For ten years, Startup Yale has inspired bold ideas and empowered students to turn innovation into real-world impact. The 2025 10th anniversary marked a milestone moment—bringing together the Yale and Greater New Haven innovation communities to celebrate what’s possible when purpose meets support. Through funding, mentorship, and deep collaboration, founders didn’t just pitch ideas—they built momentum, relationships, and a decade-long legacy that continues to evolve.
Startup Yale 2026 builds on that foundation with this year’s theme: Build with Purpose, Grow with Community. On April 10, 2026, we’ll once again gather to spotlight ventures rooted in intention, shaped by collaboration, and powered by the people around them.
The Startup Yale 2026 finalists are officially set. After reviewing more than 170 applications, reviewers and prize partners have selected the ventures advancing to pitch live at Startup Yale on April 10. This year’s finalists reflect the full breadth of innovation happening across Yale and the broader community. From AI saving lives and climate tech…
Health innovation is evolving. So is how we support the ideas shaping its future. The Future of Health Innovation Prize reflects a commitment to advancing student-led ventures that tackle today’s most pressing health challenges through interdisciplinary, impact-driven approaches. This prize recognizes founders who are building solutions at the intersection of health, technology, policy, and community,…
Startup Yale happens on a stage, but it is built in countless rooms across campus. Months before finalists take their place on stage, a quiet, steady collaboration is already underway. Emails are being sent. Calendars are filling up. Conversations stretch across schools, centers, and the university community, all in service of one shared goal: creating…
Have an idea that could spark conversations, shift perspectives, or inspire bold actions? Startup Yale 2026 is now accepting proposals for breakout sessions to be held on Friday, April 10, 2026 at Hotel Marcel in New Haven. All proposals are due by Friday, October 31. We’re looking for engaging workshops, dynamic panel discussions, and thought-provoking…
As the sun set over New Haven, the energy from Startup Yale 2025 was still buzzing through the halls of Hotel Marcel. Over two packed days, we witnessed something extraordinary: students stepping into their power as entrepreneurs, creatives, and community leaders—turning ideas into action, and passion into purpose. The pitches were bold. The stakes were…
The wait is over! We are thrilled to announce the finalists for Startup Yale 2025, a landmark year as we celebrate a decade of supporting groundbreaking student ventures at Yale. These teams have demonstrated remarkable innovation, creativity, and dedication, and they are now one step closer to securing funding and recognition for their transformative ideas….
If you are a Yale student looking to connect with founders, investors, and industry pros over dinner, this is your chance! Registration for Startup Yale’s Mentors’ Dinner is officially open. This exclusive event is designed to spark real conversations in a relaxed, small group environment. Each table focuses on a key topic in entrepreneurship–including scaling…
AI Isn’t Just for Tech Giants–It’s for YOU. Here’s How to Use It To Build Your Startup. AI isn’t just some futuristic tool for Silicon Valley billionaires–it’s reshaping how student founders build, grow, and scale their startups. Whether you’re working on an app, launching a brand, or brainstorming your next big thing, AI can help…
In celebration of its 10-year anniversary, Startup Yale is thrilled to announce the introduction of the Creative Entrepreneurship Prize for 2025. This $25,000 cash award is designed to recognize and support student-led projects and ventures that drive innovation in the arts, media, and culture. What is the Creative Entrepreneurship Prize? The Creative Entrepreneurship Prize is…
The Planetary Solutions Prize (formerly the Sustainable Venture Prize) is a collaboration between Yale’s Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking and the Center for Business and the Environment. It champions visionary, student-led initiatives designed to address pressing global challenges. By targeting critical issues like sustainable materials, food systems, and renewable energy, the program provides participants with…
Mark your calendars for April 3-4, 2025, as we celebrate 10 years of innovation, entrepreneurship, and community at Startup Yale! Join us for two days filled with exciting events, inspiring speakers, and unparalleled opportunities to connect with entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders across industries. This milestone event will bring together changemakers from Yale and beyond…
Infused with the innovative spirit of Hotel Marcel, Startup Yale 2024 celebrated the impressive achievements of the greater Yale innovation ecosystem over two days of exclusive industry insights and relationship building. From live pitch-offs for cash prizes to interactive learning sessions, students and professionals came together to spark connections and watch new ideas take flight against…
Catching Up with Past Winners of Women-led Ventures for Women’s History Month Since Startup Yale launched in 2015, the annual entrepreneurship event has provided funding to groundbreaking ventures across industries. Startup Yale returns April 4-5, 2024, with an expanded agenda designed to build community and inspire networking. In addition to the pitch competitions, it will…
Startup Yale 2024, happening on April 4-5th, is thrilled to announce that the “Gen Z Historian,” Kahlil Green ‘22, a 2x Emmy-nominated and digital educator featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Forbes Magazine, along with Nathan Barry, creator, author, speaker, designer, and founder of ConvertKit, an email marketing tool designed for…
We’re super excited to let you know that we’ve picked the finalists for Startup Yale 2024! We went through more than 100 submissions, and after a lot of thought and consideration, we’ve chosen the following amazing venture candidates: The Startup Yale 2024 Finalists Manolo Sanchez Prize, $25,000 Guideli: an AI powered solution that streamlines the…
Calling all aspiring entrepreneurs and innovative minds! We are excited to announce that the application for Startup Yale 2024 is now open. This is your chance to showcase your startup idea and join a dynamic community of like-minded individuals. Startup Yale is an opportunity for you to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into reality. Whether you…
We’re thrilled to open the Startup Yale 2024 Mentorship Program. This is a great chance to be part of a mentorship experience dedicated to nurturing innovative ideas into impactful ventures. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to accelerate your startup journey by connecting with an expert who can assist you in preparing to apply to…
Ready to elevate your venture? With over $150K in prizes, this is your chance. Get started early; mentorship applications open on January 16th, 2024. Main prize applications open on February 1st, 2024. Positivity, growth, and opportunity await. Let’s dream big together! Register Today.
Last week, Startup Yale celebrated the incredible entrepreneurship and innovation of the Yale and New Haven community for the seventh year in a row. Beginning on March 30th, student and community ventures pitched their projects to panels of experts and were awarded some of Yale’s biggest entrepreneurship awards. Over the two days, 31 teams shared…
For the third year, Startup Yale honored the innovative spirit of those in the Yale and Greater New Haven community. Kicking off on April 28th, the university’s biggest entrepreneurship awards were presented over three days of pitches and celebrations. After applying in March, 28 teams of both for-profit and nonprofit ventures shared their work in…
Startup Yale 2023 Manolo Sanchez Prize winner, The Fines and Fees Freedom Fund, founded by Alejandra Uria (Law ’23), Liam Grace- Flood (SOM ’22), and Caela Murphy (SOM ’23), was featured in the Yale Daily News for their work to reduce incarceration due to unpaid fines. Read the original story on here on Yale Daily…
Yale innovators join community leaders, investors, and practitioners to reimagine the future through exciting, creative ventures. Recently added to the list of Startup Yale prizes was the Manolo Sanchez Prize, which will grant $25,000 to a student-led for-profit or non-profit startup that aims to improve the financial health of underserved communities. We sat down with…
Startup Yale 2021 took place from April 29 through May 1, bringing together eight events and hundreds of virtual attendees in a series of conversations and pitch-offs. For the second year, Startup Yale took place entirely on Zoom, with students from across Yale pitching for the campus’ biggest entrepreneurship awards in front of a live…
Tsai CITY, CTNext, and Yale School of Management’s Black Business Alliance (BBA) have joined forces to establish the first Yale Black Venture Summit Prize at Startup Yale as an effort to increase venture funding for Black founders. Early-stage companies whose founders are based in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or New York, identify as Black, or…
On March 31st, Tsai CITY hosted its annual Startup Yale entrepreneurship competition in collaboration with other university innovation centers. This year, we were pleased to add the first-ever Black Venture Summit Prize, an effort to increase venture funding for Black founders in the region. Tsai CITY partnered with CTNext, a Hartford-based organization that empowers communities…
Startup Yale 2020 finalists Markea Dickinson, co-founder of Thermaband and Betty Tang, co-founder of Upright, reflect on their journeys. They discuss where their ideas first came from, how they’ve connected with Yale resources, and what they’ve learned while growing their startups in a challenging year. In memory of Markea Dickinson (1992-2023).
In this video, Startup Yale 2020 finalist Marina Marmolejo, founder of DreamKit, reflects on her journey. She talks about how DreamKit works, launching an app as a non-technical founder, the impact of Startup Yale, and advice for student entrepreneurs as they build their ventures beyond campus.
Join a legacy of impact and innovation by becoming a Startup Yale sponsor! Startup Yale is Yale’s largest student entrepreneurship event for showcasing and supporting trailblazing ideas and transformative ventures created by Yale’s talented community. As we approach our 10-year anniversary, your sponsorship will empower the next generation of innovators and strengthen Yale’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.
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