Innovation Takes Center Stage: McGinnis Venture Competition Announces 2025 Winners, Launches New Social Enterprise Track

The Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship hosted the highly anticipated final round and awards ceremony of the annual McGinnis Venture Competition on March 18. The competition showcased a wide range of ideas, with aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their ventures across the Graduate, Undergraduate, and the newly introduced Social Enterprise tracks.

Teams presented their solutions to a panel of esteemed judges, competing for monetary prizes and the opportunity to bring their visions to life. For this year’s competition, the McGinnis family's exceptional generosity allowed the Swartz Center to increase the prize amounts for all winners, providing an even greater launchpad for these startups.

In the Graduate Track, Solstis took home the top prize of $50,000. Their AI-powered platform leverages natural language to create workflow automations through application programming interface-specialized agents. Team members Samika Sanghvi, Pratik Satija, and Aarav Bajaj presented a compelling vision of a future where app agents collaborate seamlessly, learning and adapting over time.

Beyond Reach Labs, Inc. secured second place, earning $30,000 for their work on rapidly deployable infrastructure for network and sensing solutions, tower monitoring, and engineering consulting. Mitchell Fogelson's innovative approach to addressing critical infrastructure needs resonated strongly with the judges.

Third place, and $20,000, went to Sabana, a platform designed to accelerate product research and construction specifications. Ruben Quesada, Saket Kulkarni, and Alexander Zhu showcased a solution that streamlines the often complex process of product development.

The Undergraduate Track saw Thursday Thrift, Inc. claim the first-place prize of $8,000. Chibuike Dumebi-Kachikwu, Paul Davis, and Amy Guo's venture aims to bridge the gap between discovery and demand in the thrifting market. noVRel, led by Tanvi Mittal and Sejeal Katiyar, earned second place and $5,000 for their work on redefining the operating room through augmented reality.

BAM! received the Fighting Spirit Award and $1,000, recognizing their dedication and perseverance in their venture to create self-heating containers. Team members included Kaitlyn Chow, Tarek Fakhri, Melody Chu, Liam Merino, Shanting Hou, and Nyomor-Da Tackie-Yarboi.

This year also marked the introduction of the new Social Enterprise Track, a testament to the growing focus on ventures that address pressing social and environmental challenges.

In the Graduate category, OctaPulse earned $20,000 for their AI-driven inspection system that promises to revolutionize fish farming, increasing yields and reducing costs. Paul L. Grech, Rohan Singh, and Andres Castrillon's innovative approach impressed the judges with its potential for sustainable impact.

The Undergraduate Social Enterprise Track had two winners, each receiving $7,500. Avalon, presented by Derek Armfield and Akeil Smith, aims to enhance teaching efficiency and student learning through AI and learning psychology.

Also winning $7,500 was AdaptED, a B2B EdTech company presented by Aditi Shimpi and Allison Yu. AdaptED streamlines special education accommodations for K-12 schools, reducing teacher workload and strengthening parent-teacher collaboration.

The McGinnis Venture Competition continues to be a pivotal platform for Carnegie Mellon University's aspiring entrepreneurs. This annual event underscores the university's commitment to innovation and empowering the next generation of business leaders.