Every Spring, the Startup Columbia venture competition gives out non-dilutive cash prizes to the next generation of entrepreneurs—early-stage ventures founded, managed, and owned by current Columbia students or recent Columbia alumni.
Thank you to the alumni, judges, and mentors who supported this year’s competition, and congratulations to all the winners for their innovative ideas and hard work! These ventures represent the creativity and impact of Columbia’s entrepreneurial community.
We look forward to seeing what you build next.
Open Track
Held by the Campbell Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia
First Place, $25,000: Robert Schulte ’27CBS
Founder of PollenPal
Hardware and software beehive management solution.
Second Place, $15,000: Yudai Matsuoka ’26CBS
Founder of Asakana
AI organizing the chaos of fish orders.
Third Place, $10,000: Matthew Spana ’27SPS
Founder of Aristotle
Using AI to put building video games into more hands.
Millard Chan ’99 Technology Track
Held by Columbia Engineering
First Place, $25,000: Brendan Stec, MBAxMS ’26
Founder of Routerr Health
Smart logistics platform for mobile healthcare
Second Place, $15,000: Yuta Morimoto, MBAxMS ’27; Nat Suwattananon, MBAxMS ’27; Andy Pasricha, MBA ‘26
Founders of MariStarboard
Autonomous underwater robotics for global maritime infrastructure
Third Place, $10,000: Aditya Kulkarni, MS CS’26; Paul Yoo, MS ChemE ’22
Founders of Plasmole
AI research partner for molecular biology.
SIPA Annual Global Policy Challenge
Held by SIPA
First Place, $25,000: Shruti Das ’26SIPA; Jacqueline Deprey ’26CBS/SEAS
Founders of Perpetua
A platform that streamlines estate settlement with guided workflows, automated asset discovery, and secure tools to reduce errors, fraud, and stress for families.
Second Place, $20,000: Carly Bainbridge ’26SIPA; Annie-Marie Fawaz Gergi ’26SIPA; Leticia Marne Salmon ’26SIPA
Founders of BlockBridge
A financial infrastructure enabling NGOs to deliver cross-border aid via stablecoins faster, cheaper, and more transparently.
Third Place, $15,000: Sarah Bruce Senior ’27SIPA; Vivian Martins Bertell Costa ’27SIPA; Natalia Martin ’26SIPA
A financial infrastructure enabling NGOs to deliver cross-border aid via stablecoins faster, cheaper, and more transparently.
Founders of Clase Viva
A multigrade teaching model that empowers rural Colombian teachers through playful, culturally grounded learning to improve education quality.
Third Place, $15,000: Maria Paula Bejarano ’26SIPA
Founder of Infralytica
An AI copilot that accelerates infrastructure project preparation by automating regulatory analysis, compliance, and document generation.
Media Track
Held by the Brown Institute for Media Innovation
First Place, $15,000: Hemish Dave ’20CBS
Founder of Hey Kahani
Screen-free cultural storytelling for South Asian kids
Second Place, $10,000: Pol Villaverde ’26SIPA
Founder of Palumba
Political information engagement platform for young voters
Third Place, $5,000: Davi Merchan ’18JRN
Founder of SiSe News
Social-first, English/Spanish news curation platform
Helen Gurley Brown (HGB) Foundation Prize
The Helen Gurley Brown (HGB) Foundation Prize provides up to $25,000 in non-dilutive funding to ventures founded or co-founded by one or more Columbia University students. The Prize supports entrepreneurs participating in the 2026 Startup Columbia venture competition who are prepared to turn their ventures into real, scalable businesses within six months. Grounded in the HGB Foundation’s mission of inspiring and sparking innovation, the Prize honors Helen Gurley Brown’s legacy by backing bold founders who are redefining what’s possible.
$25,000 Prize: Shruti Das ’26SIPA; Jacqueline Deprey ’26CBS/SEAS
Founders of Perpetua
A platform that streamlines estate settlement with guided workflows, automated asset discovery, and secure tools to reduce errors, fraud, and stress for families.
$25,000 Prize: Sumana Palles ’26SPS, Qotrunnada (Nada) Maulina ’25SPS, Kavin Aravindhan ’25SEAS
Founders of Navi
NAVI is an AI-powered accessibility tool designed to improve how blind and visually impaired (BVI) individuals interact with complex digital productivity tools.
$15,000 Prize: Emily Cory, ’26CBS/SEAS; Isabella Gartner ’27MPH
Founders of Inside Outside Health
Inside Outside Health (IOH) is building the first mental wellness ecosystem purpose-built for athletes– an anonymous, 24/7 space that meets athletes where they are and redefines how mental health is supported, free from fear or judgment.
Data Science Institute AI Prize
The Columbia Data Science Institute (DSI) AI Prize awards grants of up to $15,000 to a Columbia University start-up founder or founding team whose start-up demonstrates exceptional innovation in AI.
$15,000 Prize: Robert Schulte ’27CBS
Founder of PollenPal
Hardware and software beehive management solution.