{"690541":{"#nid":"690541","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Student Entrepreneurs Win Big in Klaus Startup Challenge Finale","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWith more than half a million dollars at stake, it\u2019s no surprise that nearly 160 student teams entered the College of Computing\u2019s sixth annual Klaus Startup Challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe competition to win one of four $150,000 startup investments began in February and ended in April when 17 teams pitched their startup concepts to judges at a live Demo Day event held on April 22.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Klaus Startup Challenge was a huge success, and we were thrilled with the level of participation and energy in the room,\u201d said \u003Cstrong\u003ETamar\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EWilkins\u003C\/strong\u003E, event organizer and GT Computing academic program manager.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe added that the event showcases the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit within the College of Computing community, and provides students with access to workshops, mentors, and networking opportunities with alumni, founders, and industry leaders.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe startup challenge is designed to help students move beyond the classroom to begin building real-world solutions through customer discovery, mentorship, pitch development, and startup storytelling.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom the arts to healthcare, this year\u2019s startup challenge highlighted a range of innovative ideas and technologies from student founders. The winning teams were:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e1b72b5bc2ca167b0b16a4013811c1127\u0022\u003EEnsemble \u2013 Co-founders \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jahnavi-bhansali\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJahnavi\u0026nbsp;Bhansali\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Cstrong\u003EJuhi\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cstrong\u003EBhatia\u003C\/strong\u003E created Ensemble to provide organizations with awareness of potential outcomes before decisions are made.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ec6f476f0332d1ab79d902d20150dc1aa\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/myobra.io\/\u0022\u003EMyObra\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 Developed by \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/fernrey\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFernando\u0026nbsp;Reyes\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, MyObra is home-service management software that combines job scheduling, invoicing, estimates, digital signatures, and customer management into a single platform for contractors.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e050aafd7edd90d3b975088bd94e622fd\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/kairoshealth\/\u0022\u003EKairos Health\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 Co-founders \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/tanush-chintala.github.io\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETanushChintala\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sanjana-kavula-710384236\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESanjana\u0026nbsp;Kavula\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/adhira-tippur\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdhira\u0026nbsp;Tippur\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E developed Kairos Health as an AI-powered patient intake and front-desk automation platform built for dental offices and clinics.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e8d2e82c0ffc88643faa8c8b6b775419d\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/sway-formations\/\u0022\u003ESway Formations\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;Created by founder \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/arnav-chokshi\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EArnav\u0026nbsp;Chokshi\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and teammates \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/yash-shelar\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYash\u0026nbsp;Shelar\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/heettshahh\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHeet\u0026nbsp;Shah\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Sway Formations is an AI-powered formation builder that enables dance teams, choreographers, production managers, and others to create, share, and teach complex group formations and movements.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach winning team received $150,000 in funding support from Fusen World, a platform founded in 2022 by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chklaus\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EChristopher Klaus\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, Fusen World CEO, GT alumnus, technology entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Fusen was launched to empower student founders worldwide to successfully launch and grow their startups.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with Klaus, the judges for this year\u2019s startup challenge were:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e01bdd85729deb073631fa1b110677626\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joeuhl\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJoe Uhl\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 partner at Dogwood Ventures, GT Computing advisory board member\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022ec23d13475d193f4bcabf764900bc54f7\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretweniger\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMargaret Weniger\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 CREATE-X director of entrepreneurial programs\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli data-list-item-id=\u0022e88766eff7727325ee0a47137c656291b\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/katrina-montinola\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKatrina Montinola\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013\u0026nbsp;fractional and interim CTO, CAIO with True Sage LLC and EV2X.AI, GT alumna (ICS 1988), GT Computing advisory board member\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo be eligible for the Klaus Startup Challenge, at least one co-founder for each team must be a current GT Computing student.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom the arts to healthcare, the 6th annual College of Computing Klaus Startup Challenge highlighted a range of innovative ideas and technologies from student startup founders. More than 160 student teams participated in the challenge, each vying for its share of more than half a million dollars in startup funding.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From the arts to healthcare, this year\u2019s startup challenge highlighted a range of innovative ideas and technologies from student founders. "}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2026-05-28 20:01:19","changed_gmt":"2026-05-29 16:46:36","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-29T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680366":{"id":"680366","type":"image","title":"2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EA group photo of the judges and winners from the 6th annual Klaus Startup Challenge at Georgia Tech\u0027s College of Computing.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1779998556","gmt_created":"2026-05-28 20:02:36","changed":"1779998556","gmt_changed":"2026-05-28 20:02:36","alt":"A group photo of the judges and winning teams from the 6th annual Klaus Startup Challenge at the College of Computing  ","file":{"fid":"264622","name":"2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/28\/2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/28\/2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":173208,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/28\/2026-Klaus-Startup-Challenge-Winners.jpg?itok=xOewhLum"}}},"media_ids":["680366"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"193158","name":"Student Competition Winners (academic, innovation, and research)"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"194494","name":"Christopher W. Klaus"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBen Snedeker, Sr. Comms. Mgr.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech College of Computing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Ealbert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}