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|  | From left: Dr. Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, Dean of the Tepper School of Business, addresses attendees prior to the event, including CSL Director Jim Jen, Deloitte Managing Partner Jon Valenti, CSL Co-Founder Sean Ammirati, Swartz Center Founding Executive Director Dave Mawhinney and more.
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| The Corporate Startup Lab Hosts 2025 Spring Forum
The Corporate Startup Lab, a Swartz Center-Tepper Initiative, held its Spring CSL Forum at the Swartz Center and Tepper School of Business on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. The event, titled AgentAI: Reimagining Work, provided over 250 attendees a closer look at agent-based AI focusing on the importance of understanding AI agents and its limitations and how executives, entrepreneurs and investors are using it today. In partnership with Deloitte Consulting LLP, the high-impact event explored the transformative role of AI agents across industries.
The half day event included a packed agenda with several expert-led discussions and networking with leaders from Industry, Venture and Academia, aimed at providing valuable insights into how Agentic AI is reshaping business strategy, productivity, and innovation.
The event wrapped up with three breakout sessions followed by a networking reception and Startup Expo featuring seven Agentic AI-based CMU startups.
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|  | The Agent-AI event attendees participate in the Networking Reception and Startup Expo to cap off the day.
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| HEBI Robotics Recently Inked a Contract with NASA's
Ames Research Center
HEBI Robotics will work with NASA's Ames Research Center to "advance autonomous systems and digital framework that will be utilized to construct and maintain adaptable structures in space, including modular habitats, satellites and telescopes," according to a press release.
HEBI was founded in 2014 as a spin-off of Carnegie Mellon University's Biorobotics lab.
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Near Earth Autonomy Secures $790K Contract to
Deliver Miniaturized Autonomous Flight Systems
Maryland-based company SURVICE Engineering has awarded CMU Robotics Institute spinoff Near Earth Autonomy a $790K contract to deliver a miniaturized autonomy system, Firefly.
Near Earth's system is integrated into a preexisting autonomous drone system, providing the drone with increased environmental perception and flight pathing, with capabilities of detecting obstacles and identifying landing zones.
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The Swartz Center Celebrates the New
Undergraduate Innovation Scholars Cohort
The newly selected 2025-27 cohort of undergraduate Innovation Scholars was celebrated at the Swartz Center last Friday afternoon on April 18, 2025. The event, which was also the final Proseminar in Entrepreneurial Leadership class for the Spring semester, included introductions for each of the new Scholars and a networking lunch where the students met the current cohort, students from past cohorts, as well as some of the graduate James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows.
The celebration also included over 80 students enrolled in the AI Venture Studio (AI//VS), a course organized by Adam Paulisick and Sean Ammirati.
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|  | From left: Thomas Kanz, Deepti Aggarwal and Danely Rodriguez
| |  | From left: Akeil Smith, Krish Mawalkar and Timothy Brown (2024-26 Innovation Scholars), William Montague; Anika Halappanavar and Jiya Gupta (center) and Jack Shah (right)
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Apply to the Beyond 2% Fund by May 9!
The purpose of the Beyond 2% Fund is to provide up to $2K in support for early-stage startup ideas at Carnegie Mellon University's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship that address the needs of women, as determined by a committee of CMU staff, alumni and friends.
Open to All CMU Student Founders!
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Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Time: 8:00-9:30 AM ET
Location: Tepper School of Business 4765 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (PNC Foundation Room, 2nd Floor)
Join Open Coffee - AI Edition and meet leading founders, researchers, and teams building with AI, and more than 30 investors from across the country in town for CMU AI Venture Studio Investor Day.
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Date: Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Time: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM ET
Location: Tepper School of Business, 4765 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (PNC Foundation Room, 2nd Floor)
Come see twenty four companies pitch and network with 25+ investors at the AI Venture Studio Demo Day, held after Open Coffee: AI Edition!
Drop in investor slots available if raising $ available.
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Multimodal AI, Vector DB and Agentic AI (San Francisco)
Join AICamp and CMU VentureBridge on May 13, for an evening of cutting-edge talks on multimodal AI, featuring leaders in computer vision and vector database infrastructure. Explore the future of intelligent systems that see, understand and interact across modalities.
Space is limited. Register now!
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Moon x CMU Founders Meetup & Pitch Event (Palo Alto)
Join a networking and pitch event with members of the CMU network. Hear from students, alumni and other founders within CMU as they pitch their innovative business ideas to an audience including VCs, investors, leaders and peers.
Hosted by Moon and CMU VentureBridge and Alumni Association San Francisco Bay Area Network, this event is an exclusive opportunity to learn about up-and-coming businesses and meet founders and other innovators from CMU San Francisco Bay Area Network.
Space is limited. Register now!
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| 2025 Innovation & Entrepreneurship Summer Kick-off!
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Step into summer with Dentons! Join us for an unforgettable evening of camaraderie, connection and celebration amidst the vibrant pulse of Pittsburgh's innovation and entrepreneurship scene.
Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres and engaging conversations as we gather to reconnect with old friends, forge new alliances and immerse ourselves in the dynamic spirit of innovation.
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| Join us on June 2nd during NY Tech Week for the CMU VentureBridge 2025 Demo Day to watch
pitch presentations from the current cohort and select VentureBridge alumni in the portfolio, followed by a reception.
This event is open to investors and VIPs only.
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| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
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| Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
See the full schedule and register for ALL of the seminars here!
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The CONNECTS/START SMART LAW Seminars have ended for the Spring semester and will resume in the Fall.
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The mission of 99 Tartans is to partner with the highest potential, early-stage CMU alumni companies and accelerate their success through access to capital and networks. Find out more.
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CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
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| Click the images to see upcoming Club events!
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CMU T&E x DraperU Dinner in Pittsburgh
Date: Friday, May 2, 2025
Time: 5:30-7:00 PM EST
Calling fellow Pittsburghers who are aspiring entrepreneurs, engineers and folks interested in venture capital! DraperU, in partnership with CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship, is hosting an intimate dinner and mixer to provide an opportunity to share more details about DraperU's upcoming summer residential fellowship programs for engineers, deeptech founders and those interested in a career in venture capital.
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Big News: We’ve Moved to Substack!
Starting April 2025, the CMU T&E is transitioning from Mailchimp to Substack for their primary newsletter!
You can expect a welcome email—if you don’t receive it, you can manually subscribe at cmutechentrepreneur.substack.com.
We’re excited for this next chapter—see you there!
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| The CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship group aims to build a bridge between CMU students and alumni across the startup and tech continuum. With main chapters in NYC, Pittsburgh, and SF, we offer a range of in-person and online events and programming in the form of panels, workshops, founder/investor engagements, startup support, and socials to foster collaboration, innovation, and networking opportunities.
Join 7,000+ Tartans on our Slack workspace and mailing list for resources and updates on how you can engage in the community and CMU entrepreneurial ecosystem. Find out more and get involved!
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The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
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| Pillsbury and Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC are holding office hours for the CMU Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. The office hours are for any interested CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni interested in entrepreneurship or connecting with members of the Swartz Center network.
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Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
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Legal Services Weekly Virtual Office Hours with Matt Kirmayer
Mondays 1:00-3:00 PM ET (10-12 PT)
Matt Kirmayer of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, is offering office hours for newly established startup and emerging companies. Matt specializes in representing technology startups and emerging growth companies, assisting with entity formation, fundraising and overall growth needs. Startup companies with a founder who is a CMU graduate, undergraduate or alumni is eligible to register for
an appointment. Complete the Signup Form for a 30 minute session by the Thursday prior to your
desired appointment.
Contact Daria Stokes or Sean Mawhinney for office hours outside of these regular hours.
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| Founders Hub
Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub is a digital platform that provides free access to the latest AI tools and 1:1 guidance from experts to help founders solve challenges as they grow their business. We provide the right resources at the right time in a startup’s journey so founders can build faster and dream bigger.
Sign up for Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub!
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HOW TO WORK OUT OF THE SWARTZ CENTER
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Swartz Center Education and Resources
No matter what phase of the entrepreneurship cycle you're in, there are programs and resources at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship that will take your idea to the next level. Find out more.
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Project Olympus Incubator Program
Want more help with finding product/market fit, developing your business model, making connections and attracting funding? Project Olympus will team you up with a business coach to develop a personalized ‘roadmap. Find out more.
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COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
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FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
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Have startup news or opportunities to share? Have questions about the Swartz Center Weekly Bulletin? Send news, opportunities or questions to Sonya Ford, Program Manager.
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Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
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