Proof of Pitch Abu DhabiOne stage inside the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Pre-seed and seed only. Free to apply, no equity taken.
- The pitch
- 3–4 December 2026
- The venue
- Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Cultural District
- Applications
- Close 20 November 2026
- Entry
- Free. No equity taken.
Why this competition
Ten minutes on stage. Two days in the room.
At most competitions the judges hear your pitch and go home. Here they stay for two days, in a capped room of 2,000, at the dinner and the afterparty. Ten minutes on stage is how you get their attention. The next 48 hours are what you do with it.
Proof of Pitch 2026 competition film, filmed at the Louvre Palace in Paris, June 2026.
Who has judged here
Proof of Pitch juries, 2024 to 2026.
Rob Hadick
General Partner, Dragonfly
Diogo Monica
General Partner, Haun Ventures
Andy Tang
Partner, Draper Associates
Leeor Groen
Partner, Spartan
Keli Callaghan
Partner, Arrington Capital
Evan Feng
Partner, CoinFund
Alice Li
Partner, Foresight Ventures
Jacob Steeves
Co-Founder, Bittensor
Robby Yung
CEO, Animoca Brands
Simon Dedic
Managing Partner, Moonrock Capital
Sam Kim
Founder and Managing Partner, Big Brain Holdings
Alvaro Garcia
General Partner, Borderless Capital
Amit Mehra
Partner, Borderless Capital
Julien Bouteloup
CEO and Managing Partner, Stake Capital
Joe Bruzzesi
General Partner, Raptor Digital
Danish Chaudhry
General Partner, Paper VC
Investors who have taken part over the years
Where they are now
Seven winners. Five next rounds.
$37.5M raised after the stage across four rounds, and a $60M+ FDV launch.
- $15M
Redstone
Series A · 2023
Arrington, Spartan and Amber.
- $10M
Usual
Series A · 2024
YZi, Coinbase Ventures and Galaxy. Since become a unicorn.
- $5M
NodeOps
Seed · 2024 · DePIN track
Led by L1 Digital, with Blockchain Founders Fund and Double Peak.
- $7.5M
Accountable
Series A · 2025 · Main track
Pantera and OKX.
- $60M+
Synth
FDV · 2025 · Bittensor track
Powering forecasts for BTC, ETH, SOL, gold and tokenised equities.
ReplyCorp took the 2026 General track and Parthenon the Canton track, crowned in Paris this June. Their next rounds are the ones still to report.
What you get
What winning puts within reach.
The prize
Prize pool to be announced.
The stack is built with the partners who supply it, and it lands with this year's jury. The stage does not wait for it: every winner takes the main stage, in front of the room.
Apply
Pitch inside the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
3 and 4 December 2026. Applications close 20 November 2026. Free to apply.
Now
Applications open
Free, and no equity is taken.
20 November 2026
Applications close
A small number of finalists is selected from the applicant pool.
3–4 December 2026
You pitch
Live on the stage at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Who can apply?
Pre-seed and seed teams with no institutional Series A closed, under $3M raised in total, and a live product, testnet or working prototype. You should be raising now or within six months.
Does it cost anything?
No fee, no equity, and no option on your round.
Who is on the jury?
The Abu Dhabi 2026 jury will be announced shortly. Representative past jury firms include Dragonfly, Haun Ventures, Draper Associates, Spartan, Arrington Capital, CoinFund and Foresight Ventures.
Do I have to be there?
Yes. You must pitch live on stage in person.
Who sees my application?
The Proof of Talk selection team and the Abu Dhabi 2026 jury review applications.
What if I am not selected?
You will receive an update after the selection process.
What are the dates?
Applications close 20 November 2026. You pitch on 3–4 December 2026 at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Partners
Host the competition with us.
A main host and category partners. The prize stack is what makes a pitch worth flying for, and it is built with the people who supply it.
Partner the competition