Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge
The Midwest’s elite student-led startup competition delivering engineering-powered tech innovations to Chicago
The application window for the July 22, 2025 event is now closed.
Bringing Together Engineering-Powered Startups from the Midwest
The Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge brings together engineering-powered startups from leading Midwestern universities to compete for funding and prizes from a pool of $200,000!
Hosted by the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign—a global engineering education and research leader—the challenge will showcase tech startups from top Midwestern universities as they pitch live to investors, founders and leaders in Chicago’s thriving tech scene.
The challenge will take place at the TechChicago Capital Summit, an event that is part of TechChicago Week.
Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge
Schedule | Tuesday, July 22, 2025
LOCATION | SIX10, 610 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois
9:00-11:00am | Main Stage
Finalists Pitch
12:35-12:55pm | Main Stage
Winners Announcement
1st Place: $100,000, 2nd Place: $50,000, 3rd Place: $25,000
2:30-3:00pm | Main Stage
Closing Keynote Speaker: Divey Gulati
TechChicago Week Capital Summit Closing Keynote Speaker | Divey Gulati
Divey Gulati (’09, B.S., Computer Science; ’13, M.B.A.), co-founder of ShipBob, will deliver the closing keynote address. Divey transformed his Illinois engineering education into a billion-dollar logistics empire embodying the entrepreneurial spirit and technical excellence that defines Grainger Engineering.
Meet the 2025 Finalists
AG3 Labs, Michigan State University: AG3 Labs specializes in designing and manufacturing next-generation, low-cost autonomous drones with advanced AI-driven capabilities, equipping U.S. forces to confront emerging threats with next-generation technology.
K1 Semiconductor, University of Chicago: Transforming the semiconductor industry with groundbreaking wafer-splitting technology, K1 Semiconductor enables up to 20x wafer reuse across high-performance materials.
Photon Queue, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Pioneering the quantum computing revolution, Photon Queue is developing free-space quantum memories that could become the "RAM" for utility-scale quantum computers. The startup is commercializing photon-storage technology that addresses critical efficiency gaps in quantum information processing.
Pilbo Health, Northwestern University: Pilbo is a cost-effective and comprehensively automated smart pill dispenser and connected app bundle designed for the medication adherence improvement of individuals through automatic reminders, tracking intake, and keeping caregivers in the loop.
Solitude Labs, University of Chicago and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Solitude Labs is building a zero-trust, decentralized cybersecurity platform to protect America's critical infrastructure. The startup’s focus is on securing distributed energy resources (DERs) to prevent malicious actors from causing devastating disruptions to the energy grid.
Tandemn, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Tandemn is revolutionizing the AI computing landscape by connecting underutilized Graphics Processing Units (GPU) and converting them into powerful distributed clusters that deliver scalable, secure and cost-effective AI workloads.
Xatoms, University of Toronto: Making sustainable water sources accessible to everyone, Xatoms is using AI and quantum chemistry to discover new materials that purify water using just sunlight or LED light. The novel photocatalytic molecules remove pathogens, chemicals and heavy metals, cleaning polluted water.
Questions?
Please contact Doug Reed, Regional Entrepreneurship Programs Coordinator, Technology Entrepreneur Center
Thank you to our corporate partners!