Celebrating Regional Innovation: NavalX Crucible Alumni Take Home Honors at Riverside County Innovation Month Pitch Competition

Startups and organizers gather at the 2025 Riverside County Innovation Month Final Pitch Competition, celebrating innovation, entrepreneurship, and the power of collaboration across the Inland Empire.

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Innovation was on full display at the 2025 Riverside County Innovation Month Pitch Finale & Startup World Cup Regional Competition—an event that brought together regional champions from four local pitch competitions across the Coachella Valley, Southwest Region, Hemet-San Jacinto Valley, and Riverside. Held at the Riverside Convention Center, the finale spotlighted Riverside County’s most promising entrepreneurs as they pitched their technologies and business models to a panel of industry experts, investors, and community leaders.

We’re especially proud to celebrate two graduates of our NavalX Crucible Innovation Program who earned second and third place at the event, Super Foam Corp. who won second place and Carmine Minerals who won third, demonstrating how dual-use startups can address both commercial and national security challenges. Their success underscores the strength of the Crucible Program in accelerating early-stage ventures and supporting dual-use innovators through mentorship, partnerships, and ecosystem support.

The Riverside County Innovation Month Pitch Finale—now in its 8th year—also marked a new milestone with its partnership with Human Bulb and the Startup World Cup, giving one Riverside County startup the opportunity to compete for a $1 million equity investment at the global finale in San Francisco.

Programs like Crucible and events like Innovation Month are key to building the Inland Empire’s innovation ecosystem. We’re proud to see our region’s entrepreneurs not only thrive locally—but gain national and global visibility. Learn more about regional innovation initiatives at InnovationEmpire.org.