On July 29, the Arizona Commerce Authority announced it was accepting applications for the Fall 2025 Cohort of the Arizona Innovation Challenge , one of the nation’s largest business plan competitions. Through the competition, startups compete head-to-head for seed funding and will work with venture capitalists and expert mentors to support the trajectory of their business.

MORE NEWS: Read the 2025 Ranking Arizona Top 10 lists here

Over a 12-week period, the Fall 2025 AIC awardees will work with a successful startup mentor, known as an Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR), to refine the startup’s business plan, plan financial strategies, and track progress towards growth goals.

Within a few weeks, the ACA received 67 applications for the Fall 2025 cohort, which focuses on AI/SaaS sta

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