Arizona News Feed

PHOENIX, AZ (April 3, 2025) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), in partnership with Venture Madness, announced three winners for the 2025 Venture Madness Conference. Arizona’s longest-running pitch competition, Venture Madness by Invest Southwest features early stage and emerging growth companies and offers participants exclusive access to the region’s most active, accredited angel investors and venture capital firms. At the event held on April 3 in Tempe, companies competed in head-to-head pitches. This year’s competition featured 16 finalists selected from a pool of 125 applications. 

PHOENIX, AZ (December 16, 2024) – Today, roughly two dozen investors, founders, and economic development and nonprofit leaders came together to launch a new coalition dedicated to advancing Arizona’s startup ecosystem. The Arizona Venture Alliance (AVA) will work to promote Arizona’s startup and investor ecosystem, exponentially increase funding for Arizona startups, and grow deal flow for investors both inside and outside Arizona. At a charter signing event held at the Arizona Commerce Authority, founding members of the AVA expressed their commitment to making Arizona the No. 1 state in the nation for startups and investors.

PHOENIX, AZ (December 2, 2024) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today 10 awardees have been selected for the 2024 Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC). The AIC is designed to advance innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by helping early-stage ventures scale. The 10 companies will be added to the Arizona Innovation Challenge portfolio. The 2024 AIC awardees will participate in Venture Scale, Arizona’s flagship accelerator program for the state’s most promising startups. Venture Scale will provide a customized accelerator experience to directly support specific scaling needs of the startups.

PHOENIX, AZ (November 13, 2024) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today 15 finalists have been selected for the 2024 Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC). The finalists will advance to the final round of the competition, after which judges will select up to 10 companies as AIC awardees for 2024. The AIC is designed to advance innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by helping early-stage ventures scale. The 15 finalists will pitch their startups in-person before a panel of investors on November 20.

PHOENIX, AZ (October 3, 2024) – The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today that 25 semifinalists have been selected for the 2024 Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), one of the largest business plan competitions in the country. The AIC is designed to advance innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by helping early-stage ventures to scale. In total, 130 first round applications were received for the 2024 competition, representing industries including technology, healthcare, manufacturing, renewable energy and more.

PHOENIX, AZ (August 1, 2024) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today plans to scale the highly successful Arizona Innovation Challenge program, helping more Arizona startups find success. Through three new and enhanced venture programs, known as Venture Scale, Venture Raise, and Venture Start, the ACA will extend more one-on-one support to Arizona startups that participate in the Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC), a program of the ACA and one of the nation’s largest business plan competitions. Starting today, the ACA is accepting applications for the 15th annual Arizona Innovation Challenge. The application window will run from August 1 to August 30.

PHOENIX, AZ (May 9, 2024) – Plug and Play accelerateAZ, a program of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), today celebrated the official launch of the new Sustainability accelerator program that will support the growth of sustainability-focused startups in Arizona. During the event, eight startups pitched as part of the Sustainability accelerator Program Selection Day for the Batch 1 cohort. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs helped kick off the program alongside Saeed Amidi, Founder and CEO of Plug and Play, Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, corporate partners, sustainability startups and local innovation and community leaders.

PHOENIX, AZ (April 4, 2024) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), in partnership with Venture Madness, announced three winners for the 2024 Venture Madness Conference. Arizona’s longest-running pitch competition, Venture Madness features early stage and emerging growth companies and offers participants exclusive access to the region’s most active, accredited angel investors and venture capital firms. At the event held on April 4, companies competed in head-to-head pitches.

PHOENIX, AZ (December 7, 2023) – Plug and Play accelerateAZ, a program of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), announced today a new Sustainability program that will support the growth of Arizona sustainability-focused startups. The new program, announced at the Plug and Play Silicon Valley Summit in Sunnyvale, California, will launch in Spring 2024. The accelerateAZ Sustainability program will support startups in the areas of renewable energy, water resiliency, sustainable mining, circular materials and carbon neutrality.

PHOENIX, AZ (December 1, 2023) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today 10 companies have been selected as awardees for the 2023 Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC). The AIC, a program launched by the ACA in 2011, aims to advance innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by helping early-stage ventures scale. The 10 companies will participate in the Venture Ready Accelerator, which will help startups refine their business plans, improve go-to-market execution strategies, and increase investor readiness.

PHOENIX, AZ (November 14, 2023) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today 15 finalists have been selected for the 2023 Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC). The finalists will advance to the final round of the competition, after which judges will select up to 10 companies as AIC awardees for 2023.

PHOENIX, AZ (October 19, 2023) - Plug and Play accelerateAZ held an Advanced Manufacturing Expo event today in Phoenix, Arizona. The event featured pitches from 13 Arizona-based startups to be considered for the Batch 2 cohort of Plug and Play Arizona’s Advanced Manufacturing Accelerator program. At the event, Plug and Play and the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced the official name of the joint initiative, Plug and Play accelerateAZ, a program of the Arizona Commerce Authority. Plug and Play, the Arizona Commerce Authority, and more joined innovation, industry and community leaders at the Expo.

PHOENIX, AZ (October 4, 2023) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today that 30 semifinalists have been selected for the 2023 Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC). The AIC is designed to advance innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by helping early-stage ventures scale.

PHOENIX, AZ (August 1, 2023) — The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) announced today applications are being accepted for the 13th annual Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC). The application window will run from August 1 to August 31. The Arizona Innovation Challenge, which is the largest state-sponsored business plan competition in the nation, advances innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by helping early-stage ventures to scale.