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Indian American student's venture wins $50k investment

The startup was recognized for its innovative approach that enables enterprises and individuals to build GenAI-powered use cases rapidly through its no-code, drag-and-drop models.

Grand Prize-winning team / Image- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Pathlit, a start-up founded by Indian American student Advay Gupta, has been declared the Grand Prize Winner of the Cozad New Venture Challenge 2024. 

The startup was recognized for its innovative approach that enables enterprises and individuals to build GenAI-powered use cases rapidly through its no-code, drag-and-drop models. It secured a $50,000 investment during the finals of the event held at Portal Innovations.

Founder and CEO, Gupta expressed the significance of the competition,stating, "Participating in the Cozad New Venture Challenge was an enlightening experience that helped us deeply understand the importance of adaptability and clear communication, especially when explaining complex Gen AI capabilities to our wide array of audiences. The Grand Prize is an amazing boost for us! It will be directly invested in enhancing our platform’s capabilities and scalability."

Gupta emphasized the impact of the competition on his venture, noting that the lessons learned will guide Pathlit’s ongoing efforts to simplify AI application development. The funding will help refine their technology, expand the team, and make AI more accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Pathlit was developed with the aim of mitigating the digital divide by providing widespread access to GenAI experimentation. It enables customers to save significant time and resources by eliminating the necessity of establishing in-house GenAI teams. Pathlit is currently seeking additional funding for expansion, with support from AWS Activate, Google, and Nvidia.

The Cozad New Venture Challenge, administered by the Technology Entrepreneur Center at The Grainger College of Engineering, saw seven finalist teams pitching their startup ideas to a panel of judges. This annual event aims to foster new business ventures by providing funding and in-kind prizes up to $500,000.

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