2025 Dempsey Startup Competition Awards Impact-Driven Startups in Conclusion to Historic Year
Judges awarded $87,500 to early-stage student startups in the 28th year of the competition at the University of Washington
Written by: Charles Trillingham, Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship
The magic of watching a college student shift into a fully formed early-stage entrepreneur is part of what makes the Dempsey Startup Competition at the University of Washington so special. A mixture of euphoria and shock washed over the faces of team Voltair as they were named the winner of the 2025 BECU Grand Prize. Voltair impressed judges with its robotics-as-a-service company that offers novel drone technology to help prevent wildfires.
The UW team of electrical and computer engineering, computer science, finance and information systems, and psychology students built autonomous drones that charge directly on power lines. They can be used by power utilities to inspect for maintenance issues and potential fire hazards before they “spark disasters.” Voltair became the first team to win both the Dempsey Startup $25,000 Grand Prize and the $15,000 Environmental Innovation Challenge Grand Prize in the same year.
They also won the $5,000 Glympse Internet of Things Prize — which recognizes a business venture that incorporates new products, devices, or services that enable the collection and exchange of data to create new consumer experiences. Voltair won three prizes, while giving up zero equity, across two competitions in 2025 hosted by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business.
The Top 4 teams in this year’s Dempsey Startup Competition also accomplished a rare feat, with each winning both a Final Round prize and one of ten additional prizes awarded to teams who competed in the Investment Round (Top 40) on Thursday, May 1.
The $15,000 WRF Capital Second Place Prize went to BioSyft Technologies from UW. BioSyft is developing AI-driven technologies to automate and standardize the classification of animal behavior in drug testing. The team of pharmacology, MBA, neuroscience, computer science, and biochemistry students aim to remove human error to enhance the speed and accuracy of drug development. This comes at a time when there’s no widely adopted standard for preclinical drug tests with regards to animal behavior, despite the important role it plays. BioSyft also won the $2,500 Holland & Knight Best Health & Wellness Impact Idea Prize, which recognizes a venture with significant potential to prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases or disorders that impact human health.
Judges awarded the $10,000 iSpot.tv Third Place Prize to Universal Extrusion Solutions (UES) from Eastern Washington University. The team of business administration and engineering students created a single-step plastic waste recycler named PolyForge. It converts shredded plastic and pellets into filament in real time, seamlessly extruding directly into any 3D printer or spooling for later use. The timing of this innovation is key, as the global 3D printing market is growing exponentially. UES also won the $2,500 David & Patty Helberg Smukowski Best Sustainable Business Prize, which is awarded to a venture that has incorporated best practices toward resource reduction while bolstering profitability/cost containment.
Team Revyn Medical Technologies from the University of Victoria won the $7,500 Friends of the Dempsey Startup Fourth Place Prize. Revyn is a medical device company that improves gynecological care with an alternative to the vaginal speculum — which was originally developed more than 150 years ago. The team of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering students created a device that integrates endoscopic technology with modern, patient-centric design that prioritized comfort. Revyn also won the $2,500 Saara Romu Community Impact Prize, which recognizes a venture that has a direct impact on the lives of women or other underserved communities.
Additional Prizes Awarded to Dempsey Startup Investment Round Teams
Six additional Best Idea and Big Picture prizes were also awarded to teams who competed in the Investment Round after advancing from a record pool of 174 participants in the competition’s 28th year.
Judges selected team Luminovah for the $5,000 Wilson Sonsini Social Impact Prize, which recognizes a venture that “not only demonstrates the capacity to deliver financial performance but also shows how it makes a positive contribution to society.” The UW team of electrical and computer engineering and business students created a continuous monitoring system for newborns so parents and doctors can non-invasively detect jaundice. About 60% of term and 80% of preterm newborns develop jaundice within the first week due to their immature livers.
The $2,500 eBay Best Marketplace Idea Prize was awarded to Seattle Financial Initiative from Seattle University. The team created a fully student-run and operated credit union initiative focused on providing tailored financial products, services, and resources to students in the greater Seattle area. The Best Marketplace Idea Prize targets teams that create a commerce or payments platform for communities of buyers, sellers or businesses.
Team VisionVoice won the $2,500 Perkins Coie Best Innovation/Technology Prize for its AI-powered voice assistant integrated smart glasses. The UW team of computer engineering, computer science, business, information systems, and political science students aim to help visually impaired individuals safely navigate their environment and use everyday items like cash or credit cards. That fits the target for this prize, which is a venture that has a new application for current technology, disruptive technology, or an idea that represents a substantial improvement in a product or process.
Arid Cycles took home the $2,500 Thatcher & Shannon Davis Best Consumer Product Idea Prize, which goes to a team that offers a compelling new consumer product in a well-defined market. The UW team of human centered design and engineering students created a sustainably made mountain bike frame using recyclable and renewable materials.
MycoLab won the $2,500 DLA Piper Best Idea with Global Reach Prize with its innovative approach to breaking down plastic pollution by using fungus. The University of British Columbia team of business, engineering, and biomedical engineering students believe their innovation can prove to be a potential solution to the microplastic problem by reducing the decomposition time of plastics from 450 years to just two weeks.
Judges awarded team Elementrailer from UW the $2,500 Voyager Capital Best Business to Business Idea Prize, which is targeted at a venture that aspires to acquire customers around the world. Elementrailer created a motorized electric trailer that transforms fleet towing by significantly reducing electric vehicle range loss. Their innovation aims to slash operating costs and emissions for greener, more efficient operations. Elementrailer is one of the most cross-disciplinary teams in the competition, with students representing the Master of Science in Entrepreneurship program, accounting, MBA, mechanical engineering, environmental science and terrestrial resource management, electrical engineering, and electrical and computer engineering departments. The team previously won the $2,500 Reimagine Prize at the 2025 EIC.
In total, $87,500 in prizes were awarded in the 2025 Dempsey Startup, formerly known as the UW Business Plan Competition. The keynote speaker at the award ceremony was Michael Hite (MBA, ’09), current CEO of Ayuda Medical, and former winner of the competition’s grand prize in 2008 with Impel Neuropharma (now known as Impel Pharmaceuticals).
Hite expressed to the students, alumni, judges, and investors at the awards dinner and celebration how important it is to not just “build something that matters” but to take full advantage of the time you have to dive in and take chances. As CEO at Ayuda Medical, Hite is overseeing the company’s push to develop a medical band that detects signs of a potentially life-threatening overdose.
Hite and John Hoekman (Ph.D. Pharmaceutics, ’10) co-founded Impel after meeting as graduate students at UW. Hite left the company in 2016 after serving as CEO for eight years. Hoekman left Impel in 2023 and is now the co-founder and CEO of biotechnology company Junevity.
Computer Science Alumnus Honored with UW Entrepreneur of the Year Award
The Buerk Center also awarded the fourth annual UW Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Armon Dadger (B.S., Computer Science, ’11) and Mitchell Hashimoto (B.S., Computer Science, ’11), co-founders of the automated cloud infrastructure company HashiCorp.
IBM acquired HashiCorp in February, seven years after the company reached unicorn status with a $1.9 billion valuation. Hashimoto left the company in 2013 to spend time with family and “dabble” in new opportunities. His message to students in the room was one of encouragement but also steadfastness.
“Remember when you are pitching to investors that you maintain your convictions that make you unique,” he said. Dadger echoed similar thoughts, noting how important it is, even if you feel crazy, to “keep going at it even if the world, or your family, doesn’t fully understand” what you’re working on, or why you’re working on it so hard.
Dadger also thanked UW for the connections and opportunities. Earlier this month, he and his partner Joshua Kalla gave $3 million to the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering with the goal of opening up opportunities for first-generation college students and expanding the college’s focus on systems and AI.
The UW Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award was created to recognize UW alumni that have worked hard to create, innovate, and contribute in a meaningful way to the Seattle entrepreneurial ecosystem. This year’s award was presented by the first-ever winner, Amber Ratcliffe (MBA ’03), who won the business plan competition in 2003 with a biotech company that she co-founded, NanoString Technologies.
The Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship wishes to thank all 27 sponsors who helped make this year’s competition possible, as well as UW alum Neal Dempsey. Beginning in 2019, his generous support allowed the competition to expand eligibility for student teams in Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, and British Columbia, stimulating more student-created startups than ever before. The 2025 Dempsey Startup Competition set a record for participation for the third consecutive year with 174 applicants. The 400+ students on those teams represented 23 different colleges and universities around the region.
Including this year, more than 7,400 students on over 2,360 teams have competed in the competition since it began in 1998. In the past 28 years, 267 teams have earned prize money totaling just over $2 million dollars. Overall, the Buerk Center has awarded more than $5 million dollars to students since 1998 through multiple competitions and the Jones + Foster Accelerator.
For community members and founders inspired to participate or give back, there may be opportunities for you with the 2026 Dempsey Startup Competition, the health or environmental innovation challenge competitions, and/or the Buerk Center’s academic year programming. To begin that process, contact Buerk Center Director Amy Sallin at mailto:asallin@uw.edu.
Complete List of 2025 Dempsey Startup Prize Winners
$25,000 BECU Grand Prize — Voltair (UW)
$15,000 WRF Capital Second Place Prize — BioSyft Technologies (UW)
$10,000 iSpot.tv Third Place Prize — Universal Extrusion Solutions (EWU)
$7,500 Friends of the Dempsey Startup Fourth Place Prize — Revyn Medical Technologies (UVic)
$5,000 Glympse Internet of Things (IoT) Big Picture Prize — Voltair (UW)
$5,000 Wilson Sonsini Social Impact Big Picture Prize — Luminovah (UW)
$2,500 eBay Best Marketplace Idea Prize — Seattle Financial Initiative (Seattle U.)
$2,500 Perkins Coie Best Innovation/Technology Idea Prize — VisionVoice (UW)
$2,500 Thatcher & Shannon Davis Best Consumer Product Idea Prize — Arid Cycles (UW)
$2,500 Saara Romu Community Impact Prize — Revyn Medical Technologies (UVic)
$2,500 David & Patty Helberg Smukowski Best Sustainable Business Idea Prize — Universal Extrusion Solutions (EWU)
$2,500 Voyager Capital Best Business to Business Idea Prize — Elementrailer (UW)
$2,500 DLA Piper Best Idea with Global Reach Prize — MycoLab (UBC)
$2,500 Holland & Knight Best Health & Wellness Impact Prize — BioSyft Technologies (UW)
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