Pitch Competition Will Award Early-Stage Startup a SAFE Investment from Costanoa

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Costanoa, a leading early-stage venture capital firm, is sponsoring the 2026 Innovation Showcase pitch competition at the fifth annual MIT–Harvard Technology and National Security Conference taking place on April 4, 2026.

As part of its sponsorship, Costanoa will award a $100,000 SAFE investment to the winning startup, recognizing exceptional early-stage companies developing technologies critical to national security, defense, and global resilience. Costanoa is a leading investor in over a dozen national security startups, including Cape, Hidden Level, Muon Space, Vannevar Labs and more.

The annual conference, hosted jointly by MIT and Harvard Business School, convenes more than 800 leaders from government, venture capital, defense, academia, and industry to examine the intersection of technology and national security. This year's theme, "Acta Non Verba: Innovating for the Frontlines," focuses on the technologies, startups, investors and government leaders working to turn bold ideas into operational impact. Tickets for the conference are available here.

Innovation Showcase: Applications Now Open
The Innovation Showcase serves as a forum for emerging companies building solutions for modern national security challenges and will be judged by leaders across venture and defense, including Greg Sands, Founder & Managing Partner at Costanoa, and John Doyle, Founder & CEO of Cape. Five standout finalists will pitch their startups during the conference for a chance to win:

• A term sheet for a $100K SAFE investment from Costanoa for first place
• Additional non-dilutive grants from Common Mission Project for first ($5K), second ($3K), third place ($1K), and crowd favorite ($1K).
• Selected startups will also receive two complimentary tickets to the conference.

To be eligible, startups must meet the following criteria:

• Pre-Seed to Seed
• Focused on national security, defense, and other real-world operational challenges

If you are an eligible startup interested in participating in the Innovation Showcase, please apply here. The deadline to submit your application is February 27, 2026 at 5 pm ET on. Finalists will be notified by March 6, 2026.

Past Innovation Showcase winners include John Maslin of Vulcan Elements, which subsequently raised over $1B in federal and private capital, and Rehydrate, a defense tech startup building next-generation solutions for logistics, sustainment, and operational resilience in contested environments.

About Costanoa
Costanoa exists to elevate founders building companies of consequence. We lead investments from formation through Series A in Applied AI, AI Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, National Security, and Fintech. With $2.5B AUM, we're boutique by design—making fewer investments to deliver deeper expertise and operational support when it matters most: the early, defining stages of growth. We have been recognized as one of America's Top Venture Capital Firms by TIME and named to a top 4 Seed-Stage firm on Inc.'s Founder-Friendly Investors list. For more information, please visit www.costanoa.vc.

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SOURCE Costanoa Ventures