Hult Prize Foundation

What Hult Prize Foundation does

The Hult Prize Foundation is a private nonprofit organization that operates what it describes as the world's largest student startup competition, engaging 200,000+ participants annually across 130+ countries. Founded in 2010 by Bertil Hult, founder of EF Education First, the foundation runs a five-stage annual competition — Qualifiers, Nationals, Digital Incubator, Global Accelerator, and Global Finals — targeted at university student teams of 2-4 members building for-profit ventures aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. The winning team receives $1M USD in seed funding each year. The foundation is headquartered at 1 Education Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and employs 51-100 staff.

The competition is delivered through a community-embedded platform spanning campus-level qualifiers at 2,000+ university partners globally, an open online application, a six-week virtual Digital Incubator for approximately 80 teams, a four-week in-person Global Accelerator at Ashridge House near London for the top 20 teams, and a Global Finals event where 8 finalists pitch for the prize. The foundation operates a proprietary Progressive Scorecard System that standardizes evaluation across stages — universal criteria (Team, Problem, Impact, Business) apply at all stages, with additional criteria (Product Market Fit at Nationals, Traction at Incubator, Scaling at Finals) layered on as startups advance. A partner perks ecosystem of 25+ technology and service providers contributes $650K+ in startup benefits unlocked from the Digital Incubator stage onward.

The foundation's revenue model combines two streams: equity warrants for approximately 10% of fully-diluted equity in the winning startup (exercised upon full prize disbursement) and corporate sponsorship/partnership revenue. Operations are anchored by financial backing from the Hult family and EF Education First. The organization is incorporated in Massachusetts, has no publicly disclosed funding rounds, and does not publish revenue figures.

Name

Hult Prize Foundation

Legal name

Hult Prize Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://hultprize.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Hult Prize Foundation operates the world's largest student startup competition, engaging 200,000+ participants from 2,000+ universities across 130+ countries annually. Each year, it awards $1M USD in seed funding to a winning student team in exchange for an equity stake.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Accelerator / Entrepreneurship Competition

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Student startup competition
• Social entrepreneurship accelerator
• Seed funding prize
• University entrepreneurship program
• Global startup competition

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Equity Stake in Winning Startups: The Hult Prize Foundation generates revenue by taking an equity stake (typically 10%) in winning startups in exchange for the $1M USD prize funding. This equity stake funds the foundation's nonprofit operations. The organization receives warrants exercisable for 10% of fully-diluted equity upon full funding disbursement.
2. Sponsorship and Partnership Revenue: Corporate sponsors and partners provide financial support and in-kind contributions (perks valued at $650K+) in exchange for global brand visibility, talent pipeline access, and engagement with 200,000+ changemakers across 130+ countries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Hult Prize Foundation operates the world's largest student startup competition, structured as a five-stage progressive program: Qualifiers (campus/local), Nationals (country-level), Digital Incubator (virtual 6-week program), Global Accelerator (in-person at Ashridge House, UK), and Global Finals. The competition awards $1M USD in seed funding to one winning team annually, with the foundation taking an equity stake (typically 10%) in the winning startup as its primary funding mechanism. The program is free to enter, open to student teams of 2-4 members, and requires ventures to align with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Product overview

Hult Prize Foundation operates the world's largest student startup competition, structured as a five-stage progressive program: Qualifiers (campus/local), Nationals (country-level), Digital Incubator (virtual 6-week program), Global Accelerator (in-person at Ashridge House, UK), and Global Finals. The competition awards $1M USD in seed funding to one winning team annually. The program is free to enter, open to student teams of 2-4 members, and requires ventures to align with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Participants gain access to mentorship, educational resources, and a partner perks ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hult Prize Competition (Qualifiers)

Quantifiable outcome

• 84% improvement in students' abilities to express ideas (Stick 'Em, 2025 winner)
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hult International Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010The Hult Prize was founded at Hult International Business School, where hands-on learning is core to the experience. The school continues to be a key partner in the Hult Prize ecosystem, and top 20 finalists receive 50% scholarships for any Master's degree.
• Ashridge HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Global Accelerator program is hosted at Ashridge House, a historic campus near London. This provides the venue for the month-long intensive mentorship and business bootcamp experience.
• Partner Perks EcosystemminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOver 25 partners provide $650K+ in startup benefits including: Chronicle (education), EF (language courses), Hult Business School (scholarships), Forecastr (fundraising), Figma (design), GitHub (development), HubSpot (CRM), Deel (HR/payroll), DigitalOcean (cloud), Webflow (web development), and others. These perks are unlocked starting at the Digital Incubator stage.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/hultprize
• Facebookfacebook.com/hultprize
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hult-prize-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/hultprize
• Xx.com/hultprize

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments22 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hult Prize Foundation