Using AI for fatigue risk management amongst aviation and transportation workers, expanding visual arts education to grade school students across India, and inventing a new financial platform for supporting relatives living abroad, are three of the 25 initiatives that have been recognized as finalists in the 2025 Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge.
“The President’s Innovation Challenge continues to draw attention to the creativity and ingenuity of students throughout the University,” said President Alan M. Garber. “The work of our finalist teams encompasses innovations in many disciplines and areas of application. Their dedication is inspiring, and their goals are ambitious and worthy. I look forward to their final presentations in May.”
The President’s Innovation Challenge is an annual competition for Harvard students and select alumni pursuing ventures that are redefining what’s possible in their fields. Participants receive mentorship from the Harvard Innovation Labs, working toward the Awards Ceremony on May 7 at Klarman Hall. There, finalists pitch their ventures to a global audience and winners receive a part of $517,000 in prizes, funded entirely by a generous gift from the Bertarelli Foundation, co-founded by Ernesto Bertarelli, HBS MBA '93.
The $517,000 in prize money will be awarded as follows: Five ventures will receive grand prizes of $75,000, and five others will receive $25,000. Additionally, the President’s Innovation Challenge also will award $17,000 in Ingenuity Awards to students with ideas that could be world-changing, even if they are not yet fully formed ventures.
This year’s 25 President’s Innovation Challenge finalists and 10 Ingenuity Award finalists represent 12 Harvard schools. These ventures include:
Open (Alumni + Affiliates)
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Finalist Adaptive Reader
Transforming literature for grades 7–12 into multiple languages and reading levels.
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Finalist Halo Braid
Reducing hair braiding time from six hours to minutes, empowering hair stylists to double their business.
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Finalist Kura
Offering efficient, seamless, and reliable financial support for relatives and beneficiaries living abroad.
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Finalist Slam Out Loud
Using the visual and performing arts to enable children in India from disadvantaged backgrounds to find their voice.
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Finalist Vocadian
Using voice AI to predict and manage fatigue risk, empowering a safer, healthier, and more productive workforce.
Health Care + Life Sciences (Alumni + Affiliates)
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Finalist CoreBio
Advancing cancer lineage therapeutics beyond genomics, with a focus on targeting cancer-specific core lineage-dependent pathways.
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Finalist Limax Biosciences
Treating internal and external injuries with a stretchable adhesive hydrogel.
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Finalist Modulate Bio
Developing therapies to treat neurological disorders, including Essential Tremor, epilepsy, and anxiety.
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Finalist Nucyrna Therapeutics
Redefining RNA-targeting therapeutics, starting in neurodegenerative diseases.
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Finalist Regatta BIO
Developing cellular therapies to restore immune tolerance and prevent immune system-related diseases.
Health Care + Life Sciences (Students)
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Finalist Keles Keyless Expander
Standing out among conventional palatal expanders through its built-in activation arm.
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Finalist Laptis
Building a platform that will streamline access to substance abuse treatment for lawyers, physicians, and social workers on behalf of their clients.
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Finalist PeriPeach
Designing a medical device that protects the pelvic floor during childbirth.
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Finalist Radiate Biosciences
Redefining colorectal cancer screening with a blood test that delivers colonoscopy-level performance.
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Finalist TerraFlow
Mapping the immune system and showing scientists which levers to pull in order to re-engage the immune system in fighting cancer.
Open (Students)
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Finalist Gurus Inc.
Helping vulnerable populations overcome barriers to long-term stability and community reintegration through providing housing, education, mentorship, and support services in a safe, affordable environment.
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Finalist HydroHaul
Redefining the hydrogen value chain, linking consumers with producers affordably and flexibly.
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Finalist IntuitiveMotion.AI
Creating LLM voice-based robotics control software, focusing initially on the food and beverage industry.
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Finalist Maka Media
Nurturing healthy kids by empowering parents to make confident, intentional screen-time choices.
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Finalist SylloTips
Using AI to capture and reuse companies' undocumented knowledge, putting an end to the inefficiencies of word-of-mouth.
Social Impact (Students)
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Finalist Blossom Academy
Creating pathways for underserved communities to develop digital skills, empowering them to access the evolving job market and boost their incomes.
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Finalist Brain Exercise Initiative
Preventing memory loss through cognitively-stimulating exercises.
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Finalist Dombelfarms Ltd
Providing access to high-quality agro products and technology-enhanced services to empower smallholder farmers feeding Africa.
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Finalist Lexi
Creating machine learning-driven translation for medical use cases.
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Finalist The Paal
Empowering smallholder farmers in India to harness the full potential of livestock farming.
Ingenuity Award Finalists (Students)
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Winner AIRQUA
Transforming flood relief with air-generated water technology, delivering clean, safe water to families in urgent need during crises.
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Finalist Bespoque
Incorporating an adaptive tailoring service into online checkout so people with disabilities can customize clothing from any retailer to meet their individual needs.
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Finalist Katmai Computing
Developing quantum hardware you can hold in your hand.
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Finalist Nadv.Rx
Providing audio discharge instructions after emergency department visits, empowering patients to take ownership of their care.
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Winner Pythia Diagnostics
Building a wearable device that predicts epileptic seizures by analyzing skin-released chemicals.
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Winner SAMI+
Equipping health workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with AI-powered handheld ultrasounds, enhancing prenatal care.
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Finalist Spatial Sense
Providing spatial learning products to students for a lifetime of STEM success.
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Winner SpiroSniff
Creating an affordable breathalyzer to detect lung cancer early, using sensors and AI for rapid, non-invasive, accessible screening.
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Finalist Vital T
Building an endotracheal tube with integrated ultrasound and imaging to non-invasively monitor critical hemodynamics in ICU patients.
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Winner Wyndergy
Harnessing wind power to increase range for electric vehicles and eliminate range anxiety.