20 Teams Move Forward in the 2026 John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge

This week, 20 teams advanced to the next round of the 2026 John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge (Edwardson SNVC). With the announcement, the teams move into Phase II of the accelerator program, where they will spend Spring Quarter preparing to launch a nonprofit or for-profit venture with a social mission at its core. At the end of the quarter, six to seven ventures will be chosen as Edwardson SNVC finalists and compete for a minimum of $300,000 in investment at the Edwardson SNVC Finals on Wednesday, May 27.

This year’s ventures are building forward-thinking solutions, such as more efficient housing models for homelessness, economic development initiatives for the new AI-enabled workforce, new solar applications for the agriculture industry, and more. SNVC participants include University of Chicago students from Chicago Booth; the Harris School of Public Policy; the College; the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice; the Biological Sciences Division (BSD), the Master of Arts program, and the Computational Analysis and Public Policy program.

The SNVC is the destination for student entrepreneurs looking to create ventures with a social mission. Managed by Chicago Booth’s Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation, the SNVC is the social impact track of the university’s nationally ranked business launch program, the New Venture Challenge (NVC). 

Since 2011, the SNVC has supported more than 250 student-led social ventures that have collectively raised more than $305 million. Notable past winners include the solar-powered light company LuminAID, the online voter guide BallotReady, the agricultural technology company Hello Tractor, the autism therapy startup AIM Clinics, now HopeBridge, the pathway to homeownership venture LadderUp Housing, and biotechnology company Exactics, which provides at-home rapid testing technology for infectious diseases.

2026 Edwardson SNVC Teams Include:

Ayllu Horizons is a nonprofit that is delivering an upstream leadership and career-discovery program for girls aged 15–17 in Latin America. Through guided self-exploration, trained mentorship, and project-based learning, the program creates an intergenerational ayllu (community) that strengthens girls’ agency and supports informed, ambitious decisions about their futures.

Bazaar AI is building a vendor-scoped loyalty and CRM platform for temporary commerce, including farmers markets, pop-ups, fairs, and festivals. The platform enables small vendors to run simple loyalty programs and customer communication across venues and seasons using AI-generated copy and templated workflows and automations, without POS integration or complex setup.

CertBridge is a guided certification platform that helps teachers navigate licensure, renewal, and interstate transfers. By translating complex, state-specific requirements into clear pathways and step-by-step workflows, CertBridge makes certification easier—so qualified teachers can teach, and students can learn.

DemystifyAI equips community members with practical AI and digital literacy skills, empowering individuals to confidently navigate an AI-integrated society while protecting themselves from AI-related risks. DemystifyAI’s mission emphasizes accessibility across income levels, languages, digital experience, and ethnicities, ensuring equitable participation in technology-driven society. 

Faction Labs is a "digital firm in a box" for down-ballot political campaigns and advocacy groups. We provide an automated platform for ad testing, targeting, and delivery, democratizing enterprise-grade data science. Our solution replaces expensive, manual consulting with streamlined, accessible tools that maximize digital ROI for under-resourced candidates.

Functional Housing is a unit acquisition platform that finally allows municipalities to take control of homelessness at scale. We are a full suite rental unit master leasing platform that raises funds, negotiates contracts with landlords, leases up units, and manages affordable housing. 

HandsIn is an AI-driven, web-based ASL e-learning platform that addresses the critical shortage of accessible sign language education. Unlike traditional, static video courses, HandsIn utilizes real-time gesture recognition. Our interactive, supplemental learning tool provides a flexible and accessible environment for learners to develop their ASL skills.

Haqqo corrects a systemic market failure in Pakistan's rice sector where farmers lose half their crop value to middlemen who weaponize desperation. We pay instantly at fair prices, hold strategically using proprietary AI timing models, and capture quality premiums delivering approximately 45% farmer income gains while generating sustainable returns. 

JustLease is the first AI-powered tenants' rights platform that analyzes leases and/or rental situations against jurisdiction-specific housing laws to highlight potential red flags or noncompliance. JustLease empowers tenants with the knowledge and connections to understand their rights, resolve housing issues, and live with dignity and security.

Latitude is a behavioral wealth system designed to close the gap between earning power and financial confidence. By combining a physical workbook with a gamified app, Latitude helps high-earning women and immigrants overcome psychological barriers, transitioning them from anxious earners to secure wealth-builders.

Lighthouse Technologies deploys autonomous AI agents that operate undercover across digital platforms to proactively identify and prosecute criminals before harm occurs. Starting with human trafficking and child exploitation, we're building defensive AI infrastructure that expands to terrorism, extremism, and all cyber crimes.

Mudiyum builds AI-readiness pathways for Indian college graduates from Tier 2/3 institutions, preparing them for AI-augmented human-in-the-loop entry-level roles across IT services, customer service, and compliance functions. We combine applied training, simulated work environments, and employer-aligned certifications to enable transitions into formal employment as entry-level work gets restructured.

NuraCare AI is a digital platform that uses friendly, human-sounding voice check-ins to support patients after they leave the hospital. It helps doctors and nurses catch health problems early, ensures patients take their medications correctly, and provides a safer recovery at home.

Perennial Ownership turns employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) feasibility studies from a costly, specialist-only service into a fast, standardized workflow that any trusted business advisor can run, enabling more business owners to sell their company to their employees–and building wealth for workers and their communities.

Pollity, an AI-empowered Chief of Staff, provides data-driven governance tools to India’s 3 million+ elected representatives. It transforms the ineffective grievance management, inter-agency coordination, legislative research, social media management, and decision-support systems, into data-driven governance engines, thereby enabling year-round effective service to constituencies, while enhancing transparent and accountable public service.

PublicPath is a digital platform that centralizes public service opportunities and demystifies government hiring across federal, state, and local offices. By aggregating roles and pairing them with clear pathways, guidance, and partner referrals, the platform helps qualified candidates, especially those without insider access, confidently pursue public service careers.

SpectraVeil is commercializing an innovative agrivoltaic technology from The National Laboratory of the Rockies that uniquely harvests solar electrical power and enhances agricultural production simultaneously. This customizable technology offers an efficient renewable energy solution for Food & Agriculture, Technology & AI, and Construction industries. 

VergeSci is a research-first platform that serves as a coordination layer for labs, researchers, institutions, and life sciences organizations. It standardizes how research opportunities and talent are discovered and engaged, beginning with lab placement and extending toward a shared interface that improves equity, efficiency, and collaboration across academia and industry.

Vidyala is a social impact organization designed to create advanced, comprehensive, and engaging language learning materials and intelligent technology for South-Asian communities. Our ultimate goal is to help people connect more deeply with their cultural and religious traditions and empower families to preserve identity across generations.

WeThePeople is an online platform offering US voters the ability to quickly and easily compare political candidates running for local and state offices. It also gives anyone looking to run for office, no matter their status or financial position, a space to share their message to constituents.