Computer science students are founding award-winning tech startups almost from the minute they step foot on campus. The Siebel School of Computing and Data Science is the place to be if you want to be involved in starting a tech company. The Grainger College of Engineering has an extensive, well-resourced and active advisory and support structure to help students with an idea collaborate, develop their ideas, test them and bring them to life as a company.

Three teams led by computer science students went home with prizes at the Cozad New Venture Challenge 2024 Finals event on April 17 at Portal Innovations in Chicago. Pathlit, featuring computer science students Mark Zhang and Emma Chen, won the grand prize and $50,000 in investment; ClimeCast, led by computer science and linguistics student Raj Amalakanti, won third place with a $25,000 prize; and Provenance Security, led by computer science student Akul Goyal, won a $10,000 finalist prize. Pathlit helps companies and individuals quickly build their own GenAI-based use cases, saving them the time and cost of building in-house GenAI teams.

Pathlit CTO Mark Zhang says, “I learned a lot in some of our courses,” pointing to CS 425 Distributed Systems, Advanced Distributed Systems and CS 423 Operating Systems courses. “These courses helped me understand how to build scalable software and think about the properties of software. And that helps us get up to speed after we build the prototype and the actual product.”

Photo credit: Grainger College of Engineering TEC

Akul Goyal founded Cozad finalist Provenance Security while on the Secure & Transparent Systems Laboratory team led by computer science professor Adam Bates. The startup is developing a next-generation endpoint detection and response tool tailored to small and medium-sized businesses. “Our breakthrough came,” he says, “when the system we developed outperformed existing market solutions and demonstrated the ability to scale to thousands of machines. Before that, much of the research in our field had not yet made the leap from academic exploration to commercial viability. After receiving these results, Adam and I decided it was time to build a company around our idea.” Goyal adds, “Professor Gang Wang was instrumental in helping us refine our ideas and develop a concept that made sense to everyone. His guidance was invaluable in bridging the gap between academic theory and practical application.”

Jacob Ahmad Shalabi from the Pathlit team points to the support structure for entrepreneurs and mentions, “We explored a number of the entrepreneur resources offered. We are very grateful to be surrounded by such a strong entrepreneurial community at U of I. In addition to Cozad, we also participated in the iVenture Accelerator, where we spent most of the summer, and it was a great experience. Getting to know a number of different startups at U of I, seeing what they have to offer, and then growing alongside them was a very fun experience for us. The University of Illinois has great resources for student entrepreneurs like us, and we are very grateful to be able to build something here.”

Kenny Zho, who spent the summer in Massachusetts, notes, “We used the CIF (Campus Instructional Facility) and Grainger Library a lot throughout the year. It was helpful to have workstations. And you don’t realize it until they’re gone.”

Goyal says, “I encourage anyone interested in entrepreneurship, whether an undergraduate or graduate student, to take a course or two in technology entrepreneurship. These courses provide valuable learning opportunities and the chance to meet other like-minded students on campus. Don’t hesitate to get involved – you’ll be surprised how many U of I students are working on unique projects.” He thanks Marissa Siero of the Grainger College of Engineering Technology Entrepreneur Center for her “instrumental role in the early stages of our journey.”

What would it be like to go to college while building a business? Emma Chen notes, “Advay Gupta, our CEO, has high expectations of us and our work. So balancing that with school work has been quite a challenge, I have to admit. But honestly, the two things complement each other well. The courses I’m taking and the second thing I’m learning in school help me, and then I put those into practice at Pathlit and in my work and see how I can turn the skills I’m learning into something useful that changes the world. It makes me feel like they’re not two different things that I’m struggling to juggle. It’s something that complements each other.”

For PhD student Goyal, “starting a startup takes work, especially as a PhD student, as you have to manage your PhD thesis alongside your entrepreneurial endeavors. Fortunately, much of the preparatory work for my PhD overlaps with the work on my startup, which allows for a smoother transition between the different aspects of my life. However, it is important to set boundaries, as academic and entrepreneurial demands can sometimes conflict with each other.”

He adds that Provenance Security is “looking for students we can work well with. We are currently looking for students interested in machine learning, distributed systems, design, and developing functional products. Much of our work requires students who are willing to step into different roles and move between different business areas. More importantly, we are looking for curious students who enjoy working in a fast-paced environment. If this describes you, please reach out to me!”