Sweet 16 Chosen in 2025 Dempsey Startup Competition from a Record Field of 40 Finalists

Judges narrowed down the group of competitors vying for a $25,000 Grand Prize after a historic second round of the annual new venture competition at the University of Washington.

Written by Charles Trillingham, Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship

The days, weeks and months of hard work culminated in one of the loudest displays of emotion in Dempsey Startup Competition history as teams (detailed below) were selected to move onto the Sweet 16 Round. The students had just pitched to judges for three hours after setting up elaborate booths to display their research, innovations and startups in the Investment Round of the annual new venture competition at the University of Washington.

Nearly 300 founders, investors, and competition alumni judged the record field of 40 finalist teams in the Investment Round at Seattle’s Convention Center. This year marked the 28th anniversary of the Dempsey Startup — formerly known as the UW Business Plan Competition — hosted by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business.

The Sweet 16 will now compete against each other in a mock boardroom setting on the morning of Thursday, May 22. Judges will select four teams to advance and participate in a live pitch and Q&A that afternoon in front of a select panel, as well as an audience of students, staff, faculty, and the public in attendance. A dinner and awards celebration that evening will feature not just team awards, but the fourth annual presentation of the Buerk Center’s Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

The student teams in this year’s Sweet 16 represent six different colleges and universities from around the region, including UW, the UW Global Innovation Exchange, Seattle University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, and Eastern Washington University.

Advancing into a select group of only 16 teams from a record pool of 174 Screening Round participants is an achievement on its own — but all 40 teams in the Investment Round were also competing for one of ten Big Picture ($5,000) and Best Idea ($2,500) prizes. A total of $87,500 in prize money will be awarded at the dinner and awards celebration.

Over the last 28 years of the Dempsey Startup (including this year), more than 7,400 students on 2,360+ teams have competed. In the past 27 competitions, 257 teams have earned funding prizes totaling just under $2 million dollars, without giving up any equity in their ideas as part of the competition process. Overall, the Buerk Center has awarded just shy of $5 million dollars to students since 1998 through multiple competitions and the Jones + Foster Accelerator.

The Buerk Center would like to thank the 27 sponsors who supported the Dempsey Startup this year as well as UW alum Neal Dempsey (’64, Business Administration). Beginning in 2019, his generous support allowed the competition to expand eligibility for student teams in Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia, stimulating more student-created startups than ever before.

Congratulations to the 2025 Sweet 16 of the Dempsey Startup Competition.

The 2025 Dempsey Startup Sweet 16 Round Teams

APPAIC
APPAIC has developed an artificial intelligence solution to aid in completion of clinical diagnostic tests at a time when the number of patients is rising and the number of diagnostic labs is shrinking.

- University of Washington (Executive MBA)

BagSight
BagSight created an AI-powered robotic system that detects and removes plastic bags from recycling streams to help prevent machine jams, reduce costs, and help facilities operate more sustainably.

• UW Global Innovation Exchange (GIX) (Technology Innovation)

BioSyft Technologies
BioSyft is developing AI-driven technologies to automate and standardize the classification of animal behavior in drug testing, reducing bias and saving valuable time for researchers.

• University of Washington (Pharmacology, MBA, Neuroscience, Computer Science, Biochemistry)

CureXsco
CureXsco has developed a cost-effective and sustainable solution for reactivating PFAS-exhausted filters, thereby reducing landfill waste and operating costs for water filtration.

• University of Washington (Mechanical Engineering), Seattle University (Finance)

Distill
Distill has developed a way for knowledge workers to transform lengthy articles into podcasts, summaries, or mind maps to turn neglected digital clutter into actionable insights.

• University of Washington (Human Centered Design and Engineering, MBA)

Elementrailer
Elementrailer is a motorized electric trailer that transforms fleet towing by significantly reducing Electric Vehicle range loss and slashing operating costs and emissions for greener, more efficient operations.

• University of Washington (MS in Entrepreneurship, Accounting, Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management, MBA, Electrical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering)

FreshPal
FreshPal is building a smart food management system that helps households reduce food waste and save money through a detachable sensor and mobile app.

• University of Washington (MS in Entrepreneurship, Human Centered Design and Engineering, Information Management, MBA)

Kaapu AI
Kaapu AI created a platform for the professional services market to transform generic AI policies into customized, machine-readable safety layers that enable real-time compliance monitoring throughout the AI development lifecycle.

• University of Washington (MS in Entrepreneurship, Computer Science)

Luminovah
Luminovah created continuous monitoring system for newborns so parents and doctors can non-invasively detect jaundice.

• University of Washington (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Accounting)

MycoLab
MycoLab harnesses the power of mycelium (fungus) to reduce plastic decomposition time from 450 years to just 2 weeks.

• University of British Columbia (Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Business Technology Management, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Accounting, Biomedical Engineering, Systems, Electrical engineering)

Revyn Medical Technologies
Revyn is a medical device company improving gynecological care with an alternative to the vaginal speculum that increases practitioner usability and device effectiveness while prioritizing patient comfort.

• University of Victoria (Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering)

Stimma
Stimma is a consumer AI agent designed to save time, money, and hassle by calling customer service lines and resolving issues on behalf of users.

• University of Washington (Computer Science, MBA, Human Centered Design & Engineering)

Sutra
Sutra created an AI-driven multimodal and individualized platform to transform medical education by bringing real patient cases to life for the improvement of clinical reasoning and bedside manner.

• University of Washington (Computer Science)

Universal Extrusion Solutions
Universal Extrusion Solutions created a single-step plastic waste recycler named PolyForge that converts shredded plastic and pellets into filament in real time, seamlessly extruding directly into any 3D printer or spooling for later use.

• Eastern Washington University (Business Administration, Engineering)

VisionVoice
VisionVoice is an AI-powered voice assistant integrated into smart glasses that helps visually-impaired individuals safely navigate their environment and use everyday items like cash or credit card.

• University of Washington (Computer Engineering, Business, Finance & Information Systems, Computer Science, Political Science)

Voltair
Voltair builds autonomous drones that charge directly on power lines, enabling an inspection service for power utilities that prevents wildfires and cuts operation costs.

• University of Washington (Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Finance & Information Systems, Psychology)

2025 Dempsey Startup Competition Sweet 16 Round — Alternate Teams

Breathe to Lead
Breathe to Lead offers immersive, nature-based retreats for burned-out tech professionals seeking clarity, embodiment, and renewal.

• University of Washington (MS in Entrepreneurship)

Ripple
Ripple created a hyperlocal marketplace and social platform built exclusively for college campuses, where students can buy, sell, and connect.

• University of Washington (Finance, Entrepreneurship, Computer Science, Informatics, Human-Computer Interaction)

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