Alibaba.com has partnered with Kickstarter for its CoCreate Pitch 2025 competition, a $1 million initiative aimed at helping entrepreneurs turn product concepts into commercially viable businesses.
Kickstarter will serve as the official crowdfunding partner for the competition. Alibaba.com positions the competition as the largest product-focused pitch event globally. The partnership links Alibaba.com’s B2B sourcing platform — used by more than 50 million business buyers — with Kickstarter’s crowdfunding network of 23 million backers. The goal: to give early-stage founders access to both funding and supply chain infrastructure.
Alibaba owns the world’s two largest online marketplaces by gross merchandise value (GMV), Taobao and Tmall. Taobao ranks No. 1 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest such marketplaces by GMV. Tmall ranks No. 2. Both platforms operate in China and primarily serve the Chinese market. Among Alibaba’s other marketplaces is the global B2B marketplace Alibaba.com.
About the Alibaba pitch competition with Kickstarter
CoCreate Pitch will select 100 semi-finalists to present their ideas at two regional events — 70 in Las Vegas from Sept. 4–5, and 30 in London on Nov. 14. Two grand prize winners (one per region) will receive $200,000 each, split evenly between cash and Alibaba.com sourcing credits. 20 additional winners will receive up to $40,000 under the same terms.
The program is designed to support physical product startups, particularly those looking to move from prototype to manufacturing and distribution. In addition to funding, participants will receive access to Alibaba.com’s sourcing tools, supplier network, and platform resources.
As part of the collaboration with Alibaba, Kickstarter will promote the competition through its platform, offer coaching to selected founders, and participate in judging. Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor will join the panel of judges at both events. Finalists who launch campaigns on Kickstarter within 12 months will be eligible for marketing support, including homepage placement and expert guidance.
Alibaba.com and Kickstarter will also launch co-branded web portals on their respective sites to centralize competition resources and help streamline the application process.
To enter, entrepreneurs can submit a 30-second video on Instagram or TikTok with the hashtag #CoCreatePitch and tag @Alibaba.com_official, or apply directly at pitch.alibabacocreate.com. The application deadlines are Aug. 15 for Las Vegas and Oct. 15 for London. Submissions will be judged on innovation, feasibility, and market potential.
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