Collider Cup XVIII Winners Announced, with Four Teams Advancing to PAD-13
The Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) at UC Berkeley hosted Collider Cup XVIII on May 8, 2026. Hosted by student emcees Anika Kesavalu (’26 Business Administration and Data Science), Daniella Spero (’26 Political Science and Government) and Nithyashree Prabhu (’27 Data Science & Cognitive Science), the biannual event showcased innovative startup pitches from SCET courses in the Spring 2026 semester. SCET courses this semester included topics such as designing startups to transform society, democracy and technology, inventing healthy food in the Ozempic era, ventures in AI, and sports technology.
Learn more about the innovative student teams below. Four top teams have already secured spots in SkyDeck’s prestigious Pad-13 program.
“Serving as a judge for Collider Cup XVIII was an absolute privilege. The teams that pitched didn’t just present business plans; they epitomized the creative thinking and innovative problem-solving that UC Berkeley is famous for. I am continually impressed by the smarts and innovative spirit of these young entrepreneurs.”
– Sibyl Chen, General Manager, Berkeley SkyDeck
🏆 1st Place – CacheIQ
- Janhavi Revashetti, 2026 Data Science
- Aditya Jain, 2027 EECS + Business
- Maya Nalliah, 2026 Data Science + GIS
- Julianna Miracco, 2029 Business
- Diya Hasteer, 2027 EECS
Course: ENGIN 183C-004 | Superintelligent Ventures: Building sustainable startups that can thrive in the Age of AI
What it is: “Secondhand retail pricing is slow, inconsistent, and trapped in expert staff’s heads — CacheIQ turns that expertise into an AI engine that prices inventory in seconds.”
CacheIQ is an AI-powered pricing platform for secondhand retail stores that helps thrift, vintage, and luxury resale shops price inventory faster and more accurately. By combining computer vision with real-time marketplace comparables and store-specific market insights, CacheIQ generates intelligent pricing recommendations tailored to each item and location. The platform enables retailers to improve pricing consistency, increase sell-through rates, and maximize revenue while reducing the manual effort required to price inventory.
Watch the pitch
🥈 2nd Place & People’s Choice – GMV.live
- Victor Israel, 2026 Business
- Luc Virgili Phan, 2026 Human-Computer Interaction
- Abishai Gosula, 2027 Computer Science
- Tara Kumar, 2027 Economics
- Gabriel Horowitz Rossi, 2026 International Business
Course: ENGIN 183D | Product Management
What it is: “Connecting brands with live streamers”
GMV Live is LinkedIn for live shopping. Brands post their products, browse vetted livestream hosts, and book the right creator to go live and sell. On-demand talent for the live shopping era.
🥉 3rd Place – Ensure
- Sameer Khan, 2029 Electircal Engineering & Computer Science
- Rishabh Banerjee, 2027 Innovation Management
- Virinchi Puvvada, 2027 Computer Science
- Madhav Donthula, 2029 Data Science
- Saket Bhanot, 2026 Business
- Maytawin Klinpipat, 2027 B.S. Integrated Innovation
Course: ENGIN 183B Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
What it is: ““Ensure. Transparent healthcare, finally.”
Ensure is an AI-powered platform that helps people navigate health insurance by showing exactly where they’re covered and what they’ll pay before getting care. By analyzing complex insurance plans, it ranks in-network providers based on true out-of-pocket cost, proximity, and quality, incorporating sources like Google reviews for real-world insights. Sold primarily to employers, Ensure reduces unexpected medical bills while helping employees make smarter, cost-efficient healthcare decisions.
Watch the pitch
💡 Most Innovative Technology – Synth
- Abishai Gosula, 2027 CS
- Star Rose, 2026 Psychology
- Lily Pember, 2026 Data Science
- Matthew Waddell, 2026 Political Economy
Course: ENGIN 183C-002 | SportsTech, Entrepreneurship & the Future of Sports | A Berkeley Changemaker® Course
What it is: “The platform that connects every coaching tool so coaches make the right decisions from one place.”
Synth is a platform built by four founders with international athletic and technical backgrounds, connecting every coaching tool collegiate coaches use daily (Google Sheets, Bridge Athletics, Garmin, Concept2, Strava, Whoop) into one place. It pulls in data from every tool, normalizes it, and synthesizes it into training load, recovery readiness, and injury risk signals per athlete. Coaches build lineups, time sessions, and ask synth. AI questions like “which athletes are fatigued today,” all from one dashboard, with every action writing back to the tools they already trust.
Watch the pitch
Presenters
🎤 Beyond the winners, Collider Cup XVIII featured several standout teams showcasing exciting innovations across multiple industries:
Nova Fiber
- Patrice Crosby
- Ida Padikuor Na-Tei, 2026 Master of Design
- Kelly Liu, 2026 Business Administration
- Marie-Batisse Heite, 2026 Master Bioprocess Engineering
- Ellie Hwang, 2026 Business Administration
Course: ENGIN 183B | Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
What it is: “Novafiber is creating the fabric of the future, biobased textiles that match polyester’s performance and cost without the environmental harm.”
Novafiber is a breakthrough manufacturing company that is rethinking how textiles are made to replace harmful synthetic materials like polyester. By building a scalable processing platform to drive down cost and match the performance of conventional polyester, the company is strategically positioned to bridge a widening gap in the textile industry.
Watch the pitch
Greenwave
- Katiana Yazdani Bosdet, 2026 Data Science
- Agustin Espinosa, 2026 Master IEOR & Transport Systems
- Andres Gonzalez, 2027 Finance
- Gabriel Horowitz, 2026 International Business
- Sergio Rivadeneira, 2026 Master Data & Business Analytic
Course: ENGIN 183C-003 | Designing Startups to Transform Society | A Berkeley Changemaker® Course
What it is: “Reducing emergency response time to save more lives.”
GreenWave uses smart routing and real-time traffic signal priority to clear the way for Emergency Response Vehicles, helping departments respond faster and safer.
Watch the pitch
Papills
- Victor Israel, 2026 Master in Business
Course: ENGIN 183E | Technology Entrepreneurship
What it is: “Your health at the tip of your tongue.”
Papills makes supplement strips that dissolve on your tongue — no water, no swallowing, no sugar. We’ve built a top 10 TikTok Shop France brand in 12 months with zero outside funding, over 100M views, and 4.6/5 across 4,500+ verified reviews. We’re now bringing the playbook to the US to capture the next platform shift in CPG: format.
Watch the pitch
Coaty
- Vivien Huang, 2027 Nutrition and Metabolic Biology
- Luca Pistocco, 2026 Master of Chemical Engineering
Course: ENGIN 183C | Inventing Healthy Food in the Ozempic Era
What it is: “Protein-coated familiar snacks that triple or quadruple their protein content while staying crunchy, simple, and craveable.”
Coaty develops a high-protein, high-fiber coating that can be applied to simple snacks like almonds, chickpeas, and popcorn. Our first products are crunchy coated almonds designed for health-conscious consumers who want more protein and fiber without eating another bar or shake. The long-term vision is to build a coating platform that can upgrade everyday snacks into better-for-you functional products.
Watch the pitch
CLARO
- Laure Passé-Coutrin, 2027 Business Administration
- Sharon Wachira, 2026 Development Engineering
- Parth Shinde, 2026 Economics
- Martin Leung, 2026 Mechanical Engineering
- Sascha Rost Negucic, 2026 BISP – exchange student
- Chuol Ruei Deng, 2026 Development Engineering
- Jessica Li, 2028 EECS
Course: ENGIN C183F/POL SCI C193A | Democracy^Tech: Democracy raised to the Power of Tech
What it is: “Benefits at your fingertips.”
Every year, Americans leave $140 billion in life-changing benefits on the table because the system is designed to be difficult. Claro fixes this by replacing endless paperwork with a streamlined platform that guides users from discovery to final application submission in minutes.
Watch the pitch
SCET Startup Expo Winner
The SCET Startup Expo features teams with at least one member who has completed an SCET course by the end of Spring 2026. This year’s winning team was Vault. Learn more about the rest of the SCET Startup Expo presenters.
Vault
- Nyla Surti, 2027 Political Economy and Business Administration
- Sahar Haidari, 2026 Economics & Data Science
- Noor Rauf, Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences
- Yusrah Khan, 2027 Computer Science & Cognitive Science
What it is: “Wear More. Share More.”
We are a team of UC Berkeley students passionate about fashion, technology, and building meaningful consumer products. With backgrounds in computer science, software engineering, marketing, and digital strategy, we bring a strong understanding of how people engage with fashion and social platforms. We are building Vault to transform how people access and experience fashion through community, collaboration, and shared ownership.
Watch the pitch
SCET Awards
👏 The Anthony DiPrinzio Innovation Champion Award– Ayushi Deokule
“A genuinely invested mentor who stays on top of everything, Ayushi combines immense commitment with practical expertise to create a welcoming environment where every innovator feels supported to succeed.”
For the first time, SCET awarded The Anthony DiPrinzio Innovation Champion Award to Ayushi Deokule. The Award honors the legacy of Anthony DiPrinzio (’19), a visionary leader who shaped the Berkeley blockchain and entrepreneurship landscape. This prestigious award recognizes a student member of the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) who makes extraordinary contributions to the campus innovation ecosystem, mirroring Anthony’s professional trajectory, global engagement, and passion for mentorship.
This year, the honor was presented to Ayushi Deokule, a student described as a catalyst of Berkeley’s innovation community. As a lead facilitator for the Innovator in Residence DeCal, Ayushi has institutionalized mentorship by empowering peers with the strategic feedback necessary to transition from students to founders. Her impact spans the technical and social frontiers, from managing the SCET AI Summit—connecting Berkeley research with leaders from Google and Meta—to bridging sustainability efforts between the Food Resource Center and TechCrunch Disrupt. Ayushi’s relentless dedication and interdisciplinary leadership ensure that Anthony’s spirit of vitality and empowerment continues to inspire the next generation of Berkeley innovators. Learn more about Anthony’s story here.
👏 Outstanding Instructor Award – Anita Balaraman
Course: ENGIN 183C-003 | Designing Startups to Transform Society | A Berkeley Changemaker® Course
“Anita is deeply committed to supporting her students. She takes the time to provide thoughtful feedback, offers personalized guidance, and ensures that every student feels supported in their entrepreneurial journey. Her passion for the subject is evident in every class, and it motivates students to stay engaged and push their ideas further.”
👏 Outstanding Course Coordinator Award – Qurratul Ain Sanjida
Course: ENGIN: C183F Democracy^Tech: Democracy raised to the Power of Tech
“She works so freaking hard. And she is so involved, knowledgeable, and she cares about this class deeply. DemTech wouldn’t have been the same without her. She works so freaking hard. And she is so involved, knowledgeable, and she cares about this class deeply. DemTech wouldn’t have been the same without her.”
Judges
A huge thank you to our judges for their thoughtful insights and challenging questions:
- Sibyl Chen, Berkeley SkyDeck
- Jay Onda, Marubeni Power International, Inc.
- Farouk Najjar, Berkeley Frontier Fund
Their presence helped push the teams to elevate their pitches and sharpen their entrepreneurial vision.
Intern Support Team
Cheers to the team of interns working on operations and at the SCET front desk for their support of Collider Cup! It takes an amazing team to coordinate this event and we couldn’t do it without the support of SCET student assistants.
Celebrating Innovation and Impact
Stay tuned for Collider Cup XIX in Fall 2026, where a new generation of student innovators will once again take the stage!
The Collider Cup is the culmination of the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) experience. Each semester, the top-performing team from every SCET course earns a spot on the main stage to pitch their ventures and compete for prestigious prizes.
How you can get involved:
- Course Winners: Excel in your SCET course for a chance to represent your class on the big stage.
- SCET Startup Expo: Not in a qualifying spot but still building something great? All students who have completed an SCET course are eligible to showcase their work by applying for the SCET Startup Expo, held alongside the main event.
Don’t miss your chance to be part of Berkeley’s premier pitch competition!
👉 Learn more at scet.berkeley.edu/collider-cup
Questions or interested in collaborating on the next Collider Cup? Contact scet-academics@berkeley.edu.
The Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) at UC Berkeley hosted Collider Cup XVIII on May 8, 2026. Hosted by student emcees Anika Kesavalu (’26 Business Administration and Data Science), Daniella Spero (’26 Political Science and Government) and Nithyashree Prabhu (’27 Data Science & Cognitive Science), the biannual event showcased innovative startup pitches from SCET courses in the Spring 2026 semester. SCET courses this semester included topics such as designing startups to transform society, democracy and technology, inventing healthy food in the Ozempic era, ventures in AI, and sports technology.
Learn more about the innovative student teams below. Four top teams have already secured spots in SkyDeck’s prestigious Pad-13 program.
“Serving as a judge for Collider Cup XVIII was an absolute privilege. The teams that pitched didn’t just present business plans; they epitomized the creative thinking and innovative problem-solving that UC Berkeley is famous for. I am continually impressed by the smarts and innovative spirit of these young entrepreneurs.”
– Sibyl Chen, General Manager, Berkeley SkyDeck
🏆 1st Place – CacheIQ
- Janhavi Revashetti, 2026 Data Science
- Aditya Jain, 2027 EECS + Business
- Maya Nalliah, 2026 Data Science + GIS
- Julianna Miracco, 2029 Business
- Diya Hasteer, 2027 EECS
Course: ENGIN 183C-004 | Superintelligent Ventures: Building sustainable startups that can thrive in the Age of AI
What it is: “Secondhand retail pricing is slow, inconsistent, and trapped in expert staff’s heads — CacheIQ turns that expertise into an AI engine that prices inventory in seconds.”
CacheIQ is an AI-powered pricing platform for secondhand retail stores that helps thrift, vintage, and luxury resale shops price inventory faster and more accurately. By combining computer vision with real-time marketplace comparables and store-specific market insights, CacheIQ generates intelligent pricing recommendations tailored to each item and location. The platform enables retailers to improve pricing consistency, increase sell-through rates, and maximize revenue while reducing the manual effort required to price inventory.
Watch the pitch
🥈 2nd Place & People’s Choice – GMV.live
- Victor Israel, 2026 Business
- Luc Virgili Phan, 2026 Human-Computer Interaction
- Abishai Gosula, 2027 Computer Science
- Tara Kumar, 2027 Economics
- Gabriel Horowitz Rossi, 2026 International Business
Course: ENGIN 183D | Product Management
What it is: “Connecting brands with live streamers”
GMV Live is LinkedIn for live shopping. Brands post their products, browse vetted livestream hosts, and book the right creator to go live and sell. On-demand talent for the live shopping era.
🥉 3rd Place – Ensure
- Sameer Khan, 2029 Electircal Engineering & Computer Science
- Rishabh Banerjee, 2027 Innovation Management
- Virinchi Puvvada, 2027 Computer Science
- Madhav Donthula, 2029 Data Science
- Saket Bhanot, 2026 Business
- Maytawin Klinpipat, 2027 B.S. Integrated Innovation
Course: ENGIN 183B Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
What it is: ““Ensure. Transparent healthcare, finally.”
Ensure is an AI-powered platform that helps people navigate health insurance by showing exactly where they’re covered and what they’ll pay before getting care. By analyzing complex insurance plans, it ranks in-network providers based on true out-of-pocket cost, proximity, and quality, incorporating sources like Google reviews for real-world insights. Sold primarily to employers, Ensure reduces unexpected medical bills while helping employees make smarter, cost-efficient healthcare decisions.
Watch the pitch
💡 Most Innovative Technology – Synth
- Abishai Gosula, 2027 CS
- Star Rose, 2026 Psychology
- Lily Pember, 2026 Data Science
- Matthew Waddell, 2026 Political Economy
Course: ENGIN 183C-002 | SportsTech, Entrepreneurship & the Future of Sports | A Berkeley Changemaker® Course
What it is: “The platform that connects every coaching tool so coaches make the right decisions from one place.”
Synth is a platform built by four founders with international athletic and technical backgrounds, connecting every coaching tool collegiate coaches use daily (Google Sheets, Bridge Athletics, Garmin, Concept2, Strava, Whoop) into one place. It pulls in data from every tool, normalizes it, and synthesizes it into training load, recovery readiness, and injury risk signals per athlete. Coaches build lineups, time sessions, and ask synth. AI questions like “which athletes are fatigued today,” all from one dashboard, with every action writing back to the tools they already trust.
Watch the pitch
Presenters
🎤 Beyond the winners, Collider Cup XVIII featured several standout teams showcasing exciting innovations across multiple industries:
Nova Fiber
- Patrice Crosby
- Ida Padikuor Na-Tei, 2026 Master of Design
- Kelly Liu, 2026 Business Administration
- Marie-Batisse Heite, 2026 Master Bioprocess Engineering
- Ellie Hwang, 2026 Business Administration
Course: ENGIN 183B | Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
What it is: “Novafiber is creating the fabric of the future, biobased textiles that match polyester’s performance and cost without the environmental harm.”
Novafiber is a breakthrough manufacturing company that is rethinking how textiles are made to replace harmful synthetic materials like polyester. By building a scalable processing platform to drive down cost and match the performance of conventional polyester, the company is strategically positioned to bridge a widening gap in the textile industry.
Watch the pitch
Greenwave
- Katiana Yazdani Bosdet, 2026 Data Science
- Agustin Espinosa, 2026 Master IEOR & Transport Systems
- Andres Gonzalez, 2027 Finance
- Gabriel Horowitz, 2026 International Business
- Sergio Rivadeneira, 2026 Master Data & Business Analytic
Course: ENGIN 183C-003 | Designing Startups to Transform Society | A Berkeley Changemaker® Course
What it is: “Reducing emergency response time to save more lives.”
GreenWave uses smart routing and real-time traffic signal priority to clear the way for Emergency Response Vehicles, helping departments respond faster and safer.
Watch the pitch
Papills
- Victor Israel, 2026 Master in Business
Course: ENGIN 183E | Technology Entrepreneurship
What it is: “Your health at the tip of your tongue.”
Papills makes supplement strips that dissolve on your tongue — no water, no swallowing, no sugar. We’ve built a top 10 TikTok Shop France brand in 12 months with zero outside funding, over 100M views, and 4.6/5 across 4,500+ verified reviews. We’re now bringing the playbook to the US to capture the next platform shift in CPG: format.
Watch the pitch
Coaty
- Vivien Huang, 2027 Nutrition and Metabolic Biology
- Luca Pistocco, 2026 Master of Chemical Engineering
Course: ENGIN 183C | Inventing Healthy Food in the Ozempic Era
What it is: “Protein-coated familiar snacks that triple or quadruple their protein content while staying crunchy, simple, and craveable.”
Coaty develops a high-protein, high-fiber coating that can be applied to simple snacks like almonds, chickpeas, and popcorn. Our first products are crunchy coated almonds designed for health-conscious consumers who want more protein and fiber without eating another bar or shake. The long-term vision is to build a coating platform that can upgrade everyday snacks into better-for-you functional products.
Watch the pitch
CLARO
- Laure Passé-Coutrin, 2027 Business Administration
- Sharon Wachira, 2026 Development Engineering
- Parth Shinde, 2026 Economics
- Martin Leung, 2026 Mechanical Engineering
- Sascha Rost Negucic, 2026 BISP – exchange student
- Chuol Ruei Deng, 2026 Development Engineering
- Jessica Li, 2028 EECS
Course: ENGIN C183F/POL SCI C193A | Democracy^Tech: Democracy raised to the Power of Tech
What it is: “Benefits at your fingertips.”
Every year, Americans leave $140 billion in life-changing benefits on the table because the system is designed to be difficult. Claro fixes this by replacing endless paperwork with a streamlined platform that guides users from discovery to final application submission in minutes.
Watch the pitch
SCET Startup Expo Winner
The SCET Startup Expo features teams with at least one member who has completed an SCET course by the end of Spring 2026. This year’s winning team was Vault. Learn more about the rest of the SCET Startup Expo presenters.
Vault
- Nyla Surti, 2027 Political Economy and Business Administration
- Sahar Haidari, 2026 Economics & Data Science
- Noor Rauf, Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences
- Yusrah Khan, 2027 Computer Science & Cognitive Science
What it is: “Wear More. Share More.”
We are a team of UC Berkeley students passionate about fashion, technology, and building meaningful consumer products. With backgrounds in computer science, software engineering, marketing, and digital strategy, we bring a strong understanding of how people engage with fashion and social platforms. We are building Vault to transform how people access and experience fashion through community, collaboration, and shared ownership.
Watch the pitch
SCET Awards
👏 The Anthony DiPrinzio Innovation Champion Award– Ayushi Deokule
“A genuinely invested mentor who stays on top of everything, Ayushi combines immense commitment with practical expertise to create a welcoming environment where every innovator feels supported to succeed.”
For the first time, SCET awarded The Anthony DiPrinzio Innovation Champion Award to Ayushi Deokule. The Award honors the legacy of Anthony DiPrinzio (’19), a visionary leader who shaped the Berkeley blockchain and entrepreneurship landscape. This prestigious award recognizes a student member of the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) who makes extraordinary contributions to the campus innovation ecosystem, mirroring Anthony’s professional trajectory, global engagement, and passion for mentorship.
This year, the honor was presented to Ayushi Deokule, a student described as a catalyst of Berkeley’s innovation community. As a lead facilitator for the Innovator in Residence DeCal, Ayushi has institutionalized mentorship by empowering peers with the strategic feedback necessary to transition from students to founders. Her impact spans the technical and social frontiers, from managing the SCET AI Summit—connecting Berkeley research with leaders from Google and Meta—to bridging sustainability efforts between the Food Resource Center and TechCrunch Disrupt. Ayushi’s relentless dedication and interdisciplinary leadership ensure that Anthony’s spirit of vitality and empowerment continues to inspire the next generation of Berkeley innovators. Learn more about Anthony’s story here.
👏 Outstanding Instructor Award – Anita Balaraman
Course: ENGIN 183C-003 | Designing Startups to Transform Society | A Berkeley Changemaker® Course
“Anita is deeply committed to supporting her students. She takes the time to provide thoughtful feedback, offers personalized guidance, and ensures that every student feels supported in their entrepreneurial journey. Her passion for the subject is evident in every class, and it motivates students to stay engaged and push their ideas further.”
👏 Outstanding Course Coordinator Award – Qurratul Ain Sanjida
Course: ENGIN: C183F Democracy^Tech: Democracy raised to the Power of Tech
“She works so freaking hard. And she is so involved, knowledgeable, and she cares about this class deeply. DemTech wouldn’t have been the same without her. She works so freaking hard. And she is so involved, knowledgeable, and she cares about this class deeply. DemTech wouldn’t have been the same without her.”
Judges
A huge thank you to our judges for their thoughtful insights and challenging questions:
- Sibyl Chen, Berkeley SkyDeck
- Jay Onda, Marubeni Power International, Inc.
- Farouk Najjar, Berkeley Frontier Fund
Their presence helped push the teams to elevate their pitches and sharpen their entrepreneurial vision.
Intern Support Team
Cheers to the team of interns working on operations and at the SCET front desk for their support of Collider Cup! It takes an amazing team to coordinate this event and we couldn’t do it without the support of SCET student assistants.
Celebrating Innovation and Impact
Stay tuned for Collider Cup XIX in Fall 2026, where a new generation of student innovators will once again take the stage!
The Collider Cup is the culmination of the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (SCET) experience. Each semester, the top-performing team from every SCET course earns a spot on the main stage to pitch their ventures and compete for prestigious prizes.
How you can get involved:
- Course Winners: Excel in your SCET course for a chance to represent your class on the big stage.
- SCET Startup Expo: Not in a qualifying spot but still building something great? All students who have completed an SCET course are eligible to showcase their work by applying for the SCET Startup Expo, held alongside the main event.
Don’t miss your chance to be part of Berkeley’s premier pitch competition!
👉 Learn more at scet.berkeley.edu/collider-cup
Questions or interested in collaborating on the next Collider Cup? Contact scet-academics@berkeley.edu.