|
|
| CORE SWARTZ CENTER EVENTS, PROGRAM DEADLINES & ANNOUNCEMENTS
| |
2026 Corporate Startup Lab Case Competition
Student Teams ~ Register by Saturday, October 17
For the fifth year in a row, the Corporate Startup Lab Case Competition is sponsored by PNC Bank, with cash prizes totaling $20,000, including $12,000 for the first place team.
This year’s theme is: Bridging Generational Trust: AI for Asset & Family Transitions
Teams will design AI-driven client platforms and advisor tools that help financial institutions support families through major asset transitions such as inheritances, business sales, and estate settlements. The goal is to strengthen client relationships, retain assets, engage next-generation family members, and help advisors be more proactive.
The competition is open to graduate students at U.S. based universities. Teams of three to four students can register through Saturday, October 17th.
Register for the next Info Session:
| |
The Everywhere Millionaire: Who is Really Rich in America?
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.
Date: Thursday, November 12
Lunch: 12:15 PM | ET
Program: 12:30 - 1:30 PM | ET
Location: Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University
This event is complimentary, however registration is requested.
| |
| Tuning the Brain Like a Radio: Synapse Symphony’s
Plan to Treat Chronic Pain at Home
A Pittsburgh startup built on years of Carnegie Mellon University research supported by DARPA funding is developing a portable brain-stimulation system to ease chronic pain. During CMU Startup Week, RobotToday spoke with co-founder and chief operating officer Vishal Jain about the technology, early patient results, FDA plans and a second use he described near the end of our talk.
| |
| Gecko Robotics Lands First-Ever Jersey Patch Deal with Duquesne's Men's Basketball Team
Duquesne University's men's basketball team will feature Gecko Robotics as its first-ever jersey sponsor.
The North Shore-headquartered company was founded in 2013 by CEO Jake Loosararian and CMU alumnus and President Troy Demmer, and utilizes a suite of robotics to perform inspections of things that would be difficult or dangerous for a human to complete. Gecko Robotics has been named the Official AI and Robotics Partner of Duquesne University Athletics and will see its logo displayed on jerseys worn by the university's men's basketball team throughout the 2026-27 season.
| |
| Agentic Memory Meetup: Architecture, Demo/Sales
Enablement Tool
Date: Tuesday, October 13
Time: 6-8 PM PST
AI agents forget everything between sessions. This is a working session on fixing that: real architecture, a live demo, and practitioners already using it in production.
Vishakha Gupta, Founder & CEO of ApertureData, will walk through Aperture Nexus, the open source memory and cognition layer she built for this exact problem: how it's built on ApertureDB, how commits become memory, shown live in 15 minutes.
| |
Date: Tuesday, October 20
Time: 12:15-1:30 PM | ET
Join the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation for an Entrepreneurship Lecture with CMU alumnus and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Kwaku Jyamfi, CEO of Cyrtan Energy.
| |
Ivy + Founder X Funders Mixer
Date: October 21
Time: 6-9 PM | ET
Location: New York, NY
| |
| 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.
| |
Date: October 22, 2026
Time: 5-7 PM | ET
Location: Dentons Cohen & Grigsby P.C.
Celebrate the Fall season with an evening hosted by Dentons! Join us for a networking event among the city's innovation and entrepreneurship community.
Enjoy light hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and engaging conversations as we gather to reconnect with old friends, forge new connections, and immerse ourselves in the dynamic spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
| |
OTHER APPLICATION DEADLINES
| |
| Apply by October 23!
AI is moving fast. The question for small and mid-sized businesses is how to put it to work.
Beyond Better Prompts: Build Better AI Tools is a new hands-on program from the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Business Initiative designed to help family and owner-led businesses move from experimenting with AI to real business application.
Build and test AI tools, identify high-value opportunities, and leave with a practical roadmap for putting AI to work in your business. No technical background required.
Ready to put AI to work? Applications close on Friday, October 23. Significant scholarships are available for early applicants.
| |
| 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.
| |
| CONNECTS/START SMART LEGAL SEMINARS
| |
| Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel.
See the full schedule and register for ALL of the seminars here!
| |
| START SMART LEGAL SEMINAR
**All Sessions are Virtual ~ 5:00-6:15 PM ET**
Date: Tuesday, October 13
Starting a Business on an F-1 Student Visa
Students with a Visa can legally start businesses as well as work on a startup team. Come learn the details of how to do this without violating your student status and immigration options after graduating.
| |
|  Date: October 22
Pitching with Production Value: Speaker: Brian Staszel, CMU
REGISTER
| |  Date: October 27 (Virtual)
Understanding the Customer and Creating a USP: Speaker: Bob Blattberg, CMU
REGISTER
| |  Date: October 28
Building & Leveraging Your Network: Speaker: Jim Jen, CMU Swartz Center, Dir. Corporate Startup Lab
REGISTER
| |
| | |
CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
| |
| Click the images to find out more about each of the Clubs!
| |
|
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.
| |
The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
| |
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
| |
|
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.
| |
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.
| |
| HOW TO WORK OUT OF THE SWARTZ CENTER
| |
|
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.
| |
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
| |
FIND OUT WHAT OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING
| |
|
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.
| |
|
|
|
Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 |
|
|
|
