The Spring 2025 Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition was held on Friday, May 2nd featuring the top graduate student startups on the UT campus. Thirty companies competed in five Semifinal rounds in the morning with the winners advancing to the Finals in Crum Auditorium in the afternoon.
a medical device company commercializing Trinity Tube, an innovative feeding catheter that integrates feeding, vital signs, and respiratory monitoring in one seamless device. It offers a safer, more efficient solution for neonatal care, optimizing patient outcomes while minimizing complications associated with current monitoring and respiratory support methods. Congratulations to Iman Salafian, PhD Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering,
The Texas Superstar and $5,000 prize went to CerebroSonic, building a portable brain imaging system to enable rapid stroke diagnosis and monitoring at the point of care. Our wearable headset delivers real-time, CT-like brain scans that support faster, more accurate treatment decisions across the entire stroke care continuum: in the field, at the bedside, and beyond. Backed by peer-reviewed clinical data, we’re redefining how strokes are treated. Congrats to competitor Bharat Mathur, PhD Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, 2026.
The Texas Rising Star and $2,500 prize went to Jarod Angehr (MBA, McCombs School of Business, 2026) of PropDoc.AI. PropDoc.AI is an advanced AI-Agent productivity tool built to streamline and automate the real estate contract process for residential real estate agents. In most US states, real estate agents are required to use state-authorized real estate contract templates. By leveraging an innovative conversational AI model and a proprietary database of state and association compliant contract templates, PropDoc.AI enables real estate agents to auto-fill and execute contracts with super simple prompts.
The Nemec Fortitude award was created in honor of Craig Nemec, who exemplified fortitude in his personal and professional life. As entrepreneurs one must embody resilience, perseverance, leadership, and overcoming adversities. The recipient of this award best embodies these traits is Qusay Salih Hussein Al-Mamari. A member of his dissertation group, Diana DeNitto, accepted the award on his behalf.
The John S. Butler Unsung Hero Award is an annual recognition that highlights a staff or faculty member who has shown outstanding dedication to fostering entrepreneurship among students. This award is unique because it’s nominated by graduate students themselves, making it a testament to the direct impact these individuals have had on student entrepreneurship. This semester, the award went to Luis Martins.
All thirty teams also presented two-minute pitches in the Ann Whitt Elevator Pitch Challenge which awards a $1,000 prize to the top three presenters. The winners were Braidiant, Cold Cycle Coffee, and Imagine Devices.
The James D. Pippin Veteran Entrepreneurship Award and a $1,000 prize went to MagSuture.
CentraShield was awarded for Health Innovation and an additional $5,000 prize.
The Sustainability Award and $5,000 prize went to Pinpoint Irrigation.
Manzana Health was the winner of the Technology Commercialization Award and $10,000 prize.
Last is the Energy Innovation Award. This prize of $5,000 is given to the best venture in the energy sector. The winner of this semester’s Energy Innovation Award is a company that was conceived and launched in Texas Venture Labs’ Energy Ventures Practicum course this semester. The winner of the Energy Innovation Award is: Nanoborne LLC.
Congratulations to all of the graduate student startups who competed in the Spring 2025 Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition! And thanks to all of our judges, sponsors and volunteers who made it possible. We’re looking forward to seeing you at TVLIC’s next competition on December 12th, 2025!