Top 25 semifinalists announced for ACA Spring 14' AZ Innovation Challenge

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today their 25 semifinalists in its Spring 2014 Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), a competition where recipients could win up to $250,000 in grant funding capital to grow their business. Twice a year, the ACA awards $1.5 million to innovative, early-stage AZ startups from industries such as IT, bio and … Read more

Only 8 startups left in Venture Madness

After head-to-head live pitches Thursday morning, the eight companies that moved to the next round of Venture Madness, were announced Thursday afternoon at the Arizona Diamondbacks spring training game. Venture Madness is a competition presented by Invest Southwest and the Arizona Commerce Authority that started with 64 startups pitching their ideas against each other. After … Read more

Final 16 startups to battle it out at Venture Madness

Venture Madness, presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, introduces the final 16 competing startups that will pitch live for a chunk of the $50,000 prize. Additionally, Venture Madness announces today that Geoffrey Moore; a best-selling author, Venture Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Chairman Emeritus, TCG Advisors, The Chasm Institute and The Chasm … Read more

32 startups advance to round 2 in Venture Madness

Venture Madness, presented by Invest Southwest, in partnership with Arizona Commerce Authority announced the next round of 32 startups, from the original 64, to advance to round two in the head-to-head competition. Round two is critical as the public vote will directly help their favorite startup advance to the live pitch portion of Venture Madness … Read more

64 startups to battle it out for $50K at Venture Madness

Venture Madness, presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with Arizona Commerce Authority, announced it’s 64 startups from around the southwest who will compete head-to-head for a portion of the $50,000 prize. How Venture Madness works: Think of it as the “Battle of the Brackets” where startups duel it out bracket-style for the top slot. After … Read more

The envelope please…Winners of AZ Tech Council's 2013 Governor's Celebration of Innovation – slideshow

Last night a spotlight was shined upon young to seasoned innovators in the Arizona technology sector at the Arizona Technology Council’s 2013 Governor Celebration of Innovation. The winners and finalists were evaluated and chosen by a selection committee of experts independent of the Council.  Scroll through our slideshow to see who took home the win. … Read more

Who will win at the AZ Tech Council's 2013 Governor's Celebration of Innovation?

The Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority, this week, announced Individual Award winners and Company Award finalists for the 2013 Governor’s Celebration of Innovation awards (GCOI) presented by Avnet, Inc. Awards are given to companies and individuals whose passion and commitment are helping Arizona thrive and grow their ecosystem. “The GCOI awards honor … Read more

"Don't Fall In Love With Your Plan" Rick Smith of TASER – Entrepreneur Advice From Arizona Innovation Summit

Arizona Commerce Authority and MIT Enterprise Forum Phoenix hosted the first Innovation Arizona Summit yesterday at Tempe Center for the Arts. Hundreds of entrepreneurs, techies and investors gathered to learn more about improving our community and the importance of networking. The day featured two types of speaking —breakout sessions made up of more focused topics … Read more

Arizona Innovation Challenge Winners to Share a $1.5 million pot

The first Innovation Arizona Summit, took place last night at the Tempe Center for the Arts. This summit was a joint effort between MIT Enterprise Forum Phoenix and Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA). The ACA announced the winners of the Arizona Innovation Challenge-where each company took home a share of the $1.5 million pot to further … Read more