Judging Criteria

CLIMATE IMPACT
Assessing relevance of business idea and potential benefit of the project to the environment:

-If the business is successful, will it have a significant environmental impact?
-To what degree will the business idea affect the climate in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, waste reduction, carbon removal, lives affected, etc.?

SOLUTION CREATIVITY
Assessing the degree of innovation and novelty of the idea:

-Has there been a similar idea beforehand?
-Does the project offer new and creative solutions to solve existing problems in the field?
-To what extent does it improve existing products or business models currently in the market?
-To what degree does the business idea change the industry?
 

IDEA FEASIBILITY
Assessing the technological and economic feasibility of the concept along with market and customer knowledge:

-Is the business model sound and realistic?
-Is the team knowledgable of potential obstacles, with customer interviews relevant to their intended market acquired through primary market research?
-Has the team identified a specific beachhead market or customer?
-How scalable is the solution?
-Can the team demonstrate demand / traction for their product?
 

BUSINESS PLAN EXECUTION
Assessing the plan for the execution of the business idea and for financial funding:

-Does the team have a coherent and well-structured execution plan?
-Are financial and business growth forecasts realistic?
-Does the business plan offer realistic assumptions on scaling production of the product?
-Does the team have clear and viable ideas about how to finance the company?
-Does the team already have a patent or a path to IP? Is it viable that the team will acquire IP in the future, or show that IP is not needed for their specific competitive advantage?
-Does the team demonstrate thorough knowledge of the market they are entering (e.g. market size, competitive landscape, substitutes, stakeholders, regulatory and policy framework)?

TEAM COMPOSITION, CHEMISTRY, AND COMMITMENT
Assessing strengths & weaknesses of the team:

-Does the team have a well-balanced mix of expertise and backgrounds (e.g. technological, entrepreneurial, business, policy)?
-Are the team members working well together? Are responsibilities spread equally among the various team members?
-Does the team appear to be committed to stay together for the short to medium term?
-Does the team have a clear strategy to cope with future growth, including adding new members to the management team, as necessary?

Rules and Eligibility 

TEAMS

1. Open to both university teams and professional teams worldwide. Early-stage teams have raised less than $1,000,001 USD of equity (including convertible notes and SAFEs) prior to the application deadline. Teams that have raised more than $1,000,000 qualify as Late-stage teams and will be judged in their own track.

2. The ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge organizing team and the Managing Directors of 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. Existing or new ventures are eligible to compete in ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge.

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 ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge, 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 US may be subject to fees when they receive their prizes.

3. 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 prior to the entry deadline are eligible to enter.

2. Teams that have received research or grant funding are eligible to compete, provided that the funding was explicitly awarded for research, technology, or product development activities.

JUDGING
1. Click on the Criteria page (subject to update by The 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 ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge team, after consultation with the Judging Panel, reserve the right not to award a prize should no worthy entries be available.

4. Should the Judging Panel identify a concern that, in its opinion, causes the entry to violate the ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge Rules and Conditions of Eligibility then it will advise the Managing Directors as such. The Managing Directors will make the final decision on 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 MIT’s regulations 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.

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 ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge The decision to disqualify a team shall be at the sole discretion of the ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge 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
1. Only ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge Directors, the Judging Panels, and ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge sponsors will have access to entry materials. Entering teams must recognize that any information submitted through entries is not protected by a non-disclosure agreement.

2. The Leadership Team, Judging Panels, Mentors, Sponsors, and other affiliates of ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge will not enter into non-disclosure agreements with entering teams.

3. The ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge may use your materials to facilitate connections with potential investors, customers, and partners for your company.

MISCELLANEOUS
1. The ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge's 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 ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge or its affiliates, as determined at the sole discretion of ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge's Managing Directors, may result in disqualification from ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge and/or the requirement that any ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge awards be forfeited and/or returned.

3. These Rules and Conditions of Eligibility may be revised periodically by ClimaTech's Great Global Innovation Challenge. 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

Explanation and Consent Clause for Climatech's Great Global Innovation Challenge Application

Overview:

As part of Climatech’s Great Global Innovation Challenge, we leverage advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to assess and score each startup on several key dimensions. This process supports a fair, consistent, and comprehensive evaluation of all applicants. The AI will utilize natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning models, including OpenAI's GPT-4o, Stack-AI.com, XPV.ai, and potentially additional AI models from Anthropic, Meta, Google, Perplexity, and/or HuggingFace, to analyze your application based on criteria such as Potential Climate Impact, Solution Creativity, Idea Feasibility, and Team Composition. The scores generated by the AI will be used alongside human evaluations to select the startups to present at the challenge.

Background:

Research has demonstrated that "Data-driven initiatives have been shown to help VC firms reduce gender bias and make better, fairer investment decisions" (Data-Driven VC / source). Additionally, "Machine learning models have already been proven to outperform human investors in deal screening" (Data-Driven VC / report), helping to identify high-potential startups more effectively. By incorporating AI into our evaluation process, we aim to ensure a more equitable and objective selection of startups.

Evaluation Criteria:

- Potential Climate Impact: The AI will assess the startup's potential environmental benefit in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, waste reduction, carbon removal, and the number of lives affected.

- Solution Creativity: The AI will evaluate the innovativeness and originality of the project, considering whether the idea offers new and creative solutions to existing problems in the field.

- Idea Feasibility: The AI will analyze the soundness and realism of the business model, the team’s knowledge of potential obstacles, identification of a specific market or customer, and the scalability of the solution.

- Team Composition: The AI will assess the balance and expertise of the team, considering the diversity of backgrounds, technical expertise, and the team’s plan for future growth.

In addition, during the final stage of the selection process, there will be an AI judge to provide real-time assessments of the finalist presentations. This AI judge will vote alongside 4-5 human judges. This innovative approach aims to enhance the objectivity and thoroughness of our selection process.

Data Privacy and Security:

We take data privacy and security seriously. 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. 

Your participation in this process is crucial for us to identify and support the most impactful climate tech innovations. By submitting your application, you provide explicit consent to the use of AI in assisting with evaluating your application and during the live judging of the finals.

AI Prompts:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13OLVqIbtcfN0Ukv4GvbGhAfFD3uCt6kjfGTMr6tSu6g/edit?usp=sharing 

Consent Clause:

Consent for Use of AI in Evaluation Process

☐ I understand and agree that my application for Climatech’s Great Global Innovation Challenge will be evaluated using artificial intelligence (AI) technology, including models such as including OpenAI's GPT-4o, Stack-AI.com, XPV.ai, and potentially additional AI models from Anthropic, Meta, Google, Perplexity, and/or HuggingFace,. This includes scoring my startup on various dimensions such as Potential Climate Impact, Solution Creativity, Idea Feasibility, and Team Composition. I also consent to the use of an AI judge during the final stage of the selection process. I acknowledge that the AI assessments will be used in conjunction with human evaluations to make final decisions on challenge participation. Additionally, I understand that my data will be handled and protected according to the data privacy and security standards of these platforms.