOORS OPEN AT 5:00 PM. PRESENTATIONS START AT 5:30 PM