Dent Spark ⚡ AI Pitch Competition - Spring 26:
The next generation of AI companies is being built now, Dent Spark is where we meet them early.
Dent Spark ⚡ returns this spring for its third edition, bringing together a curated group of AI-native startups, investors, and operators for our flagship AI pitch competition, held in person in Palo Alto, CA.
We select a small number of pre-seed and seed-stage AI startups building across vertical applications, core workflows, and the infrastructure powering them, and invite them to pitch in front of leading investors. Dent writes the first check into the top companies.
🚀 What’s at stake?
- $250,000+ in investment
- OpenAI and Stripe credits
- Direct access to leading AI investors and operators
- Ongoing support from Dent’s network of 300+ AI, functional and vertical experts
📅 Applications now open!
- If you’re ready to make a dent, we want to hear from you. Apply by April 27, 2026
- Please feel free to email questions to team@dentcap.com
Meet the Judges
Linus Liang
(Founder & MP, Kyber Knight)
Linus invests in the future of commerce, AI, and labor. Linus was a serial founder and joined Zynga’s founding team as employee #10, following the exit of his start-up. Prior to that, he was an operator at Microsoft and IBM.
Recent AI investments:
Mercor.com and Paxton.ai.
Kathleen Estreich
(Partner, Pear VC)
Kathleen focuses on B2B and AI. Prior to Pear, she was co-founder of MKT1, a fund that helps startups build marketing team and strategy. She was a VP at Scalyr (acq. by SentinelOne) and was an operator at Intercom, Box and Facebook
Recent AI investments:
Wexler.ai and Dealops.com.
Javier Redondo
(Partner, Scale Venture Partners)
Javier focuses on opportunities in infrastructure and devops, with particular interest in open source. Javier has product and operating experience across distributed systems, consumer, fintech at Anyscale, Confluent and Klarna
Recent AI investments:
Galileo.ai and Unwrap.ai.
Anna Piñol
(Partner, NFX)
Anna focuses on AI applications transforming the workforce, marketplaces, and fintech, and also has a keen interest in the next wave of consumer companies. She is a former founder of a YC backed startup and operator at Amazon.
Recent AI investments:
Autograph.ai and Maisa.ai.
Past judges
Timeline
Applications now open!
Deadline: 4/27/26
Open to U.S.-based AI-first startups at the seed and pre-seed stage. Finalists will be selected on a rolling basis, so applying early gives you the best chance to be considered
Elite AI mentorship
Rolling until 5/7/26
Top 10 finalists will be paired with AI experts and leading industry experts for personalized guidance, idea refinement, and product feedback
Pitch finals (in-person, Palo Alto, CA)
5/8/26 - afternoon PT
Finalists will pitch live, and the top 3 winners will split at least $250,000 in SAFE investments from Dent Capital (we invested >$500k last edition). Terms will be finalized post-award, we’re open to participating in existing rounds where applicable
Lasting Relationships
Build valuable connections with AI pioneers and venture capitalists, potentially leading to ongoing advisory relationships and future collaboration opportunities
Sponsored by:
