BEIRUT, 24 June 2026 — LIFE, a global network of Lebanese professionals, marked a milestone in its entrepreneurship initiatives with its first-ever West Coast Pitch Night in San Francisco, expanding a platform that has supported more than 70 Lebanese-founded technology startups.
Held in San Francisco on 17 June, in partnership with LebNet and Endeavor Lebanon, the event brought together 10 Lebanese startup[ZL1] s from the United States – spanning sectors including AI, fintech, healthtech, cybersecurity, and enterprise technology – with investors, founders, operators, and technology leaders from the Bay Area and the broader North American startup ecosystem. The event followed LIFE’s 10th Pitch Night held at Meta London in April and featured 6 Lebanese startups from across the UK and Europe.
Together, the two Pitch Nights showcased the growing international presence of Lebanese entrepreneurs and LIFE’s efforts to help founders access the networks, mentorship, and investor relationships needed to scale globally.
Since 2022, LIFE Pitch Nights have supported more than 70 Lebanese-founded startups across London, Paris, New York, Dubai, Beirut, and now San Francisco. Participating companies have collectively gone on to raise more than 80 million dollars within 1 year of pitching, reflecting the caliber of companies selected to pitch at these events.
Beyond the events themselves, selected founders receive mentorship and guidance ahead of each Pitch Night, helping them refine their pitches, strengthen their fundraising strategy, and prepare for investor engagement. The initiative is designed to support entrepreneurs throughout their journey while increasing visibility for Lebanese innovation within global technology ecosystems.
LIFE’s London Pitch Night, hosted on 21 April, welcomed 6 promising startups[TL2] [TT3] that pitched their ventures to an audience of more than 100 attendees. The evening also featured a panel discussion moderated by Ziad Traboulsi, Senior Engineering Director at Meta London, alongside Mahdi Yahya, President of Radiant, Maya Moufarek, Founder and Fractional CXO of MarketingCube.co, and Ramzi Rafih, Founder and General Partner of No Label Ventures.
The San Francisco edition showcased 10 innovative startups based in the United States, and featured keynote remarks from George Kadifa, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor at Sumeru Equity Partners and Chairman of the American University of Beirut Board of Trustees, who shared insights drawn from his experience in technology, entrepreneurship, and venture capital.
“The Pitch Night gave us valuable visibility, which is especially important for Lebanese entrepreneurs building abroad. I’m very grateful to LIFE for creating this opportunity and connecting us with the right people,” said Ziad Nasr, Founder of Biteright.
“It’s great to see the quality of connections, opportunities, and conversations that continue to come out of these events. These Pitch Nights help create long-term relationships between Lebanese entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and industry leaders around the world. It’s always nice to see familiar faces returning to support our Pitch Nights in different cities, while also welcoming new members of the ecosystem into the community.” said Tana Haidar, Project Manager at LIFE.
About LIFE
LIFE is a global membership organization that unites more than 1900 Lebanese professionals in the finance, consulting, law, and technology sectors worldwide. Founded in 2009 to bring together diaspora professionals dedicated to empowering the Lebanese community, the network maintains unwavering standards of governance, adhering to a non-partisan, non-sectarian, and independent approach to integrity.
With a diverse presence across 20 chapters worldwide, LIFE operates as an expansive network offering support to Lebanese professionals globally, extending from America to Asia. Leveraging the unity and collective action of its members, LIFE seeks to uplift and empower the Lebanese community on a global scale, while also advocating for economic and social reform within the country.
You can learn more about the selected startups from London’s Pitch Night here: https://lifelebanon.com/events/f68b2a85-24f1-f011-8406-6045bdd09183
You can learn more about the selected startups from the Bay Area’s Pitch Night here: https://lifelebanon.com/events/f719ec2b-9f10-f111-8342-6045bdd09183
[ZL1]can we mention briefly what the startups do? Even one sentence like “The San Francisco cohort spanned sectors including fintech, healthtech, and AI” ?
[TL2]Added the event’s page on the website in case the reader would like to know more about the startups
[TT3]We can add the link at the end