Judges selected six finalists based on the quality of their business plans. Each finalist presented its plan to the Final Awards audience of more than 500 including venture capitalists and business leaders. The event reached a global audience through a live Internet broadcast. Entrepreneurial luminaries led the ceremonies. Student entrepreneurs must actually launch their companies to receive the prize money.
Several teams have conditional commitments for venture financing in hand.
The mission of the program is to produce tomorrow's leading firms. MIT is a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship having spawned more 4,000 companies and 1.1 million jobs. MIT's unique combination of world class Science and Engineering schools and MIT Sloan School of Management have provided students with the edge to launch successful companies in today's technological marketplace.