Hall of Fame | Sunstone Innovation Challenge

Meet the founders who turned a pitch into a business.

Since 2011, the Sunstone Innovation Challenge has helped student founders turn ideas into real businesses — with seed funding, mentorship, and a stage at the Pyramid. Here's a look back at the teams who took home the win.

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2026 Winner: Aurascan —  a barcode-scanning app that translates ingredients into plain-English health impacts

Runner-Up: Upgraded — AI-powered college research that shows what campus life is really like

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2025 Winner: CuraVoice — AI voice simulations that train healthcare students in patient communication

Runner-Up: MindfullElevate — a mental wellness space for student-athletes

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2024 Winner: SensiVitalis — an AI thermoregulation system for critical-care patients

Runner-Up: Wise + Well — a personal assistant service helping seniors age in place

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2023 Winner: BookBase — a social app for readers to discuss books and track reading milestones

Runner-Up: MyEMSpath — an app helping EMS professionals find jobs and advance their careers

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2022 Winner: Proto-Lin Violins — a modernized, mass-manufacturable violin design

Runner-Up: The NIL Collective — a marketing agency helping female college athletes monetize NIL

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2021 Winner: Vitalink  â€” a biotech smartwatch accessory for energy management

Runner-Up: Unwind — a personalized meditation app

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2020 Winner: PeriDeals — an app connecting students to markdown deals on perishable food

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2019 Winner: Sips Cold Brew — locally produced, high-quality cold brew coffee delivered to college students at a competitive price, with customizable orders

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2018 Winner: Artemus Labs — the Python liner, a breathable prosthetic liner in bright colors, designed using direct feedback from amputees

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2017 Winner: Stellar Aeronautic Robotics (STAR) — a license-plate-recognition drone that automates parking enforcement by sending images straight to campus police

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2016 Winner: The Boxing Movement — a mobile boxing gym that travels to recreation centers, born from watching elderly relatives struggle to recover from fall-related injuries

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2015 Winner: LuxNova — 3D-printed bones, drawing media coverage in seven countries and later becoming an LLC developing a commercial bone printer

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2014 Winner: InFluidS — a noninvasive diagnostic tool using simulations to help physicians detect pulmonary diseases faster, plus improved inhaler and surgical mask designs

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2013 Winner: ATextbookHouse.com — a platform letting college students trade textbooks directly with each other, avoiding bookstore markups

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2012 Winner: GlydeTech — magnetic gliding technology making sliding doors and windows of any size easier, quieter, and more secure to operate

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2011 Winner: Phasor Cycles — the Electric Motocross Electric Bicycle (EMXB), combining the power of a motorcycle with the practicality of a mountain bike