20 Teams Selected for Classroom Portion of the 18th Annual Global New Venture Challenge

From Chicago, Hong Kong, and London, 20 teams are advancing to the classroom portion of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s 2025 Global New Venture Challenge (GNVC).

The GNVC is the global track of the New Venture Challenge, the University of Chicago’s signature startup accelerator, and supports Chicago Booth Executive MBA students worldwide. More than 80 coaches, judges, panelists, and guest speakers participate in the GNVC each year.

“We were thrilled to see such innovative and diverse ideas from this year’s GNVC applicants. The selection process was highly competitive, and the advancing teams showcase exceptional potential to bring groundbreaking ideas to market,” said Heyward Harrison, GNVC program manager and assistant director of entrepreneurship programs at the Polsky Center. “As we move into the classroom portion, our focus will be on providing these teams with the resources, mentorship, and insights needed to transform their concepts into viable business opportunities.”

Chicago Cohort

• ForecastIO // ForecastIO is a restaurant analytics provider offering cloud-based SaaS solutions to optimize inventory and reduce food waste. By combining machine learning and restaurant-specific data, it delivers personalized demand forecasts, empowering restaurants to improve margins and sustainability.
• In House // In House provides homeowners with a full service home maintenance product and service. Its offerings in full-service home maintenance includes a personalized maintenance subscription plan, on-demand services and repair, and small projects. It is done a single point of contact for a seamless homeownership experience.
• LiquorTech // LiquorTech is a tech-enabled franchise model empowering independent liquor stores with AI-driven inventory optimization, centralized purchasing, compliance tools, and a unified loyalty program. By reducing waste, increasing revenue, and enhancing customer retention, LiquorTech transforms local retailers into competitive, efficient businesses while preserving their unique community charm.
• LyncWyze // LyncWyze is a membership-based social network for parents to collaborate on kids’ pickup and drop-off, addressing transportation challenges safely, affordably, and sustainably. Using a community-driven model, advanced safety features, and a proprietary points system, LyncWyze simplifies logistics while fostering trust and social connections among families with children aged 8–15.
• Prevant Care // Prevant Care simplifies healthcare navigation by empowering users to maximize underutilized insurance benefits and access preventative care. Through personalized insights, geolocation-based provider connections, and intuitive recommendations, the platform addresses decision fatigue and fosters proactive health management, delivering a streamlined, patient-centered experience, improving health outcomes and reduces costs for all stakeholders.
• Qixent // Qixent simplifies insurance. Its insurance-as-a-service platform lets businesses offer tailored insurance coverage at checkout without traditional barriers.
• TechBridge for Seniors // TechBridge for Seniors offers innovative AI-powered voice assistants and contextual memory aids designed to help seniors overcome forgetfulness and social isolation. The technology enhances daily life by providing empathetic interactions, timely reminders, and easy-to-use digital world, ensuring seniors stay connected, independent, and engaged.
• Zoomies Dog Park // Zoomies Dog Park, Houston’s first subscription-based dog social club, offers 25,000+ sq. ft. of off-leash turf, shaded areas, daycare, food services, live entertainment, and events. Open late, it ensures safety with vaccinated, assessed dogs and aims to be the ultimate hub for canine needs and exceptional amenities for dog parents.

Hong Kong Cohort

• Athena Investment Terminal // Athena is an intelligent financial terminal to help investment managers and advisors maximize their firm’s collective knowledge and make better investment decisions.
• Hear Your World // Hear Your World is an AI-powered social platform where users create and share authentic audio experiences. The platform enables building personal sound libraries and enhances static posts with audio elements. A gamified approach makes both sound creation and sharing fun and effortless through an integrated toolkit.
• NeuroUnleash // NeuroUnleash empowers neurodivergent individuals and those with mental health conditions to build meaningful careers by offering corporate consulting, tailored training programs, and employment support services. It creates inclusive workplaces, fosters personal growth, and connects talent with opportunities, driving diversity while unlocking hidden potential across industries.
• Pawfectly Fresh // Pawfectly Fresh is a direct-to-consumer data-driven pet nutrition management service that offers natural, warm fresh pet food tailored to the individual pet’s nutritional needs. Formulated based on each pet’s genetic data, health profile and nutritional science, the meals deliver the optimum levels of nourishment for their balanced health and development.
• SriKandi // SriKandi is a lending platform accelerating the energy transition in emerging markets. It connects impact investors with renewable energy developers, providing non-recourse project financing. Its data-driven platform unlocks capital for impactful projects, initially focusing on Indonesian rooftop solar, then expanding across the APAC region and beyond.
• WinAge // WinAge is a digital health company combining advanced biological markers testing with proprietary AI-driven algorithms to help individuals achieve longevity goals. It transforms each individual’s biological data and lifestyle insights into actionable plans where progress is monitored periodically, creating a dynamic, measurable feedback loop toward longevity goals.

London Cohort

• Affinity // Affinity is an innovative online social networking platform designed to revolutionize how individuals build and sustain meaningful social circles across their life stages. Affinity aims to empower people with structured tools and interactions to form meaningful and transformational connections that will enrich people’s lives – both personally and professionally.
• AxionGuard // AxionGuard brings advanced endpoint protection and detection and response to small and medium-size businesses, enabling them to defend against evolving cyber threats without the need for in-house security expertise or an increase in IT budget
• Kivira // AI-driven precision psychiatry platform that delivers faster, more accurate mental health diagnostics and connects patients with the right specialists. Its solution streamlines diagnosis, enhances treatment outcomes, and integrates with providers to address the mental health crisis through personalized, scalable, and accessible care.
• THADAN // Thadan provides a centralized platform for West African SMEs, offering curated data, insights, and risk analysis to enhance visibility and transparency for investors. It empowers SMEs with reliable analytics and equip investors with actionable intelligence, fostering economic growth and investment in the region.
• VitaNexus // VitaNexus is a family-centered health management platform that integrates medical records, optimizes healthcare costs, and provides AI-driven insights to enhance decision-making and continuity of care, ensuring comprehensive health and wellness for families.
• WealthBuddy // WealthBuddy is building a digital personal finance platform tailored for the mass market. This platform will provide accurate financial education, personalized AI-driven insights, and tailored financial product recommendations. Its platform addresses the affordability, accessibility, and trust gaps in traditional financial advisory, empowering and nudging users to make informed financial decisions.

The GNVC is designed to meet the unique schedule needs of Chicago Booth Executive MBA students. Students who are accepted into the program take a class that is taught by one of the Polsky Center’s entrepreneurship faculty – learning how to take their idea from ideation to implementation and exploring the entrepreneurial journey.

Each campus – Chicago, London, and Hong Kong – will host its own semifinals event, and the top teams across all campuses will be invited to participate in the GNVC Finals, where teams pitch to a world-class panel of investors and entrepreneurs. Prizes in the form of cash, legal services, and professional consulting are awarded.