The CodeLaunch U.S. 2026 Championship made history on August 26 as the first globally livestreamed CodeLaunch competition, bringing together founders, investors, developers, and startup supporters from around the world.
Six startups entered the competition with one goal: earn a spot at the CodeLaunch World Championship. After a season of competition culminating in founder pitches, audience voting, and the live Championship, Collars emerged as the 2026 CodeLaunch U.S. Champion, with Two Robots finishing second.
Both startups have earned invitations to represent the United States at the 2026 CodeLaunch World Championship in Dallas, Texas.
The Championship was filmed at AMS Pictures in Dallas in front of a live studio audience before premiering globally as the interactive Season 1 Finale of CodeLaunch: Next Founder Up.
THE FINALISTS
The six startups that earned their place in the first globally livestreamed CodeLaunch U.S. Championship represented a diverse range of industries, from gaming and agriculture to workforce technology, environmental intelligence, travel, and hospitality.
COLLARS
A hiring platform built exclusively for the skilled trades, helping workers showcase their skills while giving employers better hiring insights.
DRIP INVENTORY
An RFID-powered inventory tracking and analytics platform helping hospitality businesses automate inventory management and reduce labor costs.
POLLEN SENSE
An AI-powered environmental intelligence platform delivering real-time bioaerosol insights on pollen, mold, smoke, and airborne particles.
TRAVEL SPOKEN
An AI-powered travel platform that transforms user-generated travel content into bookable experiences through voice, video, and conversational AI.
TWO ROBOTS
A competitive multiplayer gaming studio developing Two Robots: Unleashed, a strategy card game built around player ownership, competition, and skill-based progression.
UNIBAIO
An agricultural biotechnology company developing TurboCharge™, a nano-engineered platform that helps crops absorb nutrients more efficiently while reducing chemical usage.
Each founder entered the competition after advancing through the CodeLaunch application, curriculum, and semifinal process. Throughout the season, founders worked alongside members of Improving’s Professional Coder League (PCL), receiving guidance and development support as they prepared for the Championship stage.
The Audience Helped Decide the Champion
One of the defining elements of the Next Founder Up Season 1 Finale was that viewers weren’t limited to simply watching the competition.
Through LaunchKings, viewers participated in the voting experience and allocated LaunchBucks to the startups they wanted to support.
Virtual Angel Ticket holders received LaunchBucks that counted toward determining the official 2026 CodeLaunch U.S. Champion.
Virtual Angel Results
🥇 Collars — 1,910,000 LaunchBucks
🥈 Two Robots — 1,850,000 LaunchBucks
🥉 Pollen Sense — 1,450,000 LaunchBucks
With only 60,000 LaunchBucks separating first and second place, Collars narrowly edged Two Robots to claim the U.S. Championship.
Casual viewers also participated in the LaunchKings voting experience during the livestream, creating a second look at which startups earned the most support from the broader viewing audience.
Casual Viewer Results
🥇 Collars — 190,000 LaunchBucks
🥈 Two Robots — 100,000 LaunchBucks
🥉 Travel Spoken — 90,000 LaunchBucks
Collars finished first with both Virtual Angels and casual viewers, completing a sweep of the livestream voting results.
Collars Completes the Sweep
The livestream wasn’t the first time Collars earned the audience’s support.
During the original Championship filming at AMS Pictures in April, the live studio audience also selected Collars as the 2026 CodeLaunch U.S. Studio Audience Champion.
That victory earned Collars a $5,000 award.
By finishing first with the studio audience, Virtual Angels, and casual viewers, Collars completed a clean sweep of all three audience voting groups.
For Collars, the Championship win was the culmination of a CodeLaunch journey that began before the 2026 competition.
“The CodeLaunch cohort was a valuable experience for our team. It helped us sharpen our marketing, prioritize the right things as an early-stage company, and stay focused on execution. Making it all the way to the draft last year was a huge milestone for Collars, and the experience taught us a lot about how to build and grow the right way.”
The Teams Moving On
The Virtual Angel results determined which two U.S. startups earned invitations to continue their CodeLaunch journey on the global stage.
🏆 Collars — 2026 CodeLaunch U.S. Champion
Collars finished first with 1,910,000 Virtual Angel LaunchBucks, securing the U.S. Championship and an invitation to the 2026 CodeLaunch World Championship.
The skilled-trades hiring platform also captured the Studio Audience Championship and finished first among casual viewers, completing a sweep across all three voting groups.
🥈 Two Robots — World Championship Invitee
Two Robots finished just behind Collars with 1,850,000 Virtual Angel LaunchBucks, earning the second U.S. invitation to the World Championship.
The gaming startup also finished second in the casual viewer voting with 100,000 LaunchBucks.
Collars and Two Robots will now represent the United States at the 2026 CodeLaunch World Championship.
What Happens Next
The U.S. Championship may be complete, but CodeLaunch 2026 is far from over.
Collars and Two Robots have secured the two U.S. invitations to the World Championship. Next, CodeLaunch heads to Canada and LATAM, where each regional Champion will automatically earn a place on the World Championship stage.
Two additional startups from across the 2026 CodeLaunch season will also be selected to receive invitations to Worlds, meaning the opportunity to reach Dallas extends beyond the regional Champions.
🇨🇦 Next Stop: Canada
Six Canadian startups are preparing to take the CodeLaunch stage in Toronto, with the CodeLaunch Canada 2026 Champion automatically advancing to the World Championship.
📅 Wednesday, September 16
📍 El Mocambo | Toronto, Canada
🎟️ ATTEND CODELAUNCH CANADA 2026
🇲🇽 Then: LATAM
Next, we’re headed to Zapopan, Mexico, where six more founders will compete at the CodeLaunch LATAM 2026 Championship, with the LATAM Champion automatically advancing to the World Championship.
📅 Wednesday, October 14
📍 Conjunto Santander de Artes Escénicas | Zapopan, Mexico
🎟️ ATTEND CODELAUNCH LATAM 2026
🌎 Then Every Road Leads to Dallas.
The top startups from the 2026 CodeLaunch season will come together for one final competition:
THE 2026 CODELAUNCH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
📅 November 11, 2026
📍 Dallas, Texas
The field will include Collars and Two Robots from the U.S., the Canada Champion, the LATAM Champion, and two additional startups selected from across the 2026 CodeLaunch events.
The best of CodeLaunch 2026. One global stage.
🎟️ ATTEND THE 2026 CODELAUNCH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Watch the Season 1 Finale
Missed the livestream — or want to see how Collars pulled off the sweep?
Watch the full CodeLaunch: Next Founder Up Season 1 Finale and experience the pitches, voting, results, and Championship moments that closed out the inaugural season.
▶️ WATCH THE NEXT FOUNDER UP SEASON 1 FINALE
Watch the Season 1 Finale on YouTube
ABOUT CODELAUNCH
CodeLaunch is a startup accelerator competition and live Venturetainment platform that connects early-stage startup founders with elite software development teams from Improving, investors, mentors, and corporate partners to accelerate startup growth.
Since its founding in 2013, CodeLaunch has helped hundreds of startups across North America and Latin America build and scale their companies — all while taking zero equity.
CodeLaunch is also home to Next Founder Up, its flagship seasonal reality pitch competition, bringing the founders, competition, development process, and CodeLaunch experience to audiences around the world.