2025 Orange Innovation Fund Grants Announced

Aug. 27, 2025, 3 p.m.

Syracuse University Libraries awarded seven Orange Innovation Fund grants to student start-up businesses in 2025.

From launching a clothing line for neurodivergent individuals to creating artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools for industries as diverse as health care, computing and drone operation, Orange Innovation Fund grants are fueling a diverse set of entrepreneurial ventures led by Syracuse University innovators. The competitive micro-grant program, coordinated through Syracuse University Libraries, supports student businesses to develop and test prototypes of products, services and technologies they are seeking to bring to the market.

Each of the 2025 award winners have legally incorporated as business entities and are actively working with the Syracuse University innovation ecosystem, including Syracuse University Libraries and the Blackstone LaunchPad, Couri Hatchery at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, Invent@SU at the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the Innovation Law Center at the College of Law.

Spring 2025 Awards:

• Aidan Turner ’25 (School of Architecture) and Fernandes ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) – SOLACE Collective: First-run production of a high-quality garment line designed for neurodivergent individuals. Funding completes garment and technical construction, the development of an e-commerce storefront and a direct-to-consumer launch in summer 2025.
• Angelo Niforatos G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) – Niffy Drones: Development of a minimally viable product for Titan Ops, an AI-powered analysis product for unmanned aerial systems. The software will ingest uncrewed system user manuals offline, enabling operators to access FAA Part 107 resources and conduct prototype testing with users. Niforatos also recently completed the NSF I-Corps program offered by Syracuse University.
• Emeka Ossai G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) – CampusLabs Nigeria: Establishment of a permanent co-working space at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s leading university. The entrepreneurship hub will serve graduates of the CampusLabs accelerator, a program developed with support from Syracuse University.
• Tony Goncalves ’27 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) – Gymin: Production of final prototypes based on initial testing and conducting a beta project at the Barnes Center for an integrated hardware and software system that delivers real-time analytics to fitness equipment users. User feedback will inform the product development that will soon be ready for commercial deployment. Goncalves also recently completed the NSF I-Corps program offered by Syracuse University.

Summer 2025 Awards

• Ava Lubkemann’27 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) – Revamped: Retrofit work on a bus that will become a mobile thrift store and donation hub to intercept and upcycle clothing and redistribute it directly into communities. Revamp’s scale-up plan is to bring these mobile stores to college campuses to help reduce waste, reimagine reuse and revamp systems to make sustainability even easier. The full commercial launch is planned this fall in Syracuse.
• Nathan Brekke ’26 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), G’27 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) and Joshua Varkey ’26 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) – Phloat: Professional refinement of an inflatable smartphone attachment that keeps devices afloat if dropped in water. The initial idea originated at Invent@SU the Summer of 2024. The company is now working with industrial designers and fabricators to create an advanced commercial-grade prototype for manufacturing, component sourcing, professional fabrication, assembly, functional and compliance testing.

Fall 2025 Awards

• Nicolas Courbage ’26 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) – PapeX: Completion of final commercial-ready prototype development for a platform that eliminates paper receipts and streamlines checkout. Funding supports back-end development, acquisition of near-field communication hardware to simulate point of sale terminals and software licensing. Initial testing occurred in the spring 2025 with full deployment and a major roll-out planned for this fall.

Since its inception, the Orange Innovation Fund has helped many Syracuse University entrepreneurs bring ideas to life across industries, geographies and stages of venture development. The most recent projects demonstrate how Orange innovation extends well beyond campus, creating social, cultural and economic impact from Syracuse to communities around the globe.

Previous Orange Innovation Fund winners include:

• Natasha Brao ’22 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) G’23, G’24 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management_ – Shooka Sauce: Final product formulation and commercial production of Shooka Sauce, a Mediterranean spiced sauce that celebrates the mixing and melding of cultural flavors. The sauce is now available at retail locations and on Shooka’s direct to consumer website.
• Alex Levy ’25 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications) and Sam Schreiber ’25 (Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs) - Optimal Assessment, LLC: Initial prototype of an original software platform to help faculty design courses for students with diverse and varied learning styles, including those who are neurodivergent.
• Thomas Montfort ’24 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) – Agora Labs: Development of a tech platform that provides access to AI computing resources via affordable peer-to-peer GPU networks based on Large Language Models. The protype development and testing was so successful that Agora Labs was acquired by Brev.dev which was then quickly acquired by NVIDIA. Thomas is now a senior software engineer at NVIDIA building the infrastructure and user experience that powers brev.nvidia.com.
• Brianna Gillfillian ’24, G’25 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) – STEAMfluence: Development work on a Science Technology Engineering Art Math (STEAM) pilot summer program for students of color and students in underserved communities to see themselves as future scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs.
• Tosin Alabi G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) – Diabetech: Development work with a professional engineer and fabricator on a commercial grade prototype of a smart bandage that integrates an electronic sensor with a mobile application and artificial intelligence analytics to detect diabetic ulcers. Alabi also recently completed the NSF I-Corps program offered by Syracuse University.
• Waqar Hussain G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) - Iconnic.cloud: Development of an artificial intelligence-driven pricing arbitrage platform using cloud management services for small and medium-sized businesses. Iconnic.cloud has launched in the market offering web functionality, optimized servers and cutting-edge technology.
• Xheneta Sopjani G’24 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) - Revive by Deinde: Fabrication of five units of a testing a device that helps with cell rejuvenation and scientifically proven skincare. The project has since moved ahead with its commercialization process through Deinde.
• Brielle Young (School of Information Studies and Martin J. Whitman School of Management) – Aggregate: Development of an agritech software platform and marketplace connecting communities of producers and consumers via an optimized e-commerce search engine. The venture launched into the market with early users in the farm community. Young recently transferred to the information science program at Cornell, where she is currently completing her degree and working with the agriculture community.
• Max Sulik ’23 G’24 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) - Vital Air Quality Sensor: Development of a fully functioning prototype for a portable sensor that delivers real time data regarding current temperature, humidity, particulate matter and carbon monoxide levels to users. He is continuing his work as an engineer for a nonprofit social impact research team in Liberia, focusing on sustainable development, environmental impact and local economic and community development.
• Ashtha Singh G’24 (Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs) Step Ahead Tech: Development of a curriculum and robotics kit for a pilot summer program that bridges the gap in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education for underserved and underrepresented students in four locations in her home community. The grant supported the development of an initial pilot robotics program, along with a robotic kit, as part of a nine-week STEM and Leadership summer program she created. The course is now offered on an annual basis, and she is collaborating with charter schools in her hometown of Columbus, Ohio to launch their first robotics offerings.

Students participate in Ashtha Singh's pilot robotics program.

• Dr. Cory Mitchell G’24 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management) - EntreVita: Development of a food tech startup focused on evidence-based human-centered technology for precision health using artificial intelligence. EntreVita, Inc. tackles chronic health conditions and bridges health equity gaps by fusing personalized health with smart technology. At the center of EntreVita’s offering is Vita AI, a personalized nutrition platform, which delivers meal recommendations tailored to users’ specific health needs.

The Orange Innovation Fund supports student research initiatives emerging from campus innovation programs. It helps move graduate and undergraduate student research or scholarly projects from ideation to proof of concept and commercialization, supporting the University’s goals of excellence in research, scholarship, student experiential learning and innovation.

Funding for the Orange Innovation program comes from a gift from Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill ’98, a member of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees who is an operating partner of Silicon Valley Quad, an angel investing syndicate.

“The Orange Innovation Fund showcases the remarkable creativity and determination of Syracuse University students, and the tangible impact their ideas can have in the world,” says David Seaman, Dean of Syracuse University Libraries and University Librarian. “Through this program, and in collaboration with partners across campus, we help student entrepreneurs take bold concepts from idea or lab bench to the marketplace, strengthening both their ventures and the University’s culture of innovation.”

Article written by Linda Dickerson Hartsock, Strategic Initiatives Advisor, Syracuse University Libraries.