The startup contest connecting Europe and LatAm. Finalists get a direct slot in the MERGE Madrid 2026 Startup Track — in front of investors, funds and international strategic partners.
Madrid '24, Buenos Aires '25 and Madrid '25 set a clear track record: each edition raises the bar. Do you see yourself among the next to take the stage?
We look for young projects with real traction. Your startup must be less than four years old since incorporation.
Pre-seed, seed or early Series A. Up to five million euros raised in total. No valuation cap.
Direct relationship with the ecosystem: protocol, infra, dApp, tool, application layer. "Blockchain as a buzzword" won't cut it.
Financial protocols, AMMs, lending, stablecoins, tokenized RWA, onchain capital markets.
Decentralized physical networks, compute markets, open models, verifiable AI infra, onchain agents.
Tokenized real assets: real estate, private debt, commodities, funds, treasuries. The institutional bridge.
Gaming, fan engagement, utility NFTs, social, music, onchain IP, creator economy and virtual worlds.
Open registration. Upload your deck, metrics and vertical. Three months to present your best version.
Announcement of startups selected for the in-person event. Direct communication + public announcement.
In-person contest within Digitaliza Madrid, an event with institutional support from the Comunidad de Madrid and Ayuntamiento de Madrid. Madrid · Track finals
Finalists pitch at the MERGE Madrid Startup Track — 10 min each. The winner gets a 20-min keynote slot at the Palacio de Cibeles. Other finalists get a 10-min slot. International main stage
More than 40 venture capitals, public hubs and strategic partners have served as judges or allies in previous editions. Some of the names that have already heard pitches at MERGE:
Does your fund, hub or company want to be part of the jury, partner or sponsor of the 2026 edition?
Join
The in-person contest takes place inside Digitaliza Madrid · Centro de Innovación, hub of the Comunidad de Madrid — a space that brings together startups, entrepreneurs, institutions and specialist press under one roof.
It's not just another coworking: it's where the public administration sits down to listen to projects redefining the Spanish digital economy. Your pitch there carries a different weight.
in prizes, connections and strategic visibility.
Prizes can be monetary or in services (mentoring, cloud credits, legal advice, training, infra), depending on the allied partner and track.
I want to competePitch in front of +3,000 attendees and +100 international investors and partners at the Palacio de Cibeles.
Brand visibility before, during and after. Passes to MERGE Madrid + MERGE LatAm for your team.
Private sessions with VCs, crypto-native funds and operators with institutional experience.
Direct connection with funds aligned with your vertical. No cold email.
International positioning with key creators and voices of the Web3 ecosystem in LatAm and Europe.
Strategic advice if your project has a token or plans to launch one.
Polygon, Solana, Aptos, EigenLayer and others. Grants, infra credits and go-to-market support.
Closed workshops for finalists. Economic design, narrative and deck review.
Three editions, three winners. Teams that reached the pitch, took the prize and are still scaling today.
Pentesting and security platform for smart contracts. Winner of the first MERGE Madrid edition in 2024.
Crypto payment infrastructure for LatAm. Winner of MERGE Buenos Aires 2025 — the edition that connected the heart of the region's fintech scene.
Fintech building DLT-based products to create new financial rails in emerging markets. Winner of MERGE Madrid 2025.
Applications close on September 6, 2026 — but the best pitches arrive early.
Fill in the details and our team will contact you within a maximum of 7 days after the closing date. Fields marked with * are required.