Valencia Digital Summit names 25 finalists for its 2026 Best Startup award

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The Valencia Digital Summit has cut 1,560 applications from 87 countries down to 25 finalists for its Startup Competition, a record field for the event run by Startup València. Plug and Play, the competition's strategic partner, led the final round of judging, scoring entries on innovation, scalability, market opportunity, growth potential and impact. The finalists come from ten countries, mostly Spain, Portugal and the UK. They range from AI tools for oncology and water treatment to electric motorbikes from Famel, wave-powered desalination from Ocean Oasis and an NFC payment ring from EWEAR.

The rewards are paid largely in software. Every finalist gets $1,000 in Miro credits. The winner gets another $2,000 in Miro credits, €150,000 in Microsoft Azure credits and a place in Santander X 100, the bank's global start-up community. The jury is made up entirely of venture investors, including partners from Armilar, Antler, Brighteye and LUMO Labs. The finalists will pitch on the main stage on 21 and 22 October at the City of Arts and Sciences, to an audience the organisers put at more than 12,000 professionals and 800 investors managing over €300 billion.

That audience is the other half of the prize. An EY study presented in June 2026 put the economic impact of the 2025 edition at €26 million, up 29% from €20.3 million the year before.