AWS Start-Up Challenge Announced

Welcome to the third annual 2009 AWS Start-Up Challenge. We’re looking for the most promising start-ups that can grow into significant, meaningful, and lasting companies that leverage AWS to build its infrastructure and business.

Start-ups in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Israel are encouraged to apply for a chance to win $50,000 in cash, $50,000 in AWScredits, mentoring sessions from AWS technical experts, and AWS Premium Support Gold for one year.

Tell Us About It
To enter, tell us about your existing company or your start-up idea by completing the online application by August 26, 2009. The judges will review all applications and choose 5 finalists based on the following criteria: originality and creativity of the idea, likelihood of long-term success and scalability, how well it addresses a need in the marketplace, implementation of payments functionality, quality of presentation, and implementation of AWSinfrastructure services and/or other paid services.

The Final Event
In October, the finalists will be announced and we will post a video of each finalist on aws.amazon.com where the community can vote for their favorite start-up as they prepare for the final judging round.

For the final event, AWS will fly each of the finalists to San Jose, CA, USA to present their idea to a judges panel ofAWS executives. That evening, finalists will pitch their business to a live audience and a panel of leaders from the venture capital community then the grand prize winner will be announced.

Reap the Rewards
The grand prize winner will receive $50,000 in cash, $50,000 in AWS service credits, mentoring sessions from AWStechnical experts, and AWS Premium Support Gold for one year. The grand prize winner may also receive a possible investment offer from Amazon. All runner-up finalists will receive $5,000 in AWS service credits and all finalists will be included in various promotional activities.

Plus, all eligible entrants completing the application form will receive $25 in AWS service credits.

New Bonus Award for 2009
The AWS Start-Up Challenge finalist with the most creative monetization model using Amazon Flexible Payments Service (FPS) or Simple Pay from Amazon Payments will receive $5,000 in cash and $5,000 in Amazon Payments credits. Also, all finalists using these payment services will receive $2,500 in Amazon Payments credits and will be included in various promotional activities.

See the Official Rules and Prizes for more information.

Source: http://aws.amazon.com/startupchallenge/