Two UT San Antonio teams took first and second prizes at the Draper Data Science Business Plan Competition, an annual event hosted by the UT San Antonio College of AI, Cyber and Computing.
The two winning teams were amongst a total of seven student-led teams from across the U.S. that were competing for up to $100,000 in cash prizes by presenting their business ventures that apply data science tools and techniques to solve everyday business challenges.
The Draper Competition was created to empower student entrepreneurs from the United States, Canada and Mexico to advance business ventures that leverage data science to deliver high-impact solutions worldwide. Made possible by a generous gift from venture capitalist Timothy Draper and his wife, Melissa Parker Draper, the competition showcases the dynamic intersection of data science and entrepreneurship.
The winners from UT San Antonio, Team Cruze, captured the top prize of $35,000 for their data platform that uses real-time data and AI to help commercial vehicles adjust speed and movement, improving traffic flow and reducing fuel use.
Co-founder of Cruze, Anudeep Bonagiri, a computer science and neuroscience major, said the team is focused on developing a practical, real-world approach.
“Traffic is something we all face every day,” Bonagiri said. “Finding a solution to this is complementary to how the economic system is moving and how fuel prices have skyrocketed.”
The members of Team Cruze include UT San Antonio students Bonagiri, Sreesanth Senthilkumar, Steven Sam, Ryan Mathuram, Sudeep Thatiparthi, and Sujeeth Thatiparthi.
The UT San Antonio team NeurivAI came in second place and captured the Most Data Science Driven venture, winning a total of $30,000. The NeurivAI team presented an AI technology that uses sports video models to measure the risk of brain injury or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head injuries.
Third-place team went to DialySafe from Rice University, which won $15,000 for its business venture aimed at improving peritoneal dialysis, a kidney treatment, by monitoring infections during pediatric treatments.
Every team presented their business ventures in a five-minute pitch followed by five minutes of questions from a panel of industry experts, who also provided feedback. In the seed, start-up or early growth stage, these student ventures are evaluated on data science foundation, marketability, investment potential and presentation quality.
Amanda Brown, director of the USAA Student Success Center for the UT San Antonio College of AI, Cyber and Computing, said the all of the teams did something meaningful by stepping into the competition and sharing their vision.
“What the teams presented was far beyond a pitch,” Brown said. “They brought forward ideas rooted in curiosity, data science and a willingness to solve real problems. This is what innovation really looks like.”
Judges included: Eduardo Bravo, co-founder and chief operating officer for Irys Technologies; Laura Miller, executive vice president of consumer strategy and digital for Frost Bank; and Leslie Chasnoff, director of programs and partnerships for Geekdom. Aaron McKee, chief operating officer and senior vice president of FEDITC Consulting, eagerly returned for a second year as a judge.
“It’s mentally and spiritually invigorating to be around young people with ideas who are pursuing their passions. It’s also great for UT San Antonio and the students, and ultimately the City of San Antonio,” McKee said.
Other honors and finalists at the Draper Competition included:
- Fan Favorite, $10,000: FloNeur from UT San Antonio, acknowledged by competition spectators for a venture that features AI-powered smart assistive glasses for neurodivergent adults.
- Judges’ Choice, $10,000: Kinnex Health from the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID, recognized with the most solid business plan for a working prototype that transforms orthopedic recovery and rehabilitation care.
- Foundly from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY presented their answer to lost and found management with an AI-driven platform for universities, corporate offices, airports and hotels to help manage lost items with digital reports, automated matching and secure tracking.
- Thetha from Grambling University in Grambling, LA showed their data science solution for businesses using multilingual AI voice agents to be more inclusive of various dialects, including African languages.
