The Fall 2025 Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition was held on Friday, December 12th 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.
This semester we had some exciting additions to the run-of-show, with Discovery to Impact hosting a IP Power Hour Showcase, highlighting 5 impressive new research based innovations coming out of the university. Thank you to the following participants:
1. Aerosol-based RNA Medicine Delivery
PI: Rana Ghosh | DTI Lead: Kristin Falkenstein
2. Gentle Gel-based Brain Sensors
PI: Evan Wang | DTI Lead: Jake Grohman
3. Clean Water from the Air Using Natural Materials
PI: Guihua Yu | DTI Lead: Andrei Zorilescu
4. 3D Printed Porous Supramolecular Polymer Sorbents
PI: Zak Page | DTI Lead: Andrei Zorilescu
5. Reprogramming Chemical Warfare to Target Disease
PI: Ken Hsu | DTI Lead: Kristin Falkenstein
Also, we were happy to invite Sean Finney of Tano Skincare, Jacob Guss of Bold Move Beverages and Kevin Long of Outmore Living back for a Fireside Chat in Crum Auditorium while the finals judges made their final deliberations. They discussed where there companies are now post grad, and the challenges that many of the entrepreneurs in the competition may also be experiencing. Ultimately, they persevered and have become the success stories we’re proud to say represent the next generation of Longhorn-led success stories.
a clinical-stage startup spinning out of The University of Texas at Austin, developing a brain imaging system that delivers first-of-its-kind, 4D scanning of brain structures and blood flow, at the bedside. Our system enables continuous neuromonitoring in the ICU, filling critical gaps between 24 to 48-hour CT/MRI scans, and extends imaging to prehospital and post-acute care settings. Backed by clinical data from two U.S. academic centers and supported by a research award from the American Heart Association. Congratulations to Bharat Mathur PhD Mechanical Engineering ‘26
The Texas Superstar and $5,000 prize went to Routora, Routora is transforming how field operations are planned and executed across cities. Our routing platform uses AI to automate the scheduling, assignment, and optimization of inspection and service routes, helping agencies save hours and millions of dollars annually. Built on nearly 90,000 users across gig drivers and small businesses, Routora is now a government-grade routing platform driving efficiency for North America’s largest city agencies. Congrats to competitor Tom Vazhekatt MSTC ‘26.
The Texas Rising Star and $2,500 prize went to Chisom Okwor of Braidiant. They are Braidiant is solving the time, cost, and physical strain of managing curly and coily hair. People with Type 3–4 hair spend over $1,200 and hundreds of hours annually on protective styles. Stylists face repetitive strain injuries from braiding for hours. Braidiant’s patent-pending automated braiding device reduces styling time from hours to minutes—empowering clients with faster access to protective styles and helping stylists protect their hands, earn more, and serve more clients.
All thirty teams also presented two-minute pitches in the Experian Legacy Leader Pitch Challenge which awards prizes of $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively to the top three presenters. The winners were Avid, Elsa, Braidiant. Previously called The Ann Whitt Elevator Pitch Challenge, this category has been renamed in honor of our sponsors from Experian Business Services. Thank you to our friends at
Experian who’ve shown such enthusiastic support for our graduate student-led startups, as well as the larger entrepreneurship landscape. Congratulations to Fred Lindseth MBA ’26, Jason Hadzikostas MSITM ‘26, and Chisom Okwor M.S. Artificial Intelligence ‘26.
The James D. Pippin Veteran Entrepreneurship Award and a $1,000 prize went to Chaskia. Chaskia is a traceable trade-logistics platform that turns exporters’ existing documents, PDFs, permits, photos, and bills of lading, into a one-page, scannable Shipment Passport buyers can review in under a minute. Each Passport delivers a stable link, QR code, and machine-readable data packet, enabling faster approvals, fewer re-asks, and auditable visibility. Chaskia helps emerging-market exporters defend price, reduce delays, and meet rising global compliance standards. Congratulations to Jose Serrate MSTC ‘26, Felipe Arenas MSTC ‘26, Donovan Durgi MSTC ‘26.
Pulse was awarded for Health Innovation and an additional $5,000 prize. Congratulations to Nessie Chu-Heng Lu MSTC ‘26 and Daniel Matthewson MSTC ‘26.
The Sustainability Award and $5,000 prize went to Pinpoint Irrigation. Congratulations to Stephen Herrera MBA ’26.
CerebroSonic was the winner of the Discovery to Impact Award for Commercialization 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 the Energy Innovation Award is: Light Stack Technologies. They develop high-power diode modules engineered for the cost and scale required by future fusion power plants. While today’s suppliers produce expensive, low-volume components for defense markets, we focus on driving down cost and scaling for mass production—addressing an unmet need in the fusion market projected to exceed $38B by 2035. Our technology roadmap delivers cost reductions and a clear pathway to automated, gigawatt-scale diode manufacturing aligned with pilot-plant timelines. Congrats to Sophia Malko MBA ‘26, Nathan Shashoua MBA ‘26, Damla Celik MBA ‘26, Chloe Lins MBA ‘26.
Congratulations to all of the graduate student startups who competed in the Fall 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 May 1st, 2026!