New Venture
The New Venture Competition provides a forum for startups tackling significant and growing market opportunities through creative models and approaches. The NVC is industry agnostic and encompasses both commercial and for-profit social impact ventures.
Tech Venture
The Tech Venture Competition welcomes teams working on concepts with a unique technology at its core. These tech-centric ventures are not simply delivering value by deploying existing technology but are creating new technologies to address emerging needs.
Healthcare Venture
The Healthcare and Biomedical Venture Competition seeks to provide a path to commercialization for scientists and researchers developing solutions to critical health-related challenges.
2026 Entrepreneurs Challenge Final Pitch Off
See NYU’s top startups face off for $225K in seed funding
Friday, May 1st @ 5:00 PM
meet the cohort
Meet the 2026 Entrepreneurs Challenge cohort. These promising teams hail from across NYU’s global campuses and their concepts reflect that diversity. Learn more about each by navigating our team directory below.
Healthcare venture
Digital Tech venture
New venture
Healthcare Venture Competition
Finalist Ventures
Jointly Medical
Healthcare/Wellness
Jointly Medical develops LOTIS, a monitoring system designed to quantify inflammation and support more precise dosing for lupus management. The goal is to help clinicians maintain remission while reducing the risk of flares and medication side effects.
SymptoLab
Healthcare/Wellness
SymptoLab is a digital health platform that helps women with hormone-related conditions track and predict symptom fluctuations over time. It converts daily health inputs into actionable patterns and forecasts that can support more personalized care decisions.
Systema Med
Healthcare/Wellness
Biotechnology/Life Sciences
Systema Med is developing a clinical platform that interprets continuous streams of patient vital data rather than isolated measurements. The system aims to support faster and safer intervention through real-time decision support and automation.
NeoBoneSculpt
Healthcare/Wellness
Biotechnology/Life Sciences
NeoBoneSculpt develops 3D-printed implant scaffolds designed to support bone defect healing and targeted therapeutic delivery. The platform enables patient-specific implant designs tailored to different anatomical and treatment requirements.
See The Sounds
Internet/Web/Mobile
Healthcare/Wellness
See The Sounds builds speech visualization technology to support speech-language pathologists and children with speech delays. The product helps clinicians address a difficult speech challenge with performance that exceeds existing tools.
Aidify
Healthcare/Wellness
Biotechnology/Life Sciences
Aidify provides a multilingual AI Care Aid that delivers personalized, always-on guidance based on each clinic’s specific protocols and instructions. The platform extends care beyond visits by helping patients get consistent answers and follow-through support at home.
ScriptBio AI
Biotechnology/Life Sciences
Pharmaceuticals
ScriptBio AI develops therapeutics that target biological hallmarks of aging, such as chronic inflammation, to help prevent age-related disease. The company is starting with knee osteoarthritis as an initial indication due to its localized biology and clear clinical measures.
DIGITAL Tech Venture Competition
Finalist Ventures
Zach Sawaged, Graduate School of Arts & Science ‘20
Shivani Khunt
Nathan Maher
Concordare Trials
Healthcare/Wellness
IT/Software
Concordare Trials develops a universal digital protocol that standardizes clinical trial setup across software systems. Its platform converts protocols into ready-to-run workflows, reducing manual configuration time and operational errors.
Javier Navarro-Machuca, Stern ‘27
Corinne Camay, Stern ‘27
Joshua Glasman
Diagrm
IT/Software
Engineering
Diagrm is an AI-powered platform that helps solution architects design and validate cloud infrastructure more efficiently. It interprets system requirements, flags potential issues, and can generate implementation-ready architectures.
Mo Satt, Tandon ‘28
Sarah Krueger
Maitry Dave, Tandon ‘26
Mobile Defender
Automotive/Transportation
Hardware/Electronic Devices
Mobile Defender detects and helps mitigate hidden GPS tracking threats aimed at personal safety and privacy. The product makes professional-grade counter-surveillance capabilities accessible to everyday users.
Michael Curry, CAS ‘05
Spendcodes
Retail
IT/Software
Spendcodes enables merchants to accept stablecoin payments while receiving U.S. dollars directly in their bank accounts. The system supports near-instant checkout for customers while reducing transaction fees for businesses.
Kevin Johan Wong, CAS ‘10
Huan Nguyen
STARDUST
Media/Broadcasting/Publishing
Internet/Web/Mobile
Stardust turns publisher archives into conversational experiences that can be delivered through direct messaging channels. The product helps brands engage audiences through personalized interactions rather than passive content consumption.
Artie Levine, Stern ‘27
Andy Levine
FluentGov
IT/Software
Building/Construction/Real Estate
FluentGov automates government form workflows by helping users identify, prepare, and submit required permits and certifications. The platform is designed to reduce complexity across jurisdictions through guided, end-to-end assistance.
Poe Myint Swe, Tandon ‘26
Daniela Castano, Tandon ‘26
Niranjana Niranjana, Tandon ‘26
Nyantrace.ai
IT/Software
Internet/Web/Mobile
Nyantrace provides real-time monitoring and oversight for multi-agent AI systems to help prevent unintended or harmful behaviors. The platform tracks agent actions and interactions to improve safety, accountability, and operational control.
Yifan Deng, Tisch ‘26
Augusta Ding, Tisch ‘26
Chloe Yan, Tisch ‘26
Ian Askiem, Tisch ‘27
Elizabeth Kezia Widjaja, Tisch ‘27
Prisha Jain, Tisch ‘26
ColDAW
Arts/Music/Entertainment
IT/Software
ColDAW is a collaborative music production environment that enables creators to work in parallel across tools while maintaining synchronized version control. The platform organizes sessions, tracks changes, and keeps project files aligned across contributors.
Andres Satizabal, Stern ‘11
Jessica Boccardo, Wagner ‘13
Marcela Ramirez
Eduardo Hurtado
Sebastian Morelli Moreno
Camilo Duque
NextMinder
IT/Software
Advertising/Marketing
NextMinder enables teams to test business decisions in simulated environments before committing real resources. The company’s synthetic user models help brands evaluate messaging, product features, and pricing strategies in advance.
Sam Cialek, CAS ‘11
Serif
Healthcare/Wellness
IT/Software
Serif provides navigation infrastructure for health experiences by helping platforms guide users through personalized next steps and pathways. The product aims to function as an interoperable layer that health services can integrate rather than building their own routing logic.
Jordan Sotudeh, CAS ‘12
Julian Jazayeri
Alvan Mbongo
Elena Empino
Venaera
Cleantech/Renewables/Sustainability
Building/Construction/Real Estate
Venaera builds modular heat pump systems designed for rapid installation, easier servicing, and improved efficiency through embedded data collection. The product uses sensors and machine learning to detect issues early and reduce operating costs and emissions.
New Venture Competition
Finalist Ventures
Aaron Shen, Tandon ‘24
Ice Yu
Chop Chop Eats
Food/Beverage
Internet/Web/Mobile
ChopChop Eats is a marketplace that enables home cooks to list homemade dishes and sell directly to nearby customers. The platform simplifies discovery, ordering, and fulfillment for locally prepared meals.
Tatyana Jones, Stern ‘15
DEFI Snacks LLC
Food/Beverage
Sports & Fitness
DEFI Snacks makes premium chocolate formulated with clean protein and sprouted ingredients while maintaining an indulgent taste experience. The company positions the product as a nutrient-dense alternative to traditional high-sugar sweets.
Dario Anaya, Gallatin ‘26
Pupil
Education
Internet/Web/Mobile
Pupil is a college guidance platform that combines AI with near-peer mentorship to support families navigating education decisions. It matches students with relatable mentors and provides personalized exploration of schools and career paths.
Stonny Liu, Tandon ‘23
Sharon Melzer, SPS ‘27
VenueHopper
Hospitality/Leisure
Food/Beverage
VenueHopper is an AI-powered event planning tool that helps hosts find and book venues faster while comparing key details in one place. The platform reduces the time and effort of outreach by centralizing availability, pricing, and requirements.
Yik Ming Sezto, CAS ‘27
Varun Krishnan, Stern ‘27
Vivaan Rastogi, CAS ‘27
Addison Ireland
Charlie Algert
GreekFlow
IT/Software
GreekFlow is a student organization management platform that consolidates operations into a single system for coordination and oversight. It replaces fragmented communication tools and spreadsheets with streamlined workflows for campus chapters.
David Restrepo, Stern ‘22
Santiago Serna
Andrea Martinez
Catalina Gil
Meroo
Internet/Web/Mobile
IT/Software
Meroo is a hiring platform that evaluates candidates through short, gamified skill challenges rather than traditional resumes alone. It converts performance into a reusable profile that employers can compare more efficiently and consistently.
Jared Lerner, Stern ‘13
Matt Stewart
Jeff Nguyen
Tahir Ramzan
Nappr
Hospitality/Leisure
Travel & Tourism
Nappr converts unused daytime hotel inventory into short stays that allow travelers and workers to rest during the day. The service offers on-demand bookings ranging from a few hours to half-day use.
Oscar Yapor, Stern ‘27
Espiritu
Retail
Apparel/Fashion
Espiritu connects select Latin American designers with consumers in the United States and Europe through a curated marketplace. The platform grew from a single artisanal product into a broader channel for cross-border discovery and commerce.
Jeff Taylor, Stern ‘26
WonderKid
Food/Beverage
Consumer Goods
WonderKid creates clean-label sauces designed to help children try and adopt new foods through repeated exposure. The product uses organic ingredients and low sugar to better align with modern family nutrition preferences.
