The Deloitte Commercial Space Challenge, hosted in collaboration with MassChallenge, aims to propel innovation within the commercial space industry by supporting up to five visionary startups. Deloitte, a global leader in professional services with over 460,000 employees across 150 countries, and MassChallenge, a nonprofit accelerator, jointly support this initiative to drive the development of groundbreaking space-based solutions. Through this challenge, Deloitte leverages its deep industry knowledge and network to foster entrepreneurial efforts addressing current and future opportunities in the commercial space economy.
This competitive program seeks startups that can demonstrate scalable, high-impact solutions aligned with two primary focus areas: Earth Observation of the Supply Chain and Activation of Off-World Production. Selected participants will be guided through a structured 5-6 month accelerator-like experience, receiving mentorship from Deloitte professionals and access to the MassChallenge network. The challenge emphasizes commercialization potential, strategic fit with Deloitte’s objectives, and readiness to address real-world market demands using space-based innovations.
Eligible applicants must be U.S.-based startups with less than $50 million in both equity-based funding and annual revenue. Each must have an active market presence, demonstrated potential to scale, and be led by a full-time CEO. Additional requirements include passing a Deloitte independence compliance check. Organizations connected with government roles or former Deloitte affiliates are ineligible.
The challenge is divided into two phases. In Phase 1, applicants submit a comprehensive application via the program website by May 8, 2025, including founder and company details, financials, and responses to challenge-specific prompts. Up to ten participants will be selected to proceed to Phase 2, which includes a virtual presentation scheduled around May 28, 2025. Final winners—up to five—will be selected based on criteria such as financial potential, solution uniqueness, feasibility, innovation, and startup viability.
Applications must respond to one of two challenge statements. The Earth Observation challenge seeks AI-integrated, space-based analytics to proactively address global supply chain issues, while the Off-World Production challenge looks for viable business models and infrastructure supporting microgravity manufacturing. Participants must not submit confidential or proprietary information and must grant usage rights for their submissions.
Contact information includes junko@masschallenge.org for technical issues during submission and contact@masschallenge.org for general inquiries. Key dates include the opening on April 10, 2025, application deadline on May 8, 2025, and winner announcement around May 14, 2025. Phase 2 presentations begin May 28, 2025. Final winners will be announced after all presentations are completed.
