We are proud to announce the fourth cohort of the Max Stenbeck Venture Equity Program, which aims to help first time NYU founders learn the hard and soft skill fundamentals of fundraising, in preparation for a successful future raise. This year’s cohort consists of faculty and student-led ventures from across various different schools at NYU, all tackling significant challenges with innovative solutions in multiple industries.
From the end of this October through mid December, the founders of these ventures will take part in five invite-only workshops with venture capital investors and seasoned founders. The sessions will be led by the NYU’s Innovation Venture Fund team, startup lawyers, VCs, and venture-backed founders. Confirmed speakers include founders of Jones, OraLiva, Kaizntree, and Mavity as well as investors from Techstars, 2048 Ventures, and Saka VC as well as legal guidance from Brown Rudnick.
Please meet the next cohort of ventures in the Max Stenbeck Venture Equity Program:
Athlitix
Amateur to semi-pro athletes struggle to track performance due to costly, complex setups required for advanced analytics. Athlitix augments simple smartphone footage with detailed performance metrics, giving athletes actionable insights to objectively measure and improve.
Founders: Sachin Dasari (Stern ‘25), Girish Kumar Adari, Santiago Gomez Garcia (Stern ‘26)
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint
Clairdoc
Clairdoc is an AI denial-prevention copilot for outpatient clinics. We scan claims before submission, flag errors, and apply payer rules to stop denials. Our initial target customers are specialty clinics, saving them revenue, time, and reducing admin burnout.
Founders: Bakhtawer Baloch (SPS ‘26), Suleman Baloch
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Female Founders Fellowship
Context Data
P&C Insurance adjusters and policyholders waste hours on emails, calls, and follow-ups, dragging out resolutions and driving up costs. Context Data cuts manual work by 70% and boosts profitability by over 20% with AI-based technology that automates intake, connects all parties in real in real time.
Founders: Julia Kingsley (Stern ‘26), Jide Ogunjobi
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Female Founders Fellowship, Summer Launchpad, Founder-in-Residence
Dream Career AI
DCAI is an AI-powered career readiness platform for high school students and counselors. It gamifies exploration of majors, careers, and universities while giving counselors dashboards and AI insights, helping students make confident decisions and streamlining counselor workload.
Founders: Joshua Pierce (Tisch ‘18), Maisha Kabir (CAS ‘19), Odein Karibi-Whyte
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Summer Launchpad
EmpathixAI
EmpathixAI is a global market research firm powered by AI. We offer scientifically backed methods, including the world’s first model, CultureChat, trained to expertly conduct qualitative interviews at survey scale and speed—and at a fraction of the cost.
Founders: Jacob Tucker (GSAS Postdoc), Jacob Sherry
Hotstart
HotStart gives VPs of Product at music streaming services a 60-second music taste test that predicts listener ratings with ±0.25 accuracy on a 5-point scale, delivering virtually perfect song recommendations. It eliminates poor personalization for new users, increasing retention.
Founders: Sean Cleary (Stern ‘29), Pascal Wallisch (FAS Faculty)
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint
MaisonLabs
Maison Labs makes hotels and experiences bookable by AI agents like ChatGPT. We target boutique and indie hotels, giving them lower-cost distribution and visibility in the AI era while delivering guests seamless, trusted conversational booking.
Founders: Fredrik Sjoberg (SPS), Noel Panicker (Tandon ‘24)
Mentivista
Mentivista tackles client attrition and margin erosion in the beauty and wellness industry by transforming employee training and education through our AI-powered mobile Learning Management System
Founders: Anastasia Dor (Tisch ‘24), Sophie Lee (Tisch ‘24), Nora Samhadaneh (Langone), Rishika Gautam (CAS ‘28), Yennie Min
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Summer Launchpad, Female Founders Fellowship, Innovation Ambassador
Plurall AI
Plurall AI offers a proprietary AI deepfake detection tool for small web services, social media, and content platforms to fight impersonation, identity theft, and misinformation—enhancing brand protection.
Founders: Sandra Cai (CAS ‘27), Yathish Veerabhadraiah (Tandon ‘26)
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Female Founders Fellowship
Pupil
Pupil is a platform combining AI and near-peer mentorship to guide high school families through college decisions. Targeting parents of juniors and seniors, we provide relatable, affordable support that fills gaps left by overburdened counselors and costly consultants.
Founders: Dario Anaya (Gallatin ‘26)
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Summer Launchpad, Innovation Ambassador
Sheltrium
Sheltrium helps storm-prone homeowners choose the right preparedness products. We give free lists of personalized affiliate links so families can stay home, stay comfortable, and stay in control while saving money.
Founders: Zoey Ferguson (Tisch ‘25), Bryan Hellard, Christie Kim (Tisch ‘25)
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Female Founders Fellowship, Summer Launchpad, Founder-in-Residence
StewardGuard
StewardGuard is an EHR-integrated AI tool that automates empiric antibiotic recommendations.
Founders: Madu Nzerem (Grossman PhD ‘26), Khanh Pham, Maryam Maqsood Ahmed
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Summer Launchpad
Twinning AI
TwinningAI builds real-time digital twins for Fortune 500 CPG brands, letting them simulate campaigns, packaging, and launches. Brands cut costs, de-risk decisions, and speed time-to-market by testing virtually before spending millions.
Founders: Sai Dhruv (SPS ‘26), Ankit Das, Atulya Rao
Participated In: Startup Bootcamp, Startup Sprint, Summer Launchpad
Honoring Max Stenbeck's Legacy
The Max Stenbeck Venture Equity Program honors the life and legacy of entrepreneur and philanthropist Max Stenbeck. Max Stenbeck was a passionate believer in technology for good, as well as an advocate for equal opportunities and for the rights of vulnerable children. The Max Stenbeck Charitable Fund will continue to give back in his legacy, including through the generous support of the Max Stenbeck Venture Equity Program at NYU.