2024-2025 Rules & Eligibility
TEAMS
1. A team must be comprised of at least two individuals.
2. At least 50% of formal team members must (1) be enrolled as half-time or full-time student, or (2) be a postdoctoral fellow at a college or university (Student Member) from somewhere in the world.
3. Only Student Members can present the team’s business plan, but all team members (student and non-student) are allowed to answer questions from the judging panels.
4. The Managing Directors from the MIT Climate and Energy Prize (MIT CEP) may not enter the competition. There are no restrictions for any other members of the MIT CEP Leadership Team, as they will not have access to confidential information regarding the competition or be in a position to influence the judges or judging process.
COMPANY
1. Only new ventures are eligible to compete in the MIT CEP. Projects within existing businesses are not eligible for entry.
2. Teams must be incorporated or otherwise organized as a legal business entity, either in the U.S. or abroad, to be eligible to receive awards from the MIT CEP. All prize money (including travel reimbursement) can only be given to incorporated teams. Teams do not need to be incorporated to submit an application. Teams are advised that, in general, the earlier they incorporate or otherwise form their legal entities (e.g., LLCs, partnerships, 501(c)3), the greater the tax benefits. Winning teams may experience delays in receiving award payments if they are not incorporated at the time of award. Prize-winning teams organized as legal business entities outside of the U.S. may be subject to fees when they receive their prizes.
3. In the case of a for-profit business: (a) for a corporation, Student Members must collectively control at least 50% of the team’s company equity and voting interests upon incorporation; and (b) for other forms of for-profit business entities (e.g., LLCs, partnerships), Student Members must collectively control at least 50% of the voting rights (e.g., to elect the board of directors or other governing body) of the team’s company upon formation of the business entity.
4. In the case of not-for-profit business entities: (e.g., 501(c)3) Student Members must collectively control at least 50% of the voting rights to elect the board of directors or another governing body of the team’s business entity upon formation of that business entity.
5. All formal team members must demonstrate ownership by way of right to participate in the election of management in the legal business entity and an equity interest in the case of a for-profit business.
FUNDING
1. Teams that have secured capital in excess of $100,000 prior to the entry deadline are not eligible to enter the MIT CEP competition. Capital includes, but is not limited to, preferred stock, convertible preferred stock, SAFEs (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), and convertible notes. Research or grant funding awarded explicitly for research, technology, or product development activities is not considered capital.
2. All teams that have secured capital greater than $0 are required to disclose the amount of capital raised. Teams that have secured capital greater than $50,000 must include in their application a letter issued and executed by their certified public accountant or comparable source, representing such a disclosure, to confirm their eligibility. Teams that secure additional capital from the time of their application to the end of the competition should notify the Managing Directors and Startup Relations Team of MIT CEP.
3. Teams that have generated revenue from sales or contracts prior to the entry deadline must disclose the amounts and sources of revenue on the application.
JUDGING
1. Click here (subject to update by The MIT CEP Managing Directors by the entry deadline) for the judging criteria against which the Judging Panel will assess all business plan submissions to the competition.
2. All prizes are awarded at the discretion of the Judging Panel and all judging decisions are final and not subject to appeal.
3. The MIT CEP Managing Directors, after consultation with the Judging Panel, reserve the right not to award a prize should no worthy entries be identified.
4. Should the Judging Panel identify a concern regarding an entry that, in its opinion, violates the MIT CEP Rules and Conditions of Eligibility, then it will advise the Managing Directors accordingly. The Managing Directors will make the final decision regarding whether to disqualify the entry.
CONTENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
1. All descriptions of business plans contained in competition entries must be the original work of the entrants.
2. All information contained within all materials entered into the competition must be factual.
3. Entrants are not required to be the original creators, inventors, or owners of the intellectual property underlying their business plans. However, teams that rely on intellectual property that has been created or invented or is owned by a third party (“Third-Party IP”) must demonstrate that they have obtained written permission from any such third party to use the Third-Party IP as a basis to support their business plan before the semi-finals. Such permission should include not only the general right to rely on the Third-Party IP as a basis for the business plan, but should also include the right to reference or reproduce any figures, images, etc., that are included in the business plan. Full attribution should be given whenever an entrant relies on any Third-Party IP. Teams must also describe the nature and extent of any interactions or agreements they have or have had with Third-Party IP owners as part of the Intellectual Property Disclosure Statement submitted upon entry.
4. Entries should be made with the full understanding of the restrictions imposed contractually under sponsored research agreements and MIT’s policies on intellectual property rights. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that no third party, such as a research sponsor or research assistant who participated in their research, has any rights on the contents that may prevent its exploitation under this competition.
5. Plagiarism of any kind, including reproduction of images or other content, without reference to the original source, or without permission from the content owner or creator, where appropriate, is strictly forbidden and will result in disqualification from the MIT CEP. The decision to disqualify a team shall be at the sole discretion of the MIT CEP Managing Directors. Any images or other content contained in an entrant’s competition submission materials must include all necessary citations for the team to be eligible for monetary prizes. For more information, please refer to MIT’s Policy on Academic Integrity.
6. Entering teams are expected to take steps to protect the intellectual property described in their entries (whether it be their own intellectual property or Third-Party IP) through appropriate intellectual property filings and notices (patent, copyright, etc.) after seeking independent legal counsel and/or coordinating with the owners of any Third-Party IP. Entering teams are also encouraged to pursue appropriate licensing arrangements with the owners of Third-Party IP, although such licensing arrangements do not need to be finalized to participate in the competition.
7. Entering teams must be prepared to provide documentation to validate any claims that are made concerning the intellectual property underlying their business plans, including any claims concerning the licensing of Third-Party IP.
8. Entries that include software as a component should make clear which elements of the software product have been created by the team. It is the responsibility of such entrants to ensure they have acquired all necessary rights to the elements of the software product that are not the sole property of the team and are necessary for executing the business plan.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY
1. The MIT CEP Managing Directors and VPs of Startup Relations have access to all applicant entry materials.
2. The rest of the CEP Leadership Team, Judges, Sponsors, and Partners will have access to all entry materials except for "IP Disclosure Agreement," "IP Disclosure Form," "Capital Information Disclosure Form," and "Revenue Information Disclosure Form."
3. We leverage advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to (1) identify the eligibility of startups based on the competition’s Rules & Eligibility and (2) provide tailored feedback and resources for each startup. Ultimately, human judges will listen to the live (virtual) pitches of startups during the First Round and select the Semi-Finalists for the in-person events. AI will have the same access to data as the CEP Leadership Team, i.e. the information listed in (2) above. All data processed by the AI, including OpenAI's GPT-4o, Stack-AI.com, XPV.ai, and potentially additional AI models from Anthropic, Meta, Google, Perplexity, and/or HuggingFace, will be handled and protected according to the data privacy and security standards of these platforms. By submitting your application, you provide explicit consent to the use of AI in assisting with evaluating your application to present you relevant resources.
4. The MIT CEP team will not enter into non-disclosure agreements with entering teams; applications must recognize that any information submitted in their application is therefore not protected by a non-disclosure agreement.
5. Refer to the Privacy Statement for more details.
COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL LAWS
1. Sanctions Compliance: By submitting an application, the applicant certifies that neither the applicant nor any member of its leadership team is a sanctioned person, as designated by applicable government authorities. Additionally, the applicant certifies that neither the applicant nor its leadership team resides, operates, or conducts business within any country subject to trade or economic sanctions under local or international law.
2. Compliance with Local Laws: The applicant further certifies that it is in full compliance with all applicable local, national, and international laws, regulations, and ordinances governing its operations, business dealings, and any other relevant activities. This includes, but is not limited to, labor laws, environmental regulations, and financial reporting requirements within the jurisdictions in which the applicant operates.
3. Export Control Compliance: The applicant certifies that it adheres to all relevant
export control laws and regulations applicable to the technology, goods, or services it develops, distributes, or sells. The applicant agrees to comply with any restrictions on the export, re-export, or transfer of sensitive technology or goods, as defined under the laws of the applicant's jurisdiction and any applicable international agreements.
ANTI-BRIBERY
The applicant and its owners warrant that they have not violated and will not violate any applicable anti-bribery and corruption and anti-money laundering laws, including, but not limited to, the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1997 of the United States of America, and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.
In connection with the 2024-2025 Climate & Energy Prize, the applicant has not and will not, and will ensure that its owners have not and will not, give or agree to give any person whomsoever, or solicit, accept or agree to accept from any person, either directly or indirectly, anything of value in order to obtain, influence, induce or reward any improper advantage.
MISCELLANEOUS
1. The MIT CEP Managing Directors reserve the right to make a final determination of a team’s eligibility.
2. Failure (i) to comply with these Rules and Conditions of Eligibility or (ii) to accurately make any disclosures required by the MIT CEP or its affiliates, as determined at the sole discretion of the MIT CEP Managing Directors, may result in disqualification from the MIT CEP and/or the requirement that any MIT CEP awards be forfeited and/or returned.
3. These Rules and Conditions of Eligibility may be revised periodically by the MIT CEP team. In the event that they are changed after an entrant’s contest submission has been received, but prior to the contest judging, such entrant shall have the opportunity to make any changes to its submission to ensure compliance with the most recent Rules and Conditions of Eligibility.