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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lowercarbon Capital Partner Christina Chang Visits the Swartz Center

Lowercarbon Capital Partner Christina Chang Visits the Swartz Center

Dr. Christina Chang, partner at Lowercarbon Capital, visited Carnegie Mellon University for its Energy Week last week and also stopped by the CMU Swartz Center on Friday, March 22 to give a talk, 'Lab to Climate Venture: Solving Problems that Matter'. During the lunchtime talk, Dr. Chang shared career lessons learned--from academia and government, to founding a climate tech startup and investing and how the company backs companies that make real money slashing CO2 emissions and more.

Friday, March 22, 2024

2024 McGinnis Winners

Announcing the Winners of the 2024 McGinnis Venture Competition

After an intense, multi-round competition that kicked off in early January, the 2024 McGinnis Venture Competition was held at the Swartz Center on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Held in person and also live streamed, the final round teams completed their final pitches to twelve esteemed judges competing for $60K in investments. Teams from CMU Africa and CMU Qatar also participated virtually.

The winning teams are:

Graduate Track:

  • First Place ($25K): J.P. Robotics, mapping big problems in small pipes using robotics and AI. Team members: Tina Tian
  • Second Place ($15K): Galen Health, AI for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer. Team members include: Logan Nye, MD (Swartz Fellow) and Kushagra Agarwal.
  • Third Place ($10K): Sitewiz, AI-driven iterative optimization for e-Commerce websites. Team members include: Ram Potham (Innovation Scholar), Rohit Malhotra and Drake Som.

Undergraduate Track:

  • First Place ($4K): Assurif.ai, boosts efficiency for mortgage underwriters in lower markets, plagued by redundant tasks making up to 75% of workflow. Team members include Alex Chen, Joey Park, Andrew Kang, Erik Wang and Meher Sujay Kaky.
  • Second Place (2.5K): KnitFit, custom-fits compression garments using machine knitting. Team members include: Pratyay Didwania (Innovation Scholar) Astha Shah, Advika Jayanti (Innovation Scholar) and Sreekar Kunaparaju.

The undergraduate track winners were also awarded a place in the CMU Venture Challenge, which will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2024.

Congratulations to all of the McGinnis Competition winners, participants and final round teams, as well as this year's judges: Alicia McGinnis and her two sons Lochlan and Manus, Meredith Meyer Grelli, Ed Engler, Laurie Barkman, Lisa Frankovitch, Afshan Khan, Zach Malone, Andrew Rabin, Aaron Tainter
and John Levinson.

Read more at Pittsburgh Inno.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Jerry McGinnis and Will Kaigler

Seven Lessons he learned from Jerry McGinnis

At the McGinnis Competition celebration, Will Kaigler shared Seven Lessons he learned from
Jerry McGinnis. See the full tribute (pdf).

  1. Develop your core talent and be world class at it.
  2. Innovation is not an academic exercise. Get hands on with the people that you are trying to help, know your customer!
  3. Solve a big enough problem where you can make a significant impact.
  4. Entrpreneurship demands commitment and many long hours of work, so do something you love and are passionate about. Never lose sight of your "why".
  5. Never quit! Every company has a moment like this. Successful entrepreneurs look for solutions and are always optimistic.
  6. Keep your mind and your eyes open to the unexpected opportunities.
  7. Have fun! Entrepreneurship is about solving problems, making a difference and following your passion. If that is not fun to you, well then you're doing it wrong.

This year's McGinnis Competition was in loving memory of Jerry McGinnis.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Efficient Computer

Efficient Computer Secures $16M in Seed Round

Efficient Computer, a startup with Carnegie Mellon University ties, has raised $16M in a seed funding round led by Eclipse Venture. Efficient is introducing a computer processor it says is up to 100 times more energy-efficient than leading models in the current market. Carnegie Mellon professor Brandon Lucia is co-founder and CEO.

Read more at Pittsburgh Inno.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Refiberd

Refiberd Co-founders Included in 2024 Tartans on the Rise

From operatic stages and virtual worlds to industrial warehouses and medical research labs, Carnegie Mellon University’s 2024 Tartans on the Rise are transforming the planet through their artistic expression, scientific exploration, entrepreneurial spirit and visionary innovations. Carnegie Mellon alumni Sarika Bajaj and Tushita Gupta, co-founders of Refiberd—a 2020 VentureBridge program startup that performs intelligent sorting for textile-textile recycling—are among those in the new class.

Read more at Carnegie Mellon University.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

ESTAT Actuation

ESTAT Actuation Selected for Robotics Factory Residency

Five Pittsburgh-based robotics companies have been accepted to the Robotics Factory’s Scale Residency program, including 2021 VentureBridge startup ESTAT Actuation. The companies will receive one year of access to the Robotics Factory’s space in the Tech Forge building, and will be provided with connections to potential grant funding and local manufacturers, among other benefits.

Read more at Pittsburgh Inno.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Freespace Robotics

U. S. Steel Makes Strategic Investment in Pittsburgh-Based Autonomous Warehousing Pioneer--Freespace Robotics

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) (“U. S. Steel”) today announced a strategic investment in Pittsburgh-based Freespace Robotics, a pioneering manufacturer of robotic storage and retrieval systems that are in demand by warehouses worldwide. Carnegie Foundry is a unique Robotics and AI venture studio, headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. In partnership with the world leader in autonomous robotics and AI - the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) at Carnegie Mellon University.

Read more at Business Wire.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Conservation Labs

RET Ventures Leads $7.5M Series A in Conservation Labs to Interpret Sound for Water Conservation and Machinery Maintenance

Conservation Labs, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that developed a groundbreaking platform that decodes audio data into actionable insights in the built environment to reduce carbon emissions and energy and water usage, today announced that it has raised a $7.5M Series A funding round. The round was led by RET Ventures’ Housing Impact Fund and included the participation of Sustain VC. Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Mark Kovscek is founder and CEO.

Read more at Business Wire.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Holy Cow Productions

Carnegie Mellon Founded Holy Cow Productions' New Game to Join PlayStation's Incubator Program—India Hero Project

Holy Cow Productions, co-founded by Goutham Dindukurthi, ETC 2010 alumnus and Vinay Ramakrishna, have announced that its newest game, Requital: Gates of Blood, has been chosen to be a part of PlayStation’s incubator program–India Hero Project. The game is one of five games from India to be accepted into PlayStation's incubator program. Holy Cow Productions is an independent game development studio located in the Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore. 

Read more at the PlayStation Blog.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Adam Paulisick

Adam Paulisick Featured on Apple Podcast Dealing with Mental Health and Entrepreneurship

Adam Paulisick, CMU Swartz Center EIR, adjunct professor and CEO, SkillBuilder.io, was recently featured on a podcast: The Ripple Effect with Stephanie Romero, Ed.D., discussing mindfulness and the transformative concept of "welcoming". Adam shares his journey, revealing how the practice of "welcoming" —accepting every moment and challenge with openness and readiness—has been a game-changer in his approach to entrepreneurship and personal fulfillment.

Watch the Podcast.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Collective

Collective Selected by Forbes As One of America's Best Startup Employers

Financial solutions company, Collective, has been named by Forbes as one of America's Best Start-up Employers again this year. Collective is co-founded by Carnegie Mellon ECE alumnus Hooman Radfar, Ugar Kaner and Bugra Akcay. In a recent Linkedin post, Hooman stated, "So proud of our amazing team for continuing to invest to make our workplace better and better, all while continuing our rapid growth".

Read more at Forbes.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Abridge

Abridge Emerges as a AI Healthcare Leader, Raising $150M Series C

Carnegie Mellon company Abridge, the leader in generative AI for clinical documentation, announced an additional $150M investment, leveraging momentum from their product’s rapid uptake among health systems throughout the nation. This raise comes just four months after their $30M Series B, and is one of the largest funding rounds made to date in generative AI for healthcare.

Abridge is co-founded by CEO Shiv Rao and Sandeep Konam, former master's student in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.

Read more at Abridge.

Thursday, February 29, 2024

ESTAT TEam

ESTAT Actuation Named 2023 Co-Op Employer of the Year

ESTAT Actuation, builder of electroadhesive clutches and brakes that are ten times lighter, ten times more compact, and considerably more efficient than conventional clutch hardware, has been named 2023 Co-op Employer of the Year through a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering and the Co-op program.

The 2021 VentureBridge startup has hired twelve Pitt co-ops since the program’s inception and has provided great hands-on experience, project management and leadership skills to the students in a real-world working environment.

Read more at Pitt.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Logan Nye

Deniz Birlikci

Galen Health and ObviousAI Named  Semi-Finalists in the 2024 Microsoft Imagine Cup

Galen Health founder and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Logan Nye, MD, has announced that his company is a semi-finalist in the Microsoft Imagine Cup. Co-founded with Carnegie Mellon master of Science student Kushagra Agarwal, the company is one of twenty teams selected to advance to the semi-finals out of hundreds of teams from over fifty countries.

ObviousAI, co-founded by Innovation Scholar and Neo Scholar Deniz Birlikci and Arda Akman, are also semi-finalists in the Microsoft Imagine Cup. ObviousAI is an aggregator website for fashion products that support users to search with their natural language or their own photos and screenshots. Birlikci and Akman also recently won a $50K SAFE note at Berkeley's Demo Day.

Friday, February 23, 2024

W.L. Mellon Speaker Series Event with Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah

Swartz Center Executive Director Dave Mawhinney Moderates W.L. Mellon Speaker Series Event with Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah 

The Tepper School of Business hosted its W.L. Mellon Speaker Series on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 with guest Niraj Shah, CEO and Co-Chairman of Wayfair. Dave Mawhinney, Professor and Executive Director at the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, moderated the fireside chat, which covered topics such as innovation, path to success, industry trends and leadership.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Leah Lizarondo Receives Urban League Leadership Award

Leah Lizarondo Receives Urban League Leadership Award

The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh held its 28th annual Ronald H. Brown Leadership Awards dinner at the Rivers Casino last Friday. Leah Lizarondo, founder of 412 Food Rescue and Entrepreneur In Residence at the CMU Swartz Center, received the Community award for service to the community and fostering racial justice and inclusion.

Read more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

D.Sole

D.Sole Invited to Participate in the 2024 Rice Business Plan Competition

After a competitive application season, 42 startups have been invited to compete on a global stage for more than $1M in prizes at the 2024 Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC), the largest and richest student startup competition. D.Sole, co-founded by James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows Saisri Akondi, CEO and Zilin Zhang, is among the 42 startups chosen. Operating out of the CMU Swartz Center, D.Sole is a smart insole for diabetic foot complications prevention and care.

Friday, February 16, 2024

George Tong

The Swartz Center Hosts Family Business Speaker Series Talk with George Tong, President, Gemini Foods

A student of demography and anthropology, George Tong, Tepper MSIA'90 and CEO of Gemini Foods, recognized the US's changing demographics and settlement patterns early. This insight enabled him to radically scale his family's Food Distribution company into one that has carried Asian food brands across the country and into our homes.

George gave an exceptional UBS Family Business Leadership Talk last week, led by Tepper School of business Faculty and EIR Meredith Grelli—where he talked through the importance of having a BIG vision, inspiring a packed house of entrepreneurs at the Swartz Center, fueled by a Build Your Own Boba bar.

This UBS Family Business Leadership Series talk was the second of this academic year. The third and final speaker of the year will be Helen Hanna Casey, CEO of Hanna Holdings on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.

Find out more and register.

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Advanced Optronics Team

Advanced Optronics and Carnegie Mellon University Awarded $650K NSF Gran to Develop Bio-Inspired Medical Instruments

Advanced Optronics Inc, a medical sensor technology startup, has been awarded a $650K National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator Phase-I grant, along with Carnegie Mellon University. The convergence research will develop medical instruments that sense their own shape changes during complex surgeries to provide real time tactile feedback to surgeons.

Carnegie Mellon alumnus Jay Reddy is the CEO of Advanced Optronics, which was a participant in the Swartz Center's 2022 VentureBridge program.

Read more at Advanced Optronics.

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Carnegie Mellon University Team Wins First Place at VCIC Mid-Atlantic Regional Finals

Carnegie Mellon University Team Wins First Place at VCIC Mid-Atlantic Regional Finals

Congratulations to our Carnegie Mellon team that won first place last weekend at the VCIC (Venture Capital Investment Competition) Undergraduate Mid-Atlantic Regional Finals. The team is composed of members of Scottie Ventures, CMU's undergraduate venture capital club based in the Swartz Center. For the first time, CMU will be moving on to the VCIC Global Finals at UNC-Chapel Hill in April!

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Edulis Therapeutics' Spencer Matonis

Edulis Therapeutics' Spencer Matonis Announces Win of Up to $5M at The Future of Capitalism Startup Competition

Carnegie Mellon Material Science and Engineering Ph.D. and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Spencer Matonis, co-founder of Edulis Therapeutics, announced his win of up to $5M at the first The Future of Capitalism Tech Startup Competition held in London last week. 

Edulis, co-founded by Dr. Vladimir Lamm, is a US drug delivery company aiming to transform the diagnosis and treatment of Crohn’s and Parkinson’s disease by revolutionizing gastrointestinal medicine through the development of an endoscopic drug delivery system that could help over 1M patients.

Read more at The Future of Capitalism Startup Competition.

Friday, February 9, 2024

Nimble

Skincare Leader Partners with Nimble to Rapidly Advance Its Fulfillment Process

Skincare leader Hanacure has announced its partnership with Nimble, founded by Carnegie Mellon University alumnus, Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow and CEO Simon Kalouche, to automate its fulfillment operations. By partnering with Nimble—the next-gen 3PL—Hanacure now uses advanced AI robotic technology to more quickly and efficiently pick, pack and fulfill orders. 

Read more at Nimble.

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Galen Health

Galen Health Wins $1K Spark Grant

Galen Health, a healthcare startup using AI to end pancreatic cancer, was selected as one of  five featured teams at last weekends 2024 TartanHacks final showcase in Pittsburgh, winning a Spark Grant for $1K from the Swartz Center's Project Olympus incubator program. Galen Health was selected out of ninety teams from fifteen colleges.

 Co-founded by CMU Master of Science students Logan Nye, MD (Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow), and Kushagra Agarwal, Galen Health aims to revolutionize the early detection of pancreatic cancer through its cutting-edge AI platform. For their TartanHacks project, Logan and Kushagra developed and trained a collection of AI algorithms that analyze patient information and clinical notes found in hospital electronic health records to determine the patients' risk of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Max Holmes

Tepper School of Business MBA Makes Poets&Quants Most Disruptive MBA Startups of 2023 List

Carnegie Mellon 2023 MBA graduates Max Holmes and Ani Kapuria are co-founders of Conduit, maker of talent optimization tools that prevent burnout, reduce turnover, boost productivity and maximize profits. Max was recently included in Poets&Quants 'Most Disruptive MBA Startups of 2023' list for Conduit, which is also a participant in the Swartz Center's VentureBridge program.

Read more at Poets&Quants.