Bench to Bedside APEX Competition 2026
University of Utah Health – Center for Medical Innovation
📌About the Event
Bench to Bedside APEX Competition 2026 is a global healthcare innovation and medtech startup competition by the University of Utah Health – Center for Medical Innovation. It is designed for student-founded companies working on medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, biomedical engineering, and healthcare technologies. The competition helps young innovators convert clinical needs into practical healthcare solutions through funding, mentorship, incubation support, and global exposure.
ℹ️ Event Details
- Domain: Healthcare Innovation, Medtech, Medical Devices, Diagnostics, Digital Health, Biotechnology
- Mode of Conduct: Hybrid
- Application: Online
- Preliminary Round: Virtual on Zoom
- Grand Finale: In-person at Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Competition Period: May 2026 – October 2026
- Organizer: University of Utah Health – Center for Medical Innovation
- Best For: Medical, engineering, biotechnology, biomedical, design, business, and health-tech startup students
📅 Important Dates
- Application Opens: 1 May 2026
- Application Deadline: 22 June 2026, 11:59 PM MDT
- Preliminary / Virtual Judging Round: 27–28 July 2026
- Finalist Announcement: Early August 2026
- APEX Grand Finale: 23–24 October 2026
- Finale Location: Sorenson Center for Medical Innovation, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
🎯 Eligibility & Rules
- Eligibility: Open to current students enrolled at accredited universities worldwide.
- Recent Graduates: Students who graduated in 2025 or later can also apply.
- Startup Ownership Rule: Students or recent graduates must hold at least 51% ownership and be decision-makers in the company.
- Funding Limit: Startups that have raised more than $350,000 in combined funding are not eligible.
- Competition Categories:
- Emerging Innovators: Teams with less than $50,000 raised
- Scaling Startups: Teams with less than $350,000 raised
- Project Focus: Teams should be building solutions in medical devices, diagnostics, health technologies, digital health, AI in healthcare, biomedical engineering, or related healthcare innovation areas.
- Submission Requirements:
- Business Plan: Maximum 20 pages, with up to 10 additional appendix pages
- Executive Summary: Maximum 1 page
- Video Pitch: 3-minute pitch video
- Evaluation Process: Teams present their business plans and innovations to judges with clinical, engineering, and investment expertise.
- Finalist Selection: Five finalist teams from each category advance to the APEX Grand Finale.
- Final Round: Finalists pitch live before industry executives and compete for the grand prize.
- Attendance Requirement: Selected teams are expected to attend the Virtual Judging Round and the in-person Grand Finale.
🏆 Prize Details and Value
- Cash Prize: $50,000 non-dilutive funding for each winning startup.
- Number of Winners: Two winners — one from Emerging Innovators and one from Scaling Startups.
- Incubation Support: One year of dedicated incubator space at the Sorenson Center for Medical Innovation.
- Mentorship: Dedicated support from clinicians, engineers, entrepreneurs, and healthcare industry experts.
- Facilities Access: Access to prototyping facilities, consulting services, and SCMI programming.
- Scholarship Benefit: Scholarship to the Master of Business Creation program at the David Eccles School of Business.
- Travel Support: Finalist teams may apply for a travel stipend to attend the Grand Finale.
- Networking: Opportunity to connect with investors, mentors, healthcare innovators, and industry leaders.