People ask us for the deadline a lot. The short answer: there isn't a fixed date, and that's on purpose.
How the rolling deadline works
Applications are open now. We'll close applications once we have enough strong applicants to choose from, and we'll announce the winner shortly after. Apply early — there's no advantage to waiting.
We'd rather keep the doors open until we have a strong group of businesses to choose from than close on an arbitrary date. The tradeoff for you: we can't tell you exactly when applications will close, so the safest move is to apply now.
The stages of Season 1
Applications open
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Every complete application is scored and considered.
Applications close
When we have enough strong applicants, applications close. The site will say so clearly, and the apply page will stop accepting new entries.
Finalists are reviewed
Top-scoring applications are reviewed personally, as described in How Judging Works. We'll announce the winner after applications close and every finalist has been reviewed.
The winner is announced
Your status in Rescue HQ updates, and status changes are emailed to you.
The 60-day deployment
The 60-day deployment begins shortly after the winner is announced. The deployment is filmed, as the Official Rules describe.
Support
After the 60 days, the winner gets up to 12 months of post-deployment support.
Why apply early?
There's no scoring advantage to applying early, but there's a real risk in waiting: if applications close before you apply, you miss this season. Applying early also gives you more time to use your AI blueprint, the video library, and the community events.
Where to watch for updates
- Your status in Rescue HQ
- Our emails (status changes always come through, even if you've unsubscribed from marketing)
- The site banner at aibusinessrescue.com
- Our YouTube channel, where the rescue is published
Can the timeline change?
Yes. The Official Rules let the Sponsor modify, suspend, or cancel the contest at any time. If anything changes, we'll update the site and tell applicants by email.