NEXT Powered by Shulman Rogers Returns as a Mentorship Partner for the 2026 Quantum Startup Pitch Competition
Booz Allen is back as Presenting Sponsor of the 2026 Quantum Startup Pitch Competition, and this year the winning startup will take home a $25,000 grand prize. The competition runs September 23 and 25 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park, held during Quantum World Congress 2026.
NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers will once again provide mentorship to the competing startups, helping them sharpen their pitch strategy and get ready for real conversations with investors. It’s the kind of hands-on guidance NEXT is built for: pairing founders with the legal and business insight they need at exactly the stage they need it.
Finalists will also get a featured table in the QWC Startup Launchpad’s Innovation Alley and visibility with investors and government leaders attending the conference. Applications close August 7, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
Dr. Jake Farinholt, Director of Quantum Technologies at Booz Allen, sees startups as central to how the field moves forward, testing new architectures and applications before anyone else and pushing technical ideas toward real deployment. That’s the gap NEXT’s mentorship is designed to help close: turning strong science into a company that can actually go the distance.
Read the full announcement from Quantum Zeitgeist here.