Plug and Play and Alibaba.com Team Up on CoCreate Pitch 2026

Plug and Play will lead sourcing, selection, and program delivery for the global entrepreneurship competition, which awards more than $1M across finals in Los Angeles and London

LOS ANGELES and LONDON, Aug. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Plug and Play, the leading innovation platform connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies, has partnered with Alibaba.com on CoCreate Pitch 2026. The competition sits at the center of the CoCreate Summit and will culminate in live finals in Los Angeles on Sept. 9–10, 2026, and London on Nov. 19–20, 2026, alongside three newly launched Asia-Pacific regional competitions.

Launched in the U.S and Europe in 2025, CoCreate Pitch returns for 2026 as an artificial intelligence (AI) product innovation competition. The relaunch reflects what Alibaba.com describes as a broader shift in global trade from business-to-business (B2B) to agent-to-agent (A2A) commerce.

That shift is powered by Accio Alibaba.com's enterprise AI agent, which helps entrepreneurs source, launch, and scale a business with a fraction of the traditional operational overhead. Applicants can register for CoCreate Pitch through Accio, which now includes a dedicated CoCreate Pitch Agent that turns early-stage concepts into structured pitch proposals and actionable plans.

"CoCreate Pitch has always been about giving entrepreneurs a real stage and real resources," said Liz Wang, global head of commercial strategy at Alibaba.com. "AI is changing how businesses are built and scaled, and tools like Accio, are a testament to that. With Plug and Play's two decades of experience identifying and nurturing startups worldwide, this year's competition goes further than ever, pairing AI with hands-on mentorship and direct access to capital, so founders can focus on what matters — building something the world needs."

As the competition's end-to-end partner, Plug and Play will lead sourcing, selection, and program delivery for CoCreate Pitch 2026. It will tap its network of corporate partners, venture capital firms, and mentors to recruit entrepreneurs, startups, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the U.S., Asia, and Europe.

Backed by nearly two decades of scouting and mentoring entrepreneurs worldwide, Plug and Play will identify the strongest finalists and prepare them for the live finals with pitch training, fundraising guidance, and direct access to its global network of mentors, venture capital firms, and corporate partners.

"Plug and Play was built on a simple belief — extraordinary entrepreneurs can come from anywhere," said Seena Amidi, EMEA managing director at Plug and Play. "That belief is why we're partnering with Alibaba.com on CoCreate Pitch, the centerpiece of the CoCreate Summit. Our mission has always been to find the people others might overlook, give them a chance, and invest up to $1M so that one great idea, at the intersection of AI and global commerce, can become the next great company."

CoCreate Pitch 2026 spans three competition tracks:

• General SMEs Track — for established small and medium businesses ready to scale.
• 0-to-1 Startup Track — for founders turning a raw idea into a real product, using Accio Work to move from concept to execution.
• Student Track — open to current students building and pitching the products of the future.

The Los Angeles and London finals will each feature 20 finalists competing live at CoCreate, judged by a panel of industry leaders and investors. In each final, first, second, and third place will receive $200,000, $100,000, and $50,000, respectively, while the remaining 17 finalists will each receive $10,000 — bringing the combined prize pool across both finals to more than $1M. Prize details for the new Asia-Pacific regional round will be announced separately.

Applications for CoCreate Pitch 2026 are open at alibabacocreate.com.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 60+ locations across 25+ industries. We offer corporate innovation programs, helping our partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also run startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit Plug and Play.

About Alibaba.com

Launched in 1999, Alibaba.com is a leading platform for global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce that serves buyers and suppliers from over 200 countries and regions around the world. It is engaged in services covering various aspects of commerce, including providing businesses with tools that help them reach a global audience for their products and helping buyers discover products, find suppliers, and place orders online fast and efficiently. Alibaba.com is part of Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group.

Plug and Play Press Contact

Alba Brotons

Communications & Events Associate

[email protected]

SOURCE Plug and Play