Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs Announces 13 Finalists for 2026 HAE Startup World Cup Regional
Finalists will compete September 24 at Harvard Medical School for the opportunity to represent the Harvard alumni entrepreneurial community at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco
BOSTON, August 19, 2026 — Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs (HAE) today announced the 13 startups selected to compete in the 2026 HAE Startup World Cup Regional, taking place September 24 at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
The finalists were selected from an exceptionally competitive field of Harvard alumni-founded companies. HAE had originally planned to advance 12 startups, but the strength of the semifinalists led the organization to expand the final group to 13.
Six of the 13 finalists are also alumni of the HAE Accelerator, a connection we are especially proud to see represented in this year’s field. Their continued progress reflects the strength of the founders and companies that have come through the program.
The companies represent a wide range of industries and technologies, including biotechnology, healthcare, artificial intelligence, climate, defense technology, robotics, enterprise software and consumer innovation.
2026 HAE Startup World Cup Finalists
4M Therapeutics - Safer medicines for mental health
Pablo Lapuerta, Harvard College and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Stephen J. Haggarty, Harvard Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Avix Medical - Earlier, faster cancer detection
Aditya Ranganathan, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Checkups Cova - WhatsApp health wallets for Africa
Moka Lantum, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Clerx - Al agents for law firm intake
Michael Brunman, Harvard Business School
Enolytics - Wine industry data analytics
Cathy Huyghe, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Robot On Rails - Autonomous Al-powered wet labs
Jill Becker, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
SeeAir - Healthier, sustainable homes with AI
Piers MacNaughton, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Shopperoo - Al-driven retail assortment and pricing
Namrata Singhal, Harvard Business School
Rohit Singhal, Harvard Business School
Skribe Medical - Wearable cardiac screening for cancer patients
Ryan Neely, Harvard College
smartSTAT - Live data for hospital emergency readiness
Rohan Bajaj, Harvard Business School
Suyana Climate Insurance - Climate insurance for Latin America
Fernando Yu, Harvard Kennedy School
Rodrigo Garcia Ayala, Harvard Kennedy School
Target Arm Inc. - Autonomous drone launch and recovery
Jeffrey McChesney, Harvard Kennedy School
Zinit - Al-native procurement platform
Stanislav Moskovtsev, Harvard Business School
“These 13 companies reflect the extraordinary range of innovation happening across the Harvard alumni entrepreneurial community,” said Regina Ryan, President of Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs. “We saw founders tackling genuinely difficult problems — from cancer detection and mental health to climate risk, emergency healthcare and autonomous systems. The quality of the semifinal field was so strong that we simply couldn’t stop at 12.”
At the September 24 competition, the finalists will pitch before a panel of investors and business leaders. One company will be selected to represent the Harvard alumni entrepreneurial community at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco this November, where startups from regional competitions around the world will compete for a potential $1 million investment.
The HAE Startup World Cup Regional is also designed to bring founders and capital together. The event will convene investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and members of the broader Harvard community for an evening of pitches, conversation and connections.
This year’s competition coincides with another milestone: Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
“For 20 years, HAE has been about creating connections that help entrepreneurs move forward — connecting founders with one another and with the expertise, opportunities and capital that can help them build,” Ryan said. “the HAE Startup World Cup brings that mission to life in a particularly exciting way.”
The 2026 HAE Startup World Cup Regional will take place September 24 at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
For event information and tickets, visit:
https://www.harvardae.org/hae-swc-tickets-2026
About Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs
Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs (HAE) is a global community dedicated to advancing entrepreneurship across the Harvard alumni community. Through educational programs, founder programs, competitions, events, chapters and connections to entrepreneurs and investors, HAE helps entrepreneurs learn, connect, compete and grow.
As HAE celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026, the organization continues to expand its global network and create new pathways connecting founders with the knowledge, relationships and capital they need to move their ventures forward.
About Startup World Cup
Startup World Cup is a global startup competition organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and innovation communities through regional competitions around the world. Regional winners advance to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco, where they compete for a potential $1 million investment.
About Pegasus Tech Ventures
Pegasus Tech Ventures is a global venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, managing over $2 billion in assets. It provides strategic and financial capital to emerging tech companies and offers a unique Venture Capital-as-a-Service (VCaaS) model for global corporations like ASUS, SEGA, and Marathon Petroleum. Pegasus has invested in 250+ companies, including SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, Airbnb, SoFi, and DoorDash.
Media Contact
Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs
Regina Ryan, President
rryan@harvardae.org
www.harvardae.org