The Atlantic Venture Forum has opened applications for startups hoping to present at its two-day conference in early May in Halifax.

The eighth annual AVF, which will take place May 6 and 7 at the Lord Nelson Hotel, is a meeting place for Atlantic Canadian founders and investors from inside and outside the region.

As well as keynote speakers, there are presentations by both early- and growth-stage companies, and this year the five-minute pitches will again be channeled into four streams:

Information and Communication Technologies

Sustainable Technologies

Life Sciences and Health Technologies

Ocean Technologies

Any company interested in pitching can apply here by March 9, and the applications will be reviewed by the AVF Industry Advisory Panel.

All selected companies will have their registration fee for the presenter waived to attend the full forum.

AVF will be one of the cornerstone events this year for Innovation Week in early May. The Creative Destruction Lab-Atlantic will hold a demo day on May 5 to kick off innovation week. CDL is a half-year accelerator for leading pre-seed stage companies, and its cohort is divided evenly between general startups and oceantech startups.