VLC Startup Awards 2026

One-liner: the city's headline startup prize gala, 11th edition — €60,000 in cash across 10 categories, run by the Ayuntamiento de València through Valencia Innovation Capital in collaboration with Startup Valencia. Open now, closes 25 October 2026.

Do not confuse this with VIC Innovation Prizes 2026 (the Premis a la Innovació, procedure AE.IN.95, €96,000 over 13 categories, closed 26 Jun 2026). Different instrument, different awarding route, different window — this one is the long-running VLC Startup Awards gala, in its 11th year, and it is startup-only.

What you get

• Cash prize, no equity, no project-cost justification: this recognises the startup, not a budget line.
  • Mejor Startup 2026 — €10,000
  • Mejor Startup Seed 2026 — €10,000
  • Eight sectoral categories — €5,000 each
• The gala itself — València's reference recognition event for the city's most innovative proposals; visibility with the ecosystem, the Ayuntamiento and the investor layer in one room.
• Prizes are awarded by the Fundación de la Comunitat Valenciana para la Promoción Estratégica, el Desarrollo y la Innovación Urbana (the VIC foundation) — the same legal vehicle behind VIC Innovation Grants 2026 and València Music City Ayudas.

The ten categories

The eight sectoral categories are the same eight Strategic Innovation Areas (AEI) that structure VIC Innovation Grants 2026 and VIC Innovation Prizes 2026 — the city applies one sector taxonomy across its whole instrument stack, which makes the AEI list worth knowing regardless of which door you use.

Who it's for

• Startups of the city of València — individuals and entities. A candidate startup may only enter one sectoral category, so pick the strongest fit rather than spraying.
• Any phase in practice, with a dedicated seed category so early companies are not competing against scale-ups for the headline prize.

How to engage

1. Read the bases (Bases-premios-VSA-2026.pdf, published Aug 2026).
2. Apply via the VIC Typeform linked from the convocatoria page — online only.
3. Closes 25 October 2026.
4. Contact route: convocatorias@vlcinnovation.com · 963 910 477 (the VIC convocatorias desk).

Key facts

• ✅ Window re-verified live 2026-09-08: 12 Aug → 25 Oct 2026, OPEN. Confirmed on the programme page and corroborated by CEEI Valencia's EmprenemJunts listing (11ª edición).
• ⚠️ Reading trap — the VIC /convocatorias listing page is unreliable. It renders this call with the label "Closed" against the date 12.08.2026 (which is the opening date, not the deadline). A scan reading only the listing index would wrongly conclude the €60k prize had closed. Always confirm on the individual programme page. Recorded 2026-09-08.
• The ten categories, confirmed 2026-09-08: Mejor Startup 2026 (€10,000) · Mejor Startup Seed 2026 (€10,000) · and eight sectoral categories at €5,000 each — GovTech, Agrotech, Digital Health & Wellness, Semiconductors, Emergency/Security/Defence, Immersive Technologies & Gaming, Urban Tech, Sustainable Tourism. These mirror VIC's own 2026 programme slate — see Valencia Innovation Capital.
• Apply: Typeform at valenciainnovationcapital.typeform.com/to/Ymiokcqi · bases Bases-premios-VSA-2026.pdf. One sectoral category per candidate.
• 11th edition — the longest-running startup recognition gala in the city.
• €60,000 total, up from the pattern of previous editions; ten categories.
• Awarded on the principles of publicidad, concurrencia, transparencia, objetividad, igualdad y no discriminación — i.e. a formal public-award procedure, not an invitation-only prize.
• Co-organised with Startup Valencia, which is the practical reason the gala carries ecosystem weight beyond the municipal budget attached to it.

Relations

• Run by: Valencia Innovation Capital
• Partners with: Startup Valencia
• See also: VIC Innovation Prizes 2026
• See also: VIC Innovation Grants 2026
• See also: Ayuntamiento de Valencia
• See also: Valencia Digital Summit