Rothberg Catalyzer Prize
The Rothberg Catalyzer Prize awards $25,000 to a promising student-led venture developing a solution that has both hardware and software components. The prize is sector-agnostic and welcomes novel innovations across disciplines, including healthcare, fashion, drones, AI, etc. In addition to the prize money, the competition provides valuable opportunities for mentorship, feedback, and networking.
The Rothberg Catalyzer Prize is designed to empower Yale’s graduate and undergraduate students to transform bold, imaginative ideas into tangible, working solutions. It fosters a hands-on, maker-first culture, encouraging students from all disciplines – including fashion, drones, healthcare, artificial intelligence, and beyond – to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration and rapid prototyping.
Unlike traditional pitch competitions, the Rothberg Catalyzer Prize places a strong emphasis on building. Participants are expected to develop and demonstrate functional prototypes that integrate both hardware and software components. The intent of the demo is to showcase technical creativity and real-world feasibility.
The competition provides participants with constructive feedback from experienced professionals and mentors, the opportunity to learn from industry leaders, and a chance to meet investors.
Judging Criteria
Applicants will be reviewed and selected by a committee of experts based on the following criteria:
- Opportunity: The team clearly defines the problem they aim to solve and demonstrates that it affects a significant and relevant target population.
- Innovation: The proposed solution is novel, offering a new product or approach that fills a unique gap in the market or field.
- Traction & Engagement: The team has a realistic path for getting the solution to the end user, and can continue to deliver the solution in a way that is financially and operationally sustainable.
- Team: The team exhibits the necessary knowledge, skills, and collaborative energy to successfully execute on the project/venture.
- Sustainability & Catalytic Potential: The prize has the potential to significantly accelerate the team’s progress, enabling them to achieve milestones that might otherwise be out of reach.
- Demo: The team has developed a functional prototype that includes both hardware and software components and is able to successfully demonstrate it during the pitch event.
Important Dates
January 27, 2026: Startup Yale Application Fest
February 2, 2026: Startup Yale application opens
February 12, 2026 at 5:00 pm EST: Startup Yale application deadline
March 6, 2026: Finalist announced.
April 10, 2026: Finalists participate in a live pitch event as part of Startup Yale.
Contact
Margaret Cartiera, PhD
Venture Advisor & Lead, Strategy & New Initiatives, Tsai CITY
margaret.cartiera@yale.edu
Past Winners
2025: TranscribeGlass
2024: TaeSun (Chandra Fincke, YC ’24, and Dr. Jeanie Chung) is an innovative, portable solution for detecting fentanyl in substances, offering quick, reliable results.
