Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge is a annual industry award recognizing excellence in Technology. Organized by Hello Tomorrow, it covers the Global region. Established in 2014.
The Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge, run by Paris-based deep-tech organization Hello Tomorrow since 2014, bills itself as the longest-running deep-tech startup competition in the world and reached its 11th edition in the 2025–2026 cycle. It targets science- and engineering-based startups — from pre-incorporation teams up to Series A — across 15 industry tracks, with applications judged by an international, interdisciplinary committee of scientists, industry specialists, entrepreneurs, and venture investors.
Recognition comes in layers: roughly 800 applicants are named 'Deep Tech Pioneers' each year, gaining access to an investor network, one-on-one Investor Day meetings, and the Hello Tomorrow Summit, which draws participants from more than 120 countries. Around 80 finalists then pitch at the Summit's Grand Finals for track prizes, a dedicated Emerging Pioneers prize for idea and pre-seed-stage founders, and a €100,000 equity-free grand prize. Hello Tomorrow states past finalists have gone on to raise more than $4 billion, and for lab-to-market founders the Pioneer badge and finalist slot function as early scientific-commercial validation in front of deep-tech VCs.
Applying is completely free and carries no obligation. The cycle opens in autumn with an early-bird deadline at the end of October (early applicants receive feedback) and a final deadline in early January (January 5 for the 2026 edition); Pioneers are notified around early February, finalists in mid-March, and winners are crowned at the Summit — held in Amsterdam on June 11–12 for 2026. Eligibility requires a team of at least two, genuine technological or scientific novelty with at least a proof of concept or prototype, independence from a parent company, and a credible path to economic viability. Strong applications read like a technical-commercial thesis: defensible science plus a plausible route to industrial impact.