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March 1, 2024
McGinnis Venture Competition final round celebration
Join Us for the Final Round Celebration on March 19!

Help cheer the final round graduate and undergraduate teams to victory! Attend the final round celebration on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The event will also be live streamed to allow for international and remote community members to attend. Find out more.

Schedule of Events:
1:00 - 5:00 PM - Final Round Team Presentations
5:30 - 7:00 PM - Award Ceremony & Networking Reception

Location:

Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center, Tepper Quad Bldg., 4765 Forbes Avenue, 3rd Leve
l
Register to attend
This year's McGinnis Competition is in loving memory of Jerry McGinnis, founder of Respironics.
IN THE NEWS
Abridge Emerges as a AI Healthcare Leader, Raising
$150M Series C

Carnegie Mellon company Abridge, the leader in generative AI for clinical documentation, announced an additional $150M investment, leveraging momentum from their product’s rapid uptake among health systems throughout the nation. This raise comes just four months after their $30M Series B, and is one of the largest funding rounds made to date in generative AI for healthcare.

Abridge is co-founded by CEO Dr. Shiv Rao and Sandeep Konam, former master's student in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.
Read more
ESTAT CEO and cofounder, Stuart Diller (rear, fourth from left)
ESTAT Actuation Named 2023 Co-Op Employer
of the Year


ESTAT Actuation, builder of electroadhesive clutches and brakes that are ten times lighter, ten times more compact, and considerably more efficient than conventional clutch hardware, has been named
2023 Co-op Employer of the Year through a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering and the Co-op program.

The 2021 VentureBridge startup—founded by CEO Stuart Diller, PhDhas hired twelve Pitt co-ops since the program’s inception and has provided great hands-on experience, project management and leadership skills to the students in a real-world working environment. 
Read more
Imagine Cup Semifinalists
Galen Health and ObviousAI Named  Semi-Finalists
in the 2024 Microsoft Imagine Cup

Galen Health founder and James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellow Logan Nye, MD, has announced that his company is a semi-finalist in the Microsoft Imagine Cup. Co-founded with Carnegie Mellon master of Science student Kushagra Agarwal, the company is one of twenty teams selected to advance to the semi-finals out of hundreds of teams from over fifty countries.



ObviousAI, co-founded by Innovation Scholar and Neo Scholar Deniz Birlikci and Arda Akman, are also semi-finalists in the Microsoft Imagine Cup. ObviousAI is an aggregator website for fashion products that support users to search with their natural language or their own photos and screenshots. Birlikci and Akman also recently won a $50K SAFE note at Berkeley's Demo Day.

UPCOMING EVENTS
UBS Family Business Leadership Series talk with
Helen Hanna Casey, CEO, Hanna Holdings
Join the CMU Swartz Center for its next UBS Family Business Leadership Series talk with Helen Hanna Casey. Helen Hanna Casey has been a Real Estate industry leader for more than four decades, repeatedly being named the Most Powerful Woman in Real Estate by the Swanepoel Power 200 report for the past 10 years, as well as being recognized as a Top 10 Industry Leader overall. She was the first person to be named a Newsmaker by RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine, has been named 100 Most Influential People in Real Estate list by Inman News and was honored with the 2019 Women of Influence Career Achievement Award from The Pittsburgh Business Times. 
Register
APPLICATION DEADLINES
Apply to the VentureBridge Summer Accelerator
by March 29!
The VentureBridge Summer Accelerator is a 12-week summer program that helps CMU startups by providing funding ($25K investment from CMU), speakers, workshops, 1:1 support, and introductions to mentors and advisors.

Eligible startups must have at least one Carnegie Mellon University affiliated alumni founder that is full time on the company. All applications must include a pitch deck and a two-minute pitch video.

The final deadline to apply is March 29, 2024. Send questions to Aleks Petkov, Program Manager.

Register for the next information session on March 4, 2024.
Apply
2023 Innovation Scholars visiting BCV Labs during the 2024 Silicon Valley Trek
Applications for the 2024-26 Undergraduate Innovation Scholars Program are Open!
The CMU Swartz Center has opened applications for the next cohort of undergraduate Innovation Scholars. This prestigious program fosters innovation and entrepreneurship aimed at increasing the number of successful startups initiated by or involving Carnegie Mellon University’s undergraduate students from across campus. Students in their junior year are eligible to apply.

Innovation Scholars complete a two-year program integrating academic coursework, networking,  mentorship—given as well as receivedand are required to attend a weekly Proseminar in Entrepreneurial Leadership class. Students with their own startup are eligible to apply for a $6K stipend to work on their startup over the summer.

Applications will be open through April 5, 2024. Early applications are encouraged. Find out more.

Register for the next virtual info session:

March 21, 2024 | 12:30 PM ET - Register
Apply
CONNECTS/START SMART LAW SEMINARS
Can't make a CONNECTS? Watch on our YouTube channel. 

Find out more and see the full schedule.

3/12
REGISTER

CONNECTS: Franchising Opportunities Are Everywhere (Chris Cynkar, FranChoice)
3/14
REGISTER
CONNECTS: Building A Startup From Zero to One: Operations and Fundraising (Mar Hershenson, Pear VC)
SWARTZ CENTER SPOTLIGHT
CMU's GlenLake/Shelfmark Team Seeks Feedback for
New Project


The team at Glen Lake/Shelfmark, which includes CMU alumnus and CEO Pat O'Donell, are currently developing a project that enables real time tracking for physical assets. No more blind spots, no more wasted time, Shelfmark’s Asset Tracking and Management Platform provides unprecedented visibility into your entire physical asset landscape. With its new platform, you can eliminate misplaced equipment, reclaim stolen tools and eliminate asset downtime.

The team is looking to get a deeper understanding of potential users and would greatly appreciate feedback from the survey.
99 Tartans


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.

CMU ENTREPRENEURSHIP CLUBS
CMU GEC CMU UEA Scottie Ventures CMU Summit



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!

SWARTZ CENTER PATRONS
The following companies help directly support our programming and entrepreneurs.
Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
PATRON OFFICE HOURS
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.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Pillsbury

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 currently 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.

To sign up for a 30 minute session with Matt, complete the Signup Form by the Thursday prior to your desired appointment. If you need to schedule an office hour outside of these regular hours,
contact Daria Stokes.
Legal Services Weekly Office Hours
Sign up for weekly office hours.
PATRON SPOTLIGHT

Microsoft for Startups 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
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. Find out more.


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
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES/RESOURCES
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

The VentureBridge program is an initiative of the Swartz Center exclusively focused on helping Carnegie Mellon alumni founders succeed in their entrepreneurial ventures. The program provides seed funding, office space, access to a large network of mentors and innovators and help with startup growth and future larger scale fundraising rounds. Find out more.
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.
Visit the CMU Swartz Center website. Make a donation.
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Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center For Entrepreneurship
5000 Forbes Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890


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