7 Startups to Compete for Investment at the 2026 College New Venture Challenge

Published on Friday, February 27, 2026

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation today announced the seven finalists selected to compete in the College New Venture Challenge (CNVC) finals.

On Friday, March 6, the finalists will present their business plans to a panel of judges and investors for a piece of an investment pool expected to top $150,000.

The 2026 finalists are:

Hafestus // Hafestus is an AI platform that automates the most tedious parts of construction bidding. The platform helps contractors win more projects by identifying costly mistakes, decreasing drafting time, and cutting material costs.
Haldune // Haldune builds debriefing technology that enables organizations across the military and private sector to systematically transfer experiential knowledge. Its platform structures and captures lessons learned across the full lifecycle of debriefing, knowledge management, and planning, enabling teams to systematically transfer what worked, what didn’t, and why.
HandsIn // HandsIn is an AI-driven American Sign Language (ASL) e-learning platform designed to eliminate the tradeoff learners face between accessibility and live feedback. Powered by proprietary Sign Language Correction (SLC) technology, HandsIn uses real-time computer vision and 3D avatar feedback to analyze handshape, movement, and spatial accuracy — transforming passive learning into active, muscle-memory-based practice. By delivering instant correction through a structured, pedagogy-driven approach, HandsIn makes high-quality ASL education accessible beyond the physical classroom.
Kinetide // Kinetide is a sports technology company developing a wearable analytics platform for competitive athletes. By combining motion sensors with performance analytics, Kinetide provides objective feedback on athletes’ technique and performance during training and competition, starting with competitive swimming and expanding into other technique-intensive sports.
Paytera // Paytera is a peer-to-peer payments app for everyday transactions between friends in Mexico. It enables users to send, request, and split money in under 20 seconds using usernames instead of bank account numbers, with group-native features designed for frequent, real-world shared expenses.
Roony // Roony is an AI-powered claims resolution platform that recovers lost revenue for healthcare providers with autonomous voice agents that call insurance companies to resolve denied medical claims and clear A/R backlog. Its AI navigates phone systems, speaks with payer representatives, and learns from every call to improve future outcomes.
Scout // Scout is a private markets infrastructure platform that connects emerging private fund managers with individual accredited investors through financial advisors. By standardizing manager discovery, diligence, and distribution, Scout enables RIAs to confidently allocate to differentiated private funds — expanding access and modernizing private markets distribution.

Launched in 2012, the CNVC is one of four tracks of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ New Venture Challenge, a pioneering and top-ranked startup accelerator that has launched more than 370 still-active companies that have raised more than $1.2 billion in investment and achieved some $8.5 million in mergers and exits.

Alumni of the college accelerator include success stories such as Cubii, Wasoko, MoneyThink, Quevos, and Fronen.

The CNVC is open to all returning UChicago undergraduate students.