The Aurora Tech Award, an annual prize launched by global mobility and urban services platform inDrive, has opened applications for its 2026 edition. The initiative aims to highlight women founders of early-stage tech startups, providing a total of $85,000 in prize money as well as access to mentorship and other valuable support.

Applications will remain open August 12 – November 12, 2025 at auroratechaward.com. To apply, startups must be founded or co-founded and led by a woman, be no more than five years old, have a working prototype or early traction with customers, be at the pre-seed or seed stage, and have raised less than $6 million.

The award, launched by global mobility and urban services platform inDrive in 2020, focuses on women founders, who are building scalable, socially impactful solutions across the tech industry. The 2025 edition drew a record 2,018 applications from 116 countries, double the previous year, representing different sectors of the tech industry, including AI, health tech, fintech, edtech and agrotech.

The first prize winner will receive $50,000, with second and third-prize winners set to be awarded $20,000 and $15,000 respectively. In addition to funding, finalists will also receive business support in the form of access to a curated network of investors and strategic partners, inDrive’s global expertise and mentoring support, and other resources to help them grow, fundraise and scale their startups internationally.

Quarterfinalists will be announced on December 8, 2025, with finalists revealed in early 2026. Finalists will join a two-month mentorship program before the awards ceremony, which will be held in the spring of 2026.

“The Aurora Tech Award is more than a prize – it’s a springboard for the next generation of bold women founders from emerging markets,” said Isabella Ghassemi-Smith, Head of the Aurora Tech Award. “We provide not just funding, but access to top investors, global networks, and the tools to scale ventures that will shape the future of entire industries.”

Past finalists highlight both the visibility and tangible support the program provides. “Very few women-centric programs provide actual funding,” said Shreya Prakash, 2025 third-place winner and founder of FlexiBees, a platform connecting businesses with experienced women professionals seeking to re-enter the workforce or find flexible work arrangements. “The Aurora Tech Award backed its belief in women entrepreneurs with the catalyst of capital.”

Thais Sterenberg, a 2025 finalist from Brazil, added: “I applied to the Aurora Tech Award because I believe it’s essential to amplify the voices of women creating real-world solutions through technology. Being recognized by a global community that shares this mission was both empowering and deeply validating,”

The Aurora Tech Award is part of impact initiatives supported by inDrive, the world’s second-most downloaded ride-hailing app, operating in 982 cities across 48 countries.

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