Congratulations

VentureCat 2025 Semifinalists

We are excited to announce the 25 semifinalist teams that were selected to compete at VentureCat on May 28, 2025!

The teams were selected across five tracks - Business Products and Services; Consumer Products and Services; Energy and Sustainability; Life Sciences and Medical Innovation; and Social Impact.

Over the next four-weeks, the semifinalists will participate in the VentureCat Pitch Prep Program that provides access to pitch deck development services, pitch coaching and industry-specific advisors. Learn more about the teams selected to compete below.

Business Products and Services

Adrenaline Interactive places products in video games to improve businesses brand affinity, product recall, and conversions.

 

Graduate Team: Shawn Walter, Kellogg ’26

JusticeArch delivers AI-powered growth for law firms and legal businesses—scale faster, spend smarter.

Graduate Team: Nima Ostowari, Pritzker ’25

MedioPunto is an all-in-one restaurant management platform.

 

 

Undergraduate Team: Dietmar Luther Krause Gutierrez, McCormick ’25;  Diego Alamillos, McCormick ’25; Ilan Mayer, McCormick ’25; Emilio Perez, McCormick ’25, Yusef Mufarech, Weingberg ’25

Nyck AI is the virtual employee for procurement—using agentic AI to automate purchasing tasks for small and medium-sized businesses.

 

Graduate Team: Daniel Sutheo, Kellogg ’26; Marc Davis, Kellogg + McCormick ’26; Arthur Koefender, Kellogg ’25; Alex Alvares, Kellogg ’25

Spesland, an AI-native operations platform for mission-critical industries.

 

 

Undergraduate Team: David Xu, Weinberg ’26 and Zachary McCoy, McCormick ’26

 

Consumer Products and Services

hostU  matches students looking to sublet their place or find secure housing by verifying university affiliation and delivering direct, student-to-student matches.

 

Undergraduate Team: Bella Le Sage, Weinberg ’25

InstaEnglish is your personal English-speaking coach in your pocket that helps English learners reach conversational fluency in just 10 months—no fluff, just smart learning.

Graduate Team: Yutaro Nishiyama, Kellogg + McCormick ’25 and Théry Badin, Kellogg + McCormick ’25

nLab combines the world’s smallest electronics lab with an interactive educational platform that teaches hands-on circuit-building, helping learners discover their creativity and develop the skills to fill critical tech jobs and fuel the advancements shaping the world.

Graduate Team: Angie Mercurio, Kellogg ’26

Quarkle is an AI writing partner that learns from your style, understands context, and gives expert-level feedback.

 

 

Graduate Team: Samarth Makhija, Kellogg ’26

Rora is a mist that provides instant relief from external vaginal dryness due to menopause.

 

 

Graduate Team: Catherine Malloy, Kellogg ’25 and Neha Mehta, Kellogg ’25

 

Switchpoint AI - The Right AI Model, Every Single Time.

 

Graduate Team: Yash Agrawal, McCormick ’25 and Henry Michaelson, McCormick ’25

 

Energy and Sustainability 

Cadena Zero is simplifying emissions tracking. Reduction and engagement between companies, their suppliers, and their clients.

 

 

Graduate Team: Ana Maria Palomares, McCormick ’25;  Carlos Oliveros Forero, McCormick ’25; Tomas Monroy Mellard, McCormick ’25

 

Efficore optimizes energy for data centers through interconnected virtual power plants and agentic algorithms.

Undergraduate Team: Jin De (Kevin) Zhang, McCormick ’26

Elytra Robotics - Autonomous robots to clean cities at scale.

 

Undergraduate Team: Christopher Luey, McCormick ’25  

 

Sensify is developing a smart IoT device that helps businesses to measure and accelerate their progress toward achieving their recycling goals.

 

 

Graduate Team: Shane Deng, McCormick ’27

Life Sciences and Medical Innovation

AlleRNA is revolutionizing veterinary health by developing vaccines to eliminate pet allergies.

 

 

Graduate Team: Robert Song, Kellogg ’25

Amino Cosmetic Peptides delivers next-generation cosmetic peptides that power high-performance, science-backed skincare and cosmeceutical solutions.

Graduate Team: Doruk Cezan, McCormick ’25 and Anna Metlushko, McCormick ’25

CareOn empowers health systems to scale hospital-level care at home through a digital platform that optimizes logistics to streamline clinical workflows, lighten provider load, and elevate patient experiences.

 

 

Graduate Team: Gabi Wang, Kellogg ’26

Endovate’s CereFlow is a portable diagnostic device designed to rapidly and accurately detect large vessel occlusion (LVO) strokes in pre-hospital settings to enable timely intervention and reduce mortality.

 

 

Graduate Team: Bhavya Dasari, Kellogg ’26; Namrata Chintalapati, Feinberg + Kellogg ’25; Mihai Truica, Feinberg ’25; Dhinal Thakker, McCormick ’26; Xueyang (Claire) Zha, McCormick ’26

Pilbo is a cost-effective and comprehensively automated smart pill dispenser and connected app bundle designed for the medication adherence improvement of individuals through automatic reminders, tracking intake, and keeping caregivers in the loop.

 

 

Undergraduate Team: Sneh Deshpande, McCormick ’25 and Zhaohan Sun, McCormick ’26

Social Impact

Avocado Farm Trade is growing Africa's avocado future and making an outsized impact on small-hold farmers by linking agricultural production to global markets via end-to-end distribution

Graduate Team: Jacob Stewart, Kellogg + Pritzker ’25; Benjamin Wideman, Kellogg + Pritzker ’25; Sam Rubinroit, Kellogg + Pritzker ’25

Carpe Diem Snacks - Seizing the day to make the tastiest, most sustainable snacks!

Graduate Team: Nicole Zhang, Kellogg ’25

Emoneeds fuses human-led care with AI to deliver continuous support, early intervention, and lasting recovery—transforming mental health in India with empathy and technology.

Graduate Team: Tanmay Goel, Kellogg + McCormick ’25

Swarm is building the next iconic brand in bug spray – we're creating effective products that people actually want to use, backed by a brand that consumers will obsess over.

 

 

Undergraduate Team: Ali Lee, Weinberg ’25

Zaawia is an upskilling platform connecting educated, out-of-work Pakistani women to remote job opportunities in the US by teaching them modern AI skills for admin support roles.

 

 

Graduate Team: Azka Rehan, Kellogg ’25