Startup Row

Startup Row is where early-stage companies go to show off what they’re doing with Python at PyCon US.

At PyCon US, we reserve a special place for startup companies. Startup Row companies receive complimentary conference passes, booth space on Thursday evening for the Opening Reception (May 15, 2025) as well as on Friday and Saturday of the main conference (May 16 - 17, 2025), access to the Job Fair (May 18, 2025), and all the best of what PyCon US has to offer. PyCon US 2025 is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and we hope to see you there!

TLDR:

If you haven’t already, register for a PyCon US account, make sure you’re logged in, and submit your application to Startup Row at PyCon US here.

Does your startup qualify? Here are the criteria:

  • You use Python somewhere (anywhere, but the more the better) in your tech or business stack
  • Your startup is 2.5 years old, or less, at time of applying (if you had a major pivot or delayed product launch, measure from there)
  • You have 25 or fewer full-time employees, including founders, at the time of applying
  • You or your company will fund travel and accommodation to PyCon US in Pittsburgh, PA
  • You have not previously presented your current company on Startup Row at PyCon US (Previous applicants and alumni founders working on new projects are welcome to apply!)
  • You are able to attend and staff your booth on the following days:
    • Thursday, May 15, 2025: Opening Reception
    • Friday, May 16 & Saturday, May 17, 2025: Main conference expo hall days
  • Please note: if your company is selected to be featured on Startup Row, a $400 USD refundable deposit is required to secure your booth space and Job Fair table (if opting-in to attend the Job Fair). If all events are attended and staffed by your company, the $400 deposit will be refunded after the event.
    • Participation in the Job Fair on Sunday, May 18, 2025, is optional. However, if you opt-in for the Job Fair and do not attend, the $400 deposit will not be returned.

So, what’s in it for you and your startup?

  • Two conference passes (you’re welcome to stay for the post-conference sprints too); discounted passes for additional team members are available
  • Booth space on Startup Row in the Expo Hall on the evening of May 15th for the Opening Reception and on the main exhibit days May 16th and 17th, 2025.
  • Optional access to the PyCon US Job Fair on Sunday, May 18, 2025
  • Eternal glory

How many companies have presented on Startup Row over the years?

If accepted, your startup joins a strong group of Startup Row alumni companies, which include the likes of: Coalition (🦄 SR’18), Ponder Data (acq’d by Snowflake, SR’23), Chainguard (🦄 SR’22), Anvil (SR‘16), and more than 150 others since Startup Row became “a thing” in 2011.

A program like Startup Row at PyCon US is only as robust as its community, and the past 5 years have been exceptionally good:

  • Out of the 40 companies featured on SR since 2020, two of them are now valued at over $1 billion
  • This same population of companies, in the time after appearing on Startup Row, have raised at least $950M in venture capital funding
  • Out of those 40 companies, 4 have been acquired (Dagster → Confluent. Bit.io → Databricks. Ponder Data → Snowflake. Resurface Labs → Greylog.)
  • Besides US-based companies, Startup Row participants have flown in from Mexico, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom, among other places

What do other founders have to say about their experience?

It’s a great opportunity to connect with the Python community. But don’t take our words for it. Here is what some have to say about their participation in Startup Row:

“PyCon Startup Row was our coming-out party to the Python community. We got to introduce ourselves to thousands of enthusiastic and well-connected Pythonistas, and met important customers that made a major change to our business.” – Anvil (SR‘16)

“Due to the magnitude of PyCon, we made a big bet to send our whole company to the conference and the investment paid off! The interest and openness from every person that came over to our booth to say hi was incredible and it’s been challenging to find something like that again. We met many companies, some of them now our biggest and most engaged customers.” – Blameless (SR‘18)

“Startup Row was a great opportunity for us to run our very first conference booth, to meet incredible people and to have engaging, productive and inspiring conversations about our product. The audience was super relevant and friendly, and our overall experience at Pycon was fantastic. Highly recommended to anyone and happy to provide more details.” – Iterative AI, (SR‘19)

“As a first-timer, and a non-coder (but use Python for data science), it was just an amazing experience. Everyone was extremely friendly & sincere, and it was special to be a part of Startup Row. Connected us with some great potential talent as well as amazing folks & friends to learn from. Plus everyone was great with feedback, which is always helpful!” – Graffiti, (SR‘19)

“As a developer focused startup that’s built on Python, we had a great time being part of Startup Row. It gave us an opportunity to meet with hundreds of potential users and get feedback on our product. – Bite AI, (SR‘19)

Prior to submitting an application you must sign up or log in to your account. (Even if you attended PyCon US in the past, you’ll still need to create a new account.)

PyCon US 2025 Startup Row applications are open!

Good luck! We look forward to reviewing your application.

Please submit applications by March 14, 2025.

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