The Delin Cup 2026 AI Startup Contest lays out its rewards first. The champion takes RMB 2 million in cash, unconditional and equity-free, a sum that dwarfs the RMB 300,000 to 600,000 typical of domestic AI contests. Up to 15 finalist teams enter a roughly 4,000-square-metre Delin Residency for ten weeks of deep incubation.
During the residency, office, housing, catering, compute, hardware labs and industry resources are all free, so teams start working on day one. Each resident team can draw up to RMB 5 million in equity investment. The tenth week ends with a Demo Day where more than 30 top venture firms hear the 15 teams pitch.
The space itself is the point. Delin calls it a purpose-built environment for founder focus, designed around the state of flow rather than perks.
The judging criteria are practical. First, solve a real scenario rather than chase abstract hype, so AI ability turns from a one-off novelty into something users pay for repeatedly. Second, hold a real product, not just packaging, which is why the contest requires at least an MVP or demo. Third, keep fast iteration and self-controlled command of the modules that define the product’s intelligence, so a base-model update cannot erase the edge.
Sign-up runs through the Delin Capital mobile page and website.
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Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original Leiphone report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience.
Translated and adapted from Leiphone (https://www.leiphone.com/latest/index/id/4765).