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| CORE SWARTZ CENTER EVENTS, PROGRAM DEADLINES & ANNOUNCEMENTS
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| Applications Are Now Open!
2027 McGinnis Venture Competition/Social Enterprise Prize
The McGinnis Venture Competition at Carnegie Mellon University is where bold student founders compete for serious capital and real momentum. Funding is made possible through a generous endowment from Gerald E. McGinnis and the David and Lindsay Morgenthaler Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund.
The dealine for Round 1 submissions is Tuesday, January 19, 2027. Teams who create a profile, register for the competition and start their submission by Tuesday, December 1, 2026 are guaranteed to be assigned a coach for the competition. The final round pitches will be held on Tuesday, March 16, 2027.
This year, social impact teams can opt-in to be considered for the Social Enterprise Prize for additional prizes. If you opt-in you can compete for a chance to automatically advance to the US Nationals of the prestigious $1M Hult Prize – the ultimate global competition for student social entrepreneurs!
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Application Opens November 2!
CSL Spring 2027 Information Session | Project Course & Fellows Program
Join the Corporate Startup Lab (CSL) for an overview of the Spring 2027 Fellows Program and Project Course. Learn about both opportunities, the application and selection process, and what to expect for the upcoming semester. There will also be time for questions.
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Meditation App Equa Health Now Tracks Your Breathing Using Only Your Phone
Most people quit meditation because they can’t tell if it’s working. Equa Health, a Carnegie Mellon spinout and 2021 VentureBridge participant, just launched its answer.
This week, the company released Meditation Performance Insights. The technology builds on 15+ years of research from Dr. David Creswell’s Health and Human Performance Lab at CMU and was developed with support from the NIH’s Small Business Innovation Research program. Creswell co-founded Equa with CEO Mat Polowitz, a Tepper School of Business alumnus and former PhD Innovation & Commercialization Fellow with the Swartz Center.
Equa is live now on iPhone and Android. Use code EQUA26 for two weeks free.
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Efficient Computer Electron E1 Named to Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2026
CMU spinout Efficient Computer Electron E1 has been named to Time Magazine's 'Best Inventions of 2026'. Ten years in the making and billed as the world’s most energy efficient, general-purpose processor, the chip’s “spatial dataflow” architecture cuts down on back-and-forth and delivers up to 100 times greater energy efficiency than conventional low-power processors.
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|  | Sammie Walker Herrera, ACC (center) with staff and board members of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area HIspanic Chamber of Commerce
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Speak Y'all Wins $10K VIVA Grant from the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Speak Y'all, founded by CMU affiliated public speaking coach Sammie Walker Herrera, recently won a $10K VIVA Grant from the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (PMAHCC's). The grants are part of the PMAHCC's programming, and one of the ways it helps Hispanic businesses across the region.
Speak Y'all is registered with the Swartz Center's Project Olympus incubator and Sammie runs her in-person coaching out of the space.
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|  | 2026-28 Graduate James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows
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Meet the 2026-28 Graduate James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellows, Undergraduate Innovation Scholars and
PhD Innovation Fellows
The 2026-28 Swartz Fellows, Innovation Scholars and PhD Innovation Fellows were formally inducted at a reception held at the CMU Swartz Center last Friday evening. During the celebration, each of the students introduced themselves and gave a one minute pitch about their startups to in person and virtual attendees, which included several alumni from those programs.
Each of the cohorts will participate in the weekly Proseminar sessions where they will network with CMU alumni founders, local VC's, and learn about resources available to them on campus as well as the Pittsburgh ecosystem to help with their startup journeys. They will also get time with the Swartz Center's Entrepreneur in Residence staff and connect with mentors from the community.
The students will attend the annual Entrepreneurship Trek in California's Bay Area in January, 2027.
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|  | 2026-28 Undergraduate Innovation Scholars
| |  | 2026 PhD Innovation Fellows
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| Hack-a-Startup 2026 ~ Kickoff Weekend
Hack-A-Startup, hosted by CMU's Graduate Entrepreneurship Club, is more than a traditional hackathon. Over the span of two weeks, aspiring entrepreneurs across the university come together to develop ideas and transform them into tangible business models. During kickoff weekend, October 30 through November 1, you will create ideas, form teams, and pitch your business to a panel of judges. Select teams will move on to the finale on November 14 to pitch again for real prize money to put towards building your idea. No prior team or idea needed!
Registration is now open on Tartan Connect!
Reach out to Jessi Figard (jfigard@tepper.cmu.edu) with questions.
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The Everywhere Millionaire: Who is Really Rich in America?
Date: Thursday, November 12
Lunch: 12:15 PM | ET
Program: 12:30 - 1:30 PM | ET
Location: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University
Join us for a conversation with Eric Zwick, co-author of The Everywhere Millionaire, as he explores the surprising story of wealth creation in America and what family-owned and privately held businesses can teach us about entrepreneurship, ownership, and the American Dream.
This event is complimentary, however registration is requested.
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Eniac Ventures: Fireside Chat +
After Hours
Date: Monday, November 2
Time: 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM | ET
Come join a fireside chat with Shyan Koul of Eniac Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in New York, as he talks startups, venture capital and what investors look for in early-stage founders. Audience Q&A and a networking session will take place after the talk.
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CMU III Presents: Evening of Entrepreneurship
Date: November 4
Time: 4-7 PM | PST
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NGEN Spacetech Conference
Date: Friday, November 6
Time: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET
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| Apply November 27 through December 19!
The Horizons Challenge is a national competition from xFoundry, run in partnership with NASA and open to students at any accredited North American university or community college.
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| CONNECTS/START SMART LEGAL 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!
The CONNECTS/SMART LEGAL seminars have ended for the Fall semester and will resume in the Spring.
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CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
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| Click the images to find out more about each of the Clubs!
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The CMU T&E has a jobs board, available for people across the community to share and seek new opportunities in the startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Find out more and visit the website here.
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.
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The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
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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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Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is a multi-jurisdictional, full-service law firm that takes a progressive approach to providing counsel at each stage of a client’s life cycle. Our dedicated team works closely with our clients to form entities, advise on the most advantageous entity type, and design and negotiate joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions. If a client has a dispute, Steptoe & Johnson has a team of business and product liability litigators and labor and employment lawyers to guide clients through these often stressful and disruptive situations.
Steptoe & Johnson brings a strong skillset for data privacy, cyber security and intellectual property matters which are frequent concerns for startups and technology companies. We offer competitive and flexible rates and aim to provide value to our clients.
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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.
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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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