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CMU Alumnus Steven Guo Joins the Swartz Center as Newest Program Manager
Steven Guo has accepted a Program Manager role at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, focused on alumni-related programming. Steven will support the delivery of the VentureBridge accelerator and other community building initiatives for Tartans such as his role in leading the CMU Tech & Entrepreneurship (CMU T&E) group as a volunteer. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon, Steven worked across the health care spectrum from a life sciences startup accelerator to a non-profit healthcare foundation and a multi-stakeholder, community-based initiative focused on the social determinants of health in Pittsburgh.
Steven is a proud Tartan and graduated from Carnegie Mellon with a B.S. in Decision Science from Dietrich College and a minor in Healthcare Policy & Management.
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Gather AI Announced Partnership to Use American Made Drones Made by California-based ModalAI
Gather AI has announced a partnership with ModalAI, a company that utilizes deep learning and hardware including autonomous drones to scan and itemize warehouse inventory faster than traditional means. Previously, the company utilized DJI drones, which are manufactured in China. By utilizing ModalAI's drones, the company will see hardware benefits, including the ability to fly in narrower aisles than before.
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Carnegie Mellon Names Included in The Pittsburgh Business Times' 2025 Pittsburgh Power 100
The Pittsburgh Business Times has named the Pittsburgh Power 100, a listing of the region’s most influential business leaders. The list includes several names affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University as founders, professors and more including CMU President Farnam Jahanian, John Thornton, CEO, Astrobotic Technology, Inc., Luis von Ahn, co-founder and CEO, Duolingo Inc., Zico Kolter, professor and director of CMU's Machine Learning Department and new board member at OpenAI and more.
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SWARTZ CENTER SUCCESS STORIES
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The Swartz Center has provided growth and financial resources for hundreds of students, faculty and alumni who have created great companies that positively affect the way people live. To celebrate, the Swartz Center interviewed six startup founders in 2024, as part of its 'Success Stories', who talk about their journey to founding their companies and give advice to CMU Entrepreneurs.
This week, we are featuring ToyzElectronics founded by father and son duo Wole Idowu and Damola Idowu. ToyzElectronics provides a platform that uses game theory, mechanics and advanced manufacturing to introduce students to creating, selling and using TOYZ to tell their own superhero stories.
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|  | Eagle Lo (2nd from left) with FORG3D Team
| |  | Avalon Sueiro (left) and her team
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Carnegie Mellon University Hosts TartanHacks 2025
Carnegie Mellon's ScottyLabs organization hosted TartanHacks 2025 at CMU on February 7-8, 2025. The hackathon boasted 176 teams and 775 hackers with 37 universities represented for 24 hours of intense, in-person hacking and $30K in cash prizes. Students from across the country came together to create innovative projects, hack, connect with peers and learn from incredible speakers such as Zico Kolter, CMU professor and board member at OpenAI. TartanHacks, presented alongside AppLovin, was sponsored by Ripple, Story, Oracle, Bloomberg, Jane Street, Perplexity, Hudson River Trading, and more.
Two of the winning teams included SCS graduate student Eagle Lo, (James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow), and Tepper School of Business undergraduate student Avalon Sueiro (Innovation Scholar). Eagle's team won third place and $500 in the Blockchain track and Avalon's team won Raspberry Pi products.
Congratulations Eagle and Avalon!
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Carnegie Mellon University and the CMU Alumni Association are committed to highlighting CMU's exceptional Black alumni, students, faculty and staff throughout the year. Each year, Black History Month provides us with a special opportunity to recognize, acknowledge and elevate their professional and academic excellence. CMU's Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion is also celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a series of events.
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| Date: February 18, 2025
Time: 1-2:30 PM | ET
Location: CMU Scott Hall, Bosch Spark Conference Room
Join the Scott Institute’s Entrepreneurial Student Lunch Series with James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Ruben Quesada Alvarado, co-founder of Sabana, an AI-powered data management platform designed to streamline communication and collaboration for architects and design engineers.
This series inspires students, faculty and staff to explore cleantech and climate tech entrepreneurship opportunities. Lunch will be provided, but space is limited.
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Join the next Funders & Founders Talk on March 13!
Directions to Roberts Hall (pdf)
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| Apply to the VentureBridge 2025 Accelerator!
Are you a CMU alumni working on a startup? Apply to the CMU VentureBridge 2025 accelerator in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and New York for funding, 1:1 support, founder roundtables, weekly talks with VCs and introductions to mentors and advisors.
Attend the next information session on March 3!
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| Applications Open for the NSF I-Corps
AI/Robotics Regional Cohort
This special AI/Robotics focused NSF I-Corps Regional cohort is run by the CMU Swartz Center's Project Olympus and the Mid-Atlantic I-Corps Hub. The program is open to deep tech research and academic based teams/entrepreneurs who are looking into commercializing innovations in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The cohort will integrate industry specific guidance and expertise for AI/Robotics with traditional I-Corps Training. All sessions are virtual and in eastern time.
Session 1: April 11th, 9am-12pm
Session 2: April 18th, 9am-12pm
Session 3: April 25th, 9am-12pm
The first step is to complete the required online prep course. Two virtual info sessions will be held on Wednesday, February 26; 2-3pm ET and Wednesday, March 12; 11:00am-12:00pm ET.
The application deadline is March 31. Apply early, space is limited!
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| CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
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| Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
Find out more and see the full schedule.
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|  2/18
REGISTER
Early-Stage User Acquisition and Marketing (Matt Spettel, John LaGue, Trainwell)
| |  2/19
REGISTER
Intellectual Property Crash Course (Shane Rumbaugh, Steptoe & Johnson)
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2/20
REGISTER
START SMART: Building Your Team (Virtual)
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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 for office hours outside of these regular hours.
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| Goodwin
Goodwin is a full service law firm with practice areas and expertise specifically tailored to represent startup companies in all of their legal needs including IP, corporate, employment, contracts, transactions, litigation, and much more. The Firm has put in place special startup-friendly pricing packages uniquely designed for Carnegie Mellon University companies.
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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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