NCUSC 2026 | NYC Innovation Summit & Cross-Border Startup Competition
2026 NYC Cross-Border US Startup Competition
NYC Innovation Summit · NCUSC 2026
Live startup finals. Investor and founder panels. Conversations that continue beyond the stage.
Join us in New York on Saturday, October 10 for an afternoon of startup pitches, panel discussions, and networking with investors, founders, and technology leaders.
Hear emerging teams present their businesses and answer judges’ questions. Connect with investors, founders, and technology experts with experience at AWS, Meta, OpenAI, and other leading companies, and exchange ideas on AI, robotics, healthcare, fintech, and enterprise technology.
Reserve your seat above. Early Bird admission is $39 through October 6. Lunch and a coffee break are included.
Venue: Vanderbilt Hall
40 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012
For partnership, media, or event inquiries: contact@clsa-association.com
WHAT TO EXPECT
Live startup finals: Selected finalist teams present their products, business models, and growth plans.
Investor and founder panels: Perspectives on fundraising, commercialization, company building, and expansion into new markets.
Networking: Meet founders, investors, engineers, researchers, and business professionals.
Judges’ remarks and awards: Hear the judging panel’s observations and celebrate the finalist teams.
Private VIP dinner: A separate gathering after the main program for continued conversation.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Max Ren — Starr Holdings, Founder & CEO; Senior Global Media Executive
Andreas Deutschmann — InFound Equity, Managing Partner; Former Managing Director, JPMorgan Chase; Managing Director at a New York boutique investment bank
PANELISTS
Fannie Wang — UpHonest Capital, Vice President of Investment
Venkat Nelabhotla — Vyome Holdings, Inc., President & CEO
Srushti Katore — CARA Systems Inc., Co-Founder & COO
Chuck English — English Ventures, Principal
INVESTOR JUDGES & STARTUP ECOSYSTEM
The lineup brings together venture investors, individual investor judges, accelerators, and startup ecosystem contributors.
Fannie Wang — UpHonest Capital, Vice President of Investment
Katherine Luo — DGLG Capital, Vice President
Tianyi (Sky) Yu — Taihill Venture, Founder & Managing Partner
Chelsey Huang — CSIL.ai, Founding Partner, COO & Quant Researcher
Dan Zhang — Q Bay Center, Vice President; HYSTA, CEO & Executive Director
Benny Liao — Acorn Pacific Ventures, Principal
Wei Luo — ZGC International Holdings, Deputy General Manager; ZGC North America, Director & Executive President
Jeremy Gao — Mint Finance, Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer
Miao Kang — Peachscore Representative; Witti Marketing, Founder & CEO
Sean Shen — Hang Chuang AI Camp, Coaching Partner
Map Shen — Qishi, Venture Mentor
Nancy Chen — ZT Corporate, Executive Strategist, Capital Markets & Investor Relations
Jie Zhang — Huadan Angel, Managing Director of Investments
Hongfei Tian — iVision Ventures, Founding Partner
Jiangang Luo — Stratosphere Capital, Founding Partner
Denise Tan — Taihill Venture, Head of Investments
Vincent Yang — LightHouse Venture Studio, Co-Founder
David Wang — Rho, Growth
Kathy Wang — Broadar, Co-Founder & Design Director; Global Brand Incubator, Founder
Chuck English — English Ventures, Principal
INDUSTRY & FOUNDER JUDGES
Our industry and founder judges bring experience in research, engineering, product development, business operations, and company growth.
Xinyu Qu — OpenAI, AI Engineer
Jin Zhang — Meta, Engineering Director
Srushti Katore — CARA Systems Inc., Co-Founder & COO
Xiaomin Li — Google DeepMind, Senior Research Scientist
Yuhong Jiang — BRISEA Group, CEO
Venkat Nelabhotla — Vyome Holdings, Inc., President & CEO
Amy Liao — Couragene, Co-Founder & CEO
David Wang — Taihill Venture and Tainuo Fund, Venture Partner
Erran Li — Stealth Startup, CEO; ACM Fellow; IEEE Fellow
Jessica Young — ME Group, CEO
David Shen — Fortune, VP of Engineering
Kyla Zhang — PsiBot, Director of Partnerships & Ecosystem
Stark Zhang — APX Finance, Former CEO
Fang Liu — Dickinson Wright PLLC, Member
Yi Luo — Rain Capital, Chief of Staff
Haozhen Yang — ANG Capital Group, Founder; Prepp, Co-Founder
Ernie Kwok — Yatop US Center, Founder
Elsie Wang — Hibee, Co-Founder; Serial Entrepreneur & Business Consultant
Kaixi Yang — Boost Engine, Co-Founder & President
Prithvinath Reddy Garigapuram — CARA Systems Inc., Co-Founder & CEO
Crysta Yang — Vice President, Portfolio Trading
Xinghua Solinsky — Maccabee Coaching, Founder & CEO; Pinnacle Advisors, Founder
Carol Xie — Inference AI, Co-Founder & COO
Qinru (Ruby) Xiong — PixVerse, Head of Partnerships
Siyuan Zhao — Industry Judge
The competition lineup includes online preliminary-round and final-round contributors. Participation varies by session and format. Affiliations describe professional backgrounds and do not imply institutional sponsorship or endorsement.
TICKETS
Early Bird: $39 through October 6
Regular Admission: $59
VIP Deluxe Dinner: $399, subject to approval
VIP dinner admission is separate from general admission.
Register above to join us on October 10. We look forward to meeting you in New York.