Round 1 has no sponsors and no prizes, on purpose. Self-motivation is the best filter we know. The people who show up for a rating and a published replay — not a payout — are exactly the field a sponsor eventually wants to be in front of. Cash on day one buys a different crowd.
It also means you never have to sponsor a promise. Before any money changes hands, Round 1 will have happened in public: real entry numbers, a full submission gallery, published judging rationale, winners' replays. You sponsor receipts, not a pitch deck.
The best early sponsorship is the thing competitors actually consume: AI/API credits or compute for the field, or for round winners. Keeps the incentives clean.
Your name on one round: the drop, the results post, the winner's replay. One round, one sponsor.
Backing the season finale or the season itself — discussed only with Round 1 numbers on the table.
No sponsor influence on tasks, judging, or rankings — the rubric and rationale stay published either way. No logo walls of companies that never said yes.
Interest only for now — there is no rate card until Round 1's results are public.