Please read these rules carefully before registering. By participating in the FinAI Pitch Competition, all team members agree to abide by these Official Rules & Guidelines.
1Eligibility
1.1 Student Eligibility
- The Competition is open to all high school students.
- Open to students currently enrolled in grades 9 through 12 (or international equivalents) at an accredited high school.
- Students must be between the ages of 14 and 18 at the time of the submission deadline.
- Students who have already graduated from high school are not eligible, regardless of age.
2Teams
2.1 Team Size
- Teams must consist of one (1) to five (5) students.
- Team members can consist of students from the same or different high school.
- All team members are required to register.
2.2 Faculty Advisor Involvement
- Faculty Advisors may provide guidance, feedback, and resources but must not develop, write, or present any part of the team's submission.
2.3 Modifying Team Members
- Team composition is locked at the registration deadline. No additions or replacements of team members will be permitted after that point.
- If a team member withdraws before the final presentation, the team may continue with the remaining members.
3The Prompt & Judging Criteria
3.1 Theme
All submissions must address a challenge at the intersection of Finance and Artificial Intelligence. Teams should propose a new product, service, or system that uses AI to solve a real financial problem or improve a financial process.
3.2 Judging Guidelines
Submissions are evaluated across four dimensions:
About the Problem
- “What specific problem in the world of finance does it solve?”
- “How impactful is your solution, and to what scale?”
About the AI Application or Agency
- “How much potential does your solution have? Be specific.”
- “What advantages does your AI offer to your specific problem?”
The Business Model
- “What type of finance firm would adopt your AI agency?”
- “What is the intent of your solution? (Nonprofit, Open source, Educational, For-profit, etc.)”
About the Risk
- “What are some risks/concerns? How could they be addressed?”
- “Who is your target audience?”
4Submissions
4.1 Required Deliverables
All submissions must include every item listed below. Incomplete submissions will not advance to the judging stage.
- Pitch Video (No more than 8 minutes, YouTube link): A team-recorded video pitch. All members must be visible on screen and speak.
- Pitch Deck (Recommended): A visual presentation covering the problem, solution, AI/finance integration, target audience, and business model.
4.2 Submission Deadlines
- Submission links must be submitted through the official online portal by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the posted deadline date.
- Late submissions will not be accepted for any reason. Participants are strongly encouraged to upload at least 48 hours early.
- The last version submitted before the deadline is the version that will be reviewed. Prior drafts are not considered.
4.3 Intellectual Property
- Teams retain full ownership of their ideas and submitted materials.
- By submitting, teams grant the competition the right to display, share, and archive submissions.
5Plagiarism & Academic Integrity
5.1 Originality Requirement
- All submitted content must be the original work of the listed team members.
- Submissions may not be reused from past competitions or other academic work.
5.2 Academic Work Policy
- The use of large language models (LLMs) is allowed to help expand thinking; however, depending on AI will result in unoriginal ideas which can negatively impact a submission.
- Confirmed plagiarism or academic dishonesty will result in disqualification.
6General Provisions
6.1 Privacy and Liability Waiver
- Information collected during registration is only used to run the Competition.
- Team names, school affiliations, and pitch summaries of finalists and winners may appear on official pages or social media websites.
FinAI Pitch Competition Official Rules & Guidelines · 2026 · finaipitchcompetition.org