The barriers to launching a company have never been lower. Cloud infrastructure is cheaper, development cycles are faster, and technical expertise, once limited to a select few, is now accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Yet, this accessibility has created a new bottleneck.

As it becomes easier to launch, more startups are competing for the same attention and capital. In that race, founders with elite networks and proximity to major hubs are often seen first, keeping startups invisible, sidelined before they even have a chance to enter the market.

Nowhere is this dynamic more apparent than in AI. Between February and May 2025, VCs poured more than $69 billion into North American AI and machine learning startups, compared with $6.4 billion in European AI ventures and $3 billion in Asia.

Even Israel, a smaller market competing with entire continents, raised approximately $15.6 billion in 2025, with a significant portion of the investments focused on AI. In a field defined by global talent, capital remains concentrated in familiar geographies and circles.

As a result, even startups that solve some of the world’s most complex problems aren’t rewarded the same opportunities simply because they aren’t based in the world’s innovation hubs. In response to this visibility gap, Deel has launched “The Pitch,” a global startup competition designed to identify, promote, and invest in leading Seed-stage founders worldwide. 

The program includes an investment pool of more than $15 million and is expected to attract more than 20,000 startups across seven countries. At the global finale in Abu Dhabi in May, Deel says up to 10 ventures could receive up to a $1 million investment each.

Deel has structured the competition into seven in-person regional finals across major tech hubs, with Tel Aviv hosting the first event on March 23, 2026. An estimated 40 Israeli finalists are expected, 15 of whom will advance to the final round.

Winners of the Tel Aviv regional final will also receive media and brand support from ReBlonde PR, a communications firm that has extensive experience with technology companies and startups across various industries.

The initiative aims to identify promising startups regardless of geographic location, giving them a direct path to investors and market attention that would otherwise be difficult to access.

It is also designed to move faster than traditional fundraising, as early-stage rounds can take months of outreach, meetings, and due diligence before founders secure backing. The Pitch is structured as a compressed, roughly three-month cycle from application to the global finale.

Applications opened on February 5, with founders asked to submit details on their startup, product, and traction. Compared with other international accelerators, Deel expects the final acceptance rate to be approximately 0.05%, making it among the most selective globally.

The additional six locations for the regional events include Dubai, Singapore, New York, Paris, London, and Berlin, with up to 100 regional-round winners receiving a $50,000 investment.

Rather than treating funding as the finish line, the program keeps founders engaged by providing access to Deel’s online startup community, where they can find investor mentorship and connect with builders facing similar early-stage challenges. The competition is supported by partners including a16z, Google, Stripe, JP Morgan, Mubadala, Ribbit Ventures, dLocal, and others.