Hosted by Yale Ventures, the Summit continues to grow as one of the Northeast’s premier gatherings for innovation and entrepreneurship, offering a dynamic platform for early-stage ventures founded by Yale and Connecticut innovators. Attendees represented a global community, hailing from over 30 states and 17 countries. Roughly one-third of attendees were affiliated with Yale, including faculty, students, and staff, while the remainder represented a mix of entrepreneurs, investors, private and public partners. Two days, six pitch competitions, 60+ panels, and signature programming—including the Yale Investor Assembly and the Connecticut Innovation Pavilion, sparked real momentum for ventures working to improve human health, build more resilient cities, develop sustainable energy solutions, and pioneer new funding models for artists and creatives.

In her first address at the Yale Innovation Summit, Yale President Maurie McInnis, B.A. ’90, M.A. ’96, Ph.D. underscored the profound potential of research-driven innovation: 

“A single breakthrough in the lab can reverberate around the globe and across generations.” 

That spirit of impact was reflected in the extraordinary breadth of innovation on display from across Yale’s schools and programs. Deans and leadership from Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, Yale School of Management, Yale School of Medicine, Yale School of Music, Yale Planetary Solutions, the Yale Provost’s Office, Yale School of Public Health were present at the closing awards ceremony, underscoring the depth of institutional support and cross-campus collaboration driving Yale’s innovation ecosystem forward.

This theme of cross-sector alignment was echoed in the MADE Innovation panel moderated by Dan O’Keefe, Connecticut’s Chief Innovation Officer and Commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), featuring leaders from Biohaven, BioCT, and QuantumCT. Panelists emphasized Connecticut’s "one-call-away" ethos—a culture of connectivity where entrepreneurs can easily access support and decision-makers. As Dr. Albert Green, CEO of QuantumCT, noted, “It’s that village mentality of access and support that I’ve never seen in any other state.” That infrastructure was on full display at the Innovation Pavilion, where DECD hosted “office hours” giving entrepreneurs direct access to key state agencies and resources.

More than $350,000 in funding and prizes was awarded to this year’s Summit winners, a cohort that reflects the forward momentum of the region’s innovation economy. From equitable housing and regenerative medicine to AI-enabled healthcare and sustainable energy, these ventures represent the next wave of transformative impact born from Yale research and Connecticut ingenuity. 

AWARDEES

Virtual Showcase Winners

1st Place: Grace – Stephen Dest

2nd Place: Avisk – Todd Cort

3rd Place: Breath Free – Mike Theran

E-Poster Category Winners

Best Arts: Crooked Letter – Gabriel Gomez

Best Biotech: Rigimmune – Susan Sobolov

Best Civic: Amuse – Dakota Stipp

Best Climate: VIRV – Nick Holland

Best Health: PriMetaz – Ryan McNaughton

Best Tech: Morphic – Austin Cai

Golden Ticket Awards

BioLabs: EpiTET Therapeutics – Erika Smith

District: NurseBrain – Samu Mhlambi

Climate Haven: Verustruct – Nick Caligeri

Arts Pitch Contest

Business Model Innovation Winner: Preemadonna – Pree Walia

Business Model Innovation (Audience Choice): poem RENOVATION – Kelly de la Rocha

Creative Innovation Winner: Haus of Black – Jonah Craggett

Creative Innovation (Audience Choice): Six Figure DJs – Loren Jefferson

Biotech Pitch Contest

1st Place & Audience Choice: Rho Bio – Jennifer Beecham

2nd Place: Revalia Bio – Greg Tietjen

3rd Place: Altera Therapeutics – Anjali Ramaswamy

Civic Pitch Contest

Panel Prize: Communities for Generations – Arden Santana, Belito Garcia, Hafeeza Ture, Mustafa Abdul-Salaam

Community Choice: New Haven United – Jason Price and players

Climate Pitch Contest

1st Place & Audience Choice: Oxylus Energy – Perry Bakas

2nd Place: Verustruct – Nick Calligari

3rd Place: Talam Biotech – John Chrosniak

Health Pitch Contest

1st Place: Wavelet – Liz Golden

2nd Place: Conduce Health – Najib Jai

3rd Place: Upkeep Care – Blake Robertson

Audience Choice: ForEVA – Jaya Dadwal

Tech Pitch Contest

1st Place & Audience Choice: Iridia – Murali Prahalad

2nd Place: Matrix Rental Solutions – Sipho Simela

3rd Place: Coral Messaging – Teresa Overskei

Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale

Digital Health Awards

Victor Batista – John Gamble Kirkwood Professor of Chemistry

Guannan Gong – Associate Research Scientist

Mark Gerstein – Albert L. Williams Professor of Biomedical Informatics

Yibing Qyang – Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)

Therapeutics Awards

Whitney Besse – Assistant Professor of Medicine (Nephrology)

Christine Ko – Professor of Dermatology and Pathology

Janghoo Lim – Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience (presented by Ashley Owens)

Dan Wu – Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Pharmacology (presented by Jonathan Birabaharan) 

Photos