Analytics
Across the years
Disclosed cash totals, outcome distribution and the small set of repeat finalists drawn from primary UCI sources.
Disclosed cash prizes by year
Figures reflect cash prizes itemised in the Merage primary source for each year. In-kind awards like AWS credits or residency placements are excluded.
| Year | Total (USD) | Bar |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $67K | |
| 2016 | $82K | |
| 2017 | $85K | |
| 2018 | $100K | |
| 2019 | $70K | |
| 2020 | $91K | |
| 2021 | $61K | |
| 2022 | $100K | |
| 2023 | $100K | |
| 2024 | $100K | |
| 2025 | $103K |
The 2021 cash total reflects the MoodCloud and REMSYS shared 1st prize. The 2017 total includes the co-located Blum Center "Designing Solutions for Poverty Alleviation" pool.
Outcome distribution
| Outcome | Teams | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 28% | ||
| Acquired | 2 | 1% | |
| Pivoted | 5 | 4% | |
| Shut down | 1 | 0% | |
| Dormant | 6 | 5% | |
| No public outcome | 68 | 59% |
Donut segments are sorted largest first, starting at twelve o'clock.
Repeat finalists
Founders who appeared in more than one edition. The pattern is rare. Only four individuals across the indexed years.
| Founder | Appearances |
|---|---|
| Simon Loo |
2016 · FunBand · 1st (Consumer Products)
2017 · Element: B2B2C · Track Award (Business Products) 1st |
| Pravin Surana |
2016 · Negocios & Etc. · Blum Center for Poverty Alleviation Award
2017 · APIC Diagnostics · Tech Surge 2nd |
| Daniel Dai |
2017 · Purist · Grand Prize (School of Medicine); Tech Surge 1st
2018 · Graduate Data · Track Award (Consumer Services) 2nd |
| Dylan Riffle |
2023 · Leprendo · Grand Finale Runner-Up; Track Award (Consumer Services) 1st
2024 · Two Cube · Track Award (Life Sciences) 1st |
Two teams in a single year
- Donald "Don" Magnuson (2017): Purist (Grand Prize SoM, Tech Surge 1st), COMPAS (Business Products 2nd)
Prize structure shift
- Grand Prize size. $15,000 in 2017 (the School-of-Medicine award) and again $15,000 in 2020 per the official 2019-2020 NVC Report. Baby Box's widely-quoted $25,000 from 2020 was the combined Grand Prize plus Consumer Products 1st award. Settled at $20,000 from 2022 to 2025.
- Standard track payouts. $4,000 and $1,500 in 2017, then $10,000 and $5,000 from 2018 onward. Roughly a sixfold jump in a single year.
- MIE Award. Introduced in 2020 with Baby Box as the first MIE-affiliated winner. A recurring specialty since.
- Audience Favorite. Intermittent. It appeared in 2020, 2021 and 2025. Typically $1,000.