Thirty-three promising WashU startups have been named semifinalists in the fall 2025 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC). Each venture, founded by students or recent alumni, is competing for a chance to win funding from a $25,000 prize pool. This semester saw a record-breaking 131 entries into the competition, with seven schools and Beyond Boundaries represented by the applicants.

“We were thrilled to set a new application record this year,” said Venture Development Manager Cyril Loum. “It’s always exciting to see ventures from across campus solving problems in healthcare, artificial intelligence, technology, and many other industries! All of the semifinalists identified opportunities in problems and are taking action to build solutions that meet market demands. The relentless focus of these teams is impressive, and we look forward to watching them continue to grow through the competition.”

On October 22, 2025, the semifinalists will pitch to a panel of judges throughout the day. Following these closed pitches, we invite the WashU and St. Louis communities to the Skandalaris Venture Competition Semifinals event in Crowder Courtyard. The evening will begin with a networking reception where guests can connect with the semifinalist teams, get to know the founders, and learn more about their innovative ideas. Attendees will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite venture to win a People’s Choice award and cash prize!

Following networking, we will announce the teams advancing on to the SVC finals in November. You won’t want to miss this exciting evening of innovation and entrepreneurship!

The Fall 2025 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC) Semifinalists are:

3C: Community, Conversation, Counseling – A service supporting the development of novice teachers through facilitating community with other teachers, counseling services, and mentorship. Joe DiSipio (Olin ‘26) 

Affordable Counter UAS Solutions – A cost-effective counter-UAS turret system using off-the-shelf modular components and affordable munitions to neutralize drones. John Babineau (SI ‘26) 

Assertion AI – A generative AI engine designed for teams that need to deliver predictive models. It automates the full model development workflow through reasoning, cutting delivery time from 3-6 months to under an hour. Yao Xie (PhD ‘14, MBA ‘26), Yifan Zhao (MS ‘26), Mei Zhu (PhD ‘14) 

Aurora – A tool that helps healthcare trainees develop and work through clinical reasoning and management of patients. Nicholas Speller (MD ‘27), Michael Qiu (MD ‘27), Mackenzie Simper (MD ‘27), Justin Chang (MD ‘27) 

BABA (Be a Better Athlete) – AI-Powered data science app for Martial Arts athletes. Ohad Dan (MBA ‘26) 

CardioVis – Delivers real-time guidance for robotic cardiac surgery by analyzing multiple data streams to enhance precision. Heath Rutledge-Jukes (MD ‘26) 

Careprice – An all-in-one patient dashboard for medical procedures and billing that simplifies the healthcare experience by enabling users to schedule and compare procedures based on itemized costs, network status, and patient reviews, while consolidating all of their bills into a single, transparent portal. Dagimawi Yasin Mohammed (MPH ‘26) 

CaseGen – An AI-powered learning platform that simulates realistic patient encounters, helping medical students and trainees practice clinical reasoning, diagnosis, and decision-making in a safe, feedback-driven environment. Aditya Sehgal (EN ‘25), Anurag Challagundula (LA ‘27), Karan Joseph (MD ‘27), Akshay Mehta (MD ‘26) 

Chronicle – A mobile platform aiming to centralize medical care, create a community network, and improve access to medical information for chronic pain patients who have traditionally been less supported by the current medical system. Pallavi Jonnalagadda (MD ‘27), Heath Rutledge-Jukes (MD ‘26), Juliana Rausch (LA ‘27) 

Epi-Pal – Epi-Pal is a smart EPI-PEN case that alerts emergency services when an EPI-PEN is used during an anaphylaxis reaction. Lilly Ortiz (LA ‘27), Sonja Nguyen (BU ‘27), Lily Zarr (LA ‘27), William Li (LA ‘27) 

Forthe – An app that helps map out litter in St. Louis and keeps track of litter cleanup. Zellal Abbas (EN ‘28) 

HyperscAIle – A workload management network for AI compute resources. Justin Traenkle (MBA ‘27) 

Ignite Performance – Performance coaching and mental training tools for athletes through one-to-one coaching and an online platform. Reagan Swatosh (MBA ‘26), Abbey Mink (MBA ‘26), Gwynnie Lee (MBA ‘26), David Jackstadt (MBA ‘26), Cora Bassett (MBA ‘26), Spencer Payne (MBA ‘26) 

InjectaGel – A portable, injectable hydrogel scaffold that promotes skeletal muscle regeneration after calf injuries by providing a biocompatible framework for tissue repair. Myles Anderson (EN ‘26), Tyler Atsumi (EN ‘26), Alex Kemp (EN ‘26) 

Kayno Labs – Creates AI tools that turn messy, unstructured data into clear, fair, and useful insights. Jeffrey Clorissaint (MBA ‘26), Fortuna Kadima (EN ‘26) 

Kinetica – A concept for athletic shoes that harvest energy from walking or running.  Marian Konadu Ofori (MPH ‘27), Pavly Youssef (EN ’26) 

KRe8 Spaces – A subscription-based hybrid service that offers space, education, programming, opportunities, and community connections for creatives to make a living doing what they love. Quintrel Brown (MBA ‘27) 

Locus Suit – Enhances spatial awareness through a wearable vest and vision module, enabling safer, more confident, and independent navigation for the visually impaired and blind. Gaurish Agrawal (EN ‘28), Sonia Palamand (EN ‘27), Jacqueline Chuang (EN ‘27) 

MODLR – A customizable credit card platform that lets users build their own card by choosing benefits, rewards, and design, with the annual fee adjusting to match their selections. Aleksei Juracsik (EN ‘28), Sochie Odumlami (EN ’27) 

Netty’s Juicery – Offers handcrafted cold-pressed juices, loose-leaf teas, and herbals through a convenient subscription model available both locally and nationwide. Ginette Rhodes (MBA ‘27) 

NeuroFore – Uses machine learning to detect Parkinson’s disease in its earliest, non-motor stage. Hamasa Ebadi (PhD ‘28), Joe Hess (BU/EN ‘27) , Evan Tan (GB ‘25) 

NewtroFit – Your personal online shopping agent that builds a 3D version of you, finds what fits your style and budget, shows you how items will look on you, and even completes the best deal in a single tap. Aaryabrat Chhatkuli (MS ‘27), SeongJun Kwon (SI ‘27), Aj Oke (EN ’26) 

Nurtree – An alternative solution to screen time management designed to assist busy parents in managing their children’s screen time efficiently, promoting a healthier entertainment-to-education balance from an early age. Fernando Murra Vicario (BU/EN ‘28), David Ding (BU ‘28), Bilgee Batsaikhan (EN ‘28), Aidan Lee (BU ‘28) 

PlasmaSort – A smart blood product management system utilizing mixed integer programming (MIP) and a streamlined design to optimize storage, inventory stewardship, and blood product selection within a blood bank. Emily Zeiberg (MS ‘25), Katie Stubbs (BU ‘25, ‘MS 25)  

Plotify – Helps students visualize multivariable calculus concepts to deepen their understanding and build stronger mathematical intuition. John Li (LA ‘26), Mike Tan (LA ‘26) 

Pretus – An AI-powered platform that helps students prepare for investment banking interviews with a question bank, mock interviews, and instant feedback. Cosmo Guion (BU ‘27), Lucas Vogel (EN ‘27) 

Qaanoon.ai – An AI platform that allows users to ask legal questions and receive straightforward answers trained by lawyers. Naif Aldhafeeri (JSD ‘26), Muad Al Juhany (GL ‘27), Ali Ghubaish (Meng ‘17, PhD ‘24) 

Realize to Act – Web application to connect schools with the resources their students need, building on 8 years of nonprofit efforts providing backpacks, school supplies, and programs to engage students in education leadership. Tanya Keskar (LA ‘27), Kash Tanguturi (BU ’28) 

ReLeaf Candles – Candles that have a second life. Joselyn Garcia (BU ‘29) 

Replication Scientific – Designing, manufacturing, validating, and delivering lab equipment in days, not months. Ben Cook (EN ‘26), Sophie Fendler (LA ‘26), Jaden Devere (EN ‘25) 

The Bubble – A self-service Korean-inspired photobooth offering instant photo strips and ID photos. Yuna Shim (LA ‘28), Jillian Wu (BU ‘28) 

UteroStim – A low-cost women’s health device to treat postpartum hemorrhage. Adara Ezekwe (SI ‘25), Meryl McKenna (EN ‘25) 

Yoink! – Redefining ownership for a generation by making resource sharing and reuse effortless. Ariana Sites (MSW ‘26), April Jung (MDes ’27), Vikas Badami (MBA ‘29), Raneem Mousa (TG ‘27), Mary Ashley Barredo (EN ‘29)