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Announcing the Five Startups to Receive $100K From
the Tartan Entrepreneurs Fund
We're excited to announce the five companies that will be a part of the 2025 inaugural cohort of the Tartan Entrepreneurs Fund. The Tartan Entrepreneurs Fund is focused on empowering Pittsburgh based CMU alumni startups with unicorn potential with funding of $100K over two years, as well as mentorship and guidance. The five companies that will be a part of the cohort are:
HeadStrait Labs - Alyssa Theroux and Mary Squire
Delivering a head and neck immobilization device that monitors patient motion in real time and generates post-event analysis to reduce secondary injuries during emergency transportation.
Journey Robotics - Keith Gunnett, Reeg Allen, David Lee, and Kyle Solomon
Journey Robotics helps airports and airlines easily modernize their baggage handling operations using advanced technologies without having to change existing processes or upgrade the entire infrastructure. Journey Robotics' drop-in automated Baggage Handler platform enables continuous, consistent and fast baggage handling, resulting in reduced wait times, fewer delays and an improved passenger experience.
Shelfmark - Pat O'Donell and Craig Markovitz
Shelfmark is the AI visual inspection automation platform that saves manufacturers on waste and labor and improves quality and consistency in line-based production.
Singularity Polymers - Hunaid Nulwala, Ph.D., Prof. Carlos Diaz-Acosta, and William (Bill) Belias. Singularity Polymers was founded to transform the packaging industry through the development of single-material polymeric films. By eliminating multilayer complexity, the company enables simpler, more sustainable, and cost-effective packaging solutions and a spin-off from RoCo.
Stealth - The final company is still in stealth, however we are excited to announce them at a later date.
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CMU's VentureBridge Demo Day Makes a Hit in the
Big Apple!
Several investors, along with tons of Carnegie Mellon University alumni packed the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Law office in New York on Monday, June 2 for another successful VentureBridge Demo Day, which was a part of New York TechWeek. The new VentureBridge cohort, another inspiring group of CMU alumni founders, pitched in front of over 100 investors and founders that included hardware and software demos and pitches from companies that are changing gaming, AI training, drug delivery, nutrition, fitness training and more.
Led by Venture Bridge Sr. Director Namrata Banerjee and assisted by Program Manager Steven Guo, the Demo Day was followed by a networking reception featuring the new cohort and select VentureBridge alumni in the portfolio.
Carnegie Mellon University’s VentureBridge (VB) program is a pre-seed fund and an accelerator program, part of the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, focused on supporting Carnegie Mellon founders working on their startups full-time. Since 2018, the VB program has supported dozens of startups collectively valued at over half a billion dollars.
The CMU Swartz Center would like to thank Matt Kirmayer of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman for being an amazing champion of CMU founders—welcoming our alumni to their New York office and continually supporting the CMU founder community.
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| Beyond Reach Labs Awarded $50K at Keystone Space Collaborative Innovation Challenge
The Keystone Space Collaborative and early-stage investor Innovation Works has awarded five local aerospace startups with $200K in funding as part of an innovation challenge. Beyond Reach Labs, founded by CMU Mechanical Engineering Ph.D Mitchell Fogelson, received $50K. The company is developing a pop-up shelter system for space and military uses.
Fogelson also won second place and $20K at this year's
McGinnis Venture Competition.
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CMU VentureBridge Film Production Startup Erosion
Accepting Investments
Erosion (VentureBridge 2023), an independent film production company dedicated to creating conservation and climate comedy film and TV, is now accepting investments for its first feature film "Hiking Buddies" on the WeFunder securities platform. Horror films are traditionally the most profitable film genre and Erosion co-founders Megan Morrison and Tracy Held are leveraging their 20+ years in the entertainment industry, as well as their expertise of conservation and comedy storytelling to engage untapped film audiences.
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| Rising AI & Art Startup SeeMuseums is Hiring!
SeeMuseums, a CMU Swartz Center startup co-founded by Tepper School of Business alumna Yifan Wang, is an AI + Art company developing the world’s first agentive museum tour guide—a mobile app that enhances museum visits with personalized, contextual insights. The company's mission is to make art appreciation accessible to everyone.
SeeMuseums officially launched on the App Store and Product Hunt on May 10th and within just two days, soared to the #1 Product of the Day, as well as earning the #1 Product of the Week in both the Education and User Experience categories. At SeeMuseums, every artwork tells a story—and that story should speak to all, not just experts.
The founders are currently hiring for roles in Full Stack Development, UI/UX Design, Marketing. If you are interested in their mission, learn more and apply here. If you or anyone else in the museum industry is interested in the mission at SeeMuseums, reach out to admin@seemuseums.art
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| CMU Startup Troupe AI is Hiring Software Engineers
Troupe, co-founded by CMU Tepper School of Business alumnus and CEO Austin Webb, is an AI-as-a-Service for marketing and sales teams focused on quantifying "what you are saying to the market" for the first time.
At Troupe, AI teammates do the work of a team of experts analyzing all of its users' external communications, so they can instantly measure consistency, as well as identify what’s working, what’s not, and what to do about it—increasing their pipeline velocity and win rates from top to bottom of funnel.
Overall, Troupe consists of repeat founders, backed by repeat founders, and the team would love to share more about the entirely new GTM future they are building.
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| Rising Swartz Center Startup Daedalia (Mio AI) is Hiring!
CMU Swartz Center startup Daedalia, founded by CMU SCS/Tepper MBA and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Michael Shang, has recently raised funding for its first product, Mio AI and has started to grow! The mission at Mio AI is to create a revolutionary mobile app that provides emotional enhancement in everyday lives. Mio AI creates 3D worlds, offering its users awesome characters as potential friends from a parallel universe.
The company is hiring for the following positions: Software Engineer, Game Programmer, 3D Generalist and Growth Hacker.
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| Apply to the TiE Women Program by June 15!
Applications are now open for the TiE Women Program 2025, an incredible opportunity for women founders to showcase their innovative business ideas on a global stage.
If you are a woman entrepreneur with a passion for innovation and a drive to make a difference, you are encouraged to apply to participate in this prestigious program.
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Pittsburgh Search Community Meetup!
Date: Thursday, June 26, 2025
Time: 5:30 - 7:30 PM | EST
Location: Lawrence Hall, 4609 Butler Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Search Community Meetup! Join us at Lawrence Hall for an evening of networking and learning. This event, which has been organized by Tepper School of Business MBA alumnus Jack Boyle, is a perfect opportunity to share your experiences and connect with like-minded individuals who are exploring or operating in the space.
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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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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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PwC
Our purpose—to build trust in society and solve important problems—is at the core of everything we do. It guides how we serve our clients, our people and the world. To help our clients build trust and deliver sustained outcomes, PwC provides professional services across two segments: Trust Solutions and Consulting Solutions. Within these segments we bring a range of capabilities to help organizations solve faster, solve more and realize more value. These capabilities include cloud and digital, deals, ESG, cybersecurity and privacy, governance/boards, risk, transformation, tax services and much more. Across our global network of more than 295,000 professionals in 156 countries, we are committed to advancing quality in everything we do.
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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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