The Innovation Fund
The Innovation Fund aims to support early-stage entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds by providing equity-free grants to any Harvard-affiliated founder with a vision and the drive to make that vision a reality. This year’s total prize pool includes over $40k in cash grants, AWS credits, and more in partnerships/fast-tracks with our partners. This year’s Innovation Fund is held in partnership with Harvard Undergraduate Consulting for Business and the Environment (CBE) Ventures, with a special Sustainability Prize offered by CBE.
In addition to ongoing mentorship, you'll also get to attend our Demo Day. Select participants will also receive access to our vast network of 50+ VC and angel investor partners, with total $245B+ AUM. We select teams based on the criteria below, giving them access to education and platform partnerships to accelerate their businesses.
Any companies with a Harvard-affiliated founder may apply. This includes, but is not limited to, current students at any Harvard school, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and alumni.
Application Criteria:
Idea: Team presents an ambitious idea that addresses an important issue, a concrete solution that contains different perspectives, and an action plan that will impact real communities and which is not solely based on intuition. Both for-profit and non-profit startups are welcome to apply.
Team: Members include current Harvard-affiliated students or alumni who demonstrate committed personal investment, technical ability, and entrepreneurial vision.
Vision: The team’s solution includes ways to continue developing the product and furthering knowledge and innovation over the course of the grant period.
Engagement: Teams should participate in our Demo Day conference weekend and check-in Zoom meetings throughout the grant period, and engage in our workshops, office hours, and programming throughout the semester.

Fall 2024 Timeline:
Applications due November 1.
First round interviews November 6-7.
Second round interviews November 11-12.
Applications are closed.
Diamond Sponsors
Watch the Innovation Fund Info Session from 2021 below!
Past Innovation Fund Winners
"Finding a mine is hard. The average drilling success accuracy is 3%. What is more, a greener economy requires 4X more critical metals like copper, lithium, cobalt, etc., than those produced today. Hence, more discoveries are urgently needed. In Mineral Forecast we’re democratizing the use of Machine Learning in the mining exploration industry to achieve a greener economy sooner. For mid-market mining exploration managers interested in using data to improve their discovery rates, we bring a drill hole targeting solution that dramatically improves drilling success using machine learning. Our clients achieved a drilling success accuracy of 10%, 3X more than the industry average (3%), equivalent to unleashing a potential value-added of $17M per exploration project.
The use of Machine Learning in mining exploration is in the early stages. Only 2% of exploration teams claim to use it today. What is more, is cost-prohibitive for all but the largest mining companies. Our value proposition is to be the off-the-shelf solution for mid-market mining and exploration companies. Through a SaaS platform with a low cost of deployment and high usability, we'll enhance the discovery rates, making the exploration process more efficient for many, not just for a few. This value proposition will endure mainly through the leverage that data gathering gives us. A SaaS business model will enable us to gather data from different mines and exploration projects, and from different types of metals, which can then be aggregated to build stronger and more accurate algorithms."
Credit is essential to build resilient financial systems for underbanked people. Currently, microlending services block access through predatory lending rates and blackbox underwriting ML algorithms. Oban is connects lenders and borrowers through a transparent marketplace where users can shop for fair rates and guarantee they get the best deal. We allow borrowers to empower their data and get a one-stop quote for all lenders.
AllStreet is a digital wealth platform that constructs thematic portfolios of top-performing private funds (i.e. PE, VC, RE) for the qualified retail investor. I founded AllStreet with a mission to allow more people to participate in the outperformance frequently generated by alternative assets. By providing minimums as low as $1, the potential for early liquidity, and mobile-first onboarding and investment performance monitoring, AllStreet is the first alternatives platform built for the retail investor. AllStreet is backed and advised by senior professionals from Apollo and Blackstone.
"BlockCarbon is a remote sensing + AI technology-driven marketplace for voluntary carbon credits, with a mission to connect Asia's carbon-zero efforts with the rest of the world.
The platform uses deep learning algorithm to generate critical information and insights from a variety of data sources including satellite images, near-earth aerial data, and other asset-based sensors, helping Asia-based carbon credit project developers to identify and verify to-be-developed targets, predict the carbon storage volume, monitor the developed projects, and sell the credits in the international markets.
We are unique as we are using the most advanced technology to digitalize the development of carbon credits, and we are the first in Asia market to do this."
QUANTiSCOPE is uniquely commercializing universal machine learning models. These models are inspired by those first developed at the Broad Institute in connection with pioneering cell painting techniques. We are automating them as a cloud service that allows researchers to upload phenotypic images of cells and tissues for screening of drug activity based on phenological data analysis. Prior collaborations with the biopharma industry at the Broad have shown that automating these models increases cellular analysis accuracy and drastically reduces time and investment necessary for teams to implement imaging potential into their workflows.We are developing a SaaS platform for high-throughput, automated AI imaging analysis that can easily be implemented into applied and basic research workflows. AI imaging has the potential to vastly supplement if not completely replace more mechanical methods in hit selection and optimization. QUANTiSCOPE will further develop proprietary models for different cell types and structural morphologies, and ultimately will be positioned for clinical implementation as the regulatory landscape shifts in response to technological advances.
"Our technology will be disruptive; it will open up a new segment of customers for renewable energy usage in multi-tenant buildings (apartments & flats, offices, and small retail). Through our innovation and service, we will enable landlords to be able to sell renewable, cleaner, and cheaper power (e.g. solar or lithium-ion battery) directly from their buildings to their tenants. We are moving buildings from being unpaid power intermediaries for the utilities to being actors and participants in power provision. On P&L, we are moving renewable energy in buildings from just a cost-savings play (saving on power for common property managed by the landlord) to a cost-savings and revenue generation play (now sell excess power directly to tenants who are natural and available off-takers). This innovation will be a game-changer for how we think about 1) power provision in dense cities (democratizing power) and 2) turning roofs from being liabilities to assets.
Our company is unique; it will be the first to open up this opportunity. We anticipate quick go-to-market and development, as our innovation (IoT device) builds upon and increases the use case of existing in-market solutions (i.e. we are not introducing unheard of technology per se to the market, instead, we are bringing features that we’ve seen in the market in one offering). Existing solutions / alternatives (which inspired us) include energy meters, smart circuit breakers & devices, and solar system monitoring devices. These devices individually provide some of the functionality our solution proposes but not all."
"75% of employers today struggle to find the talent that they need, with millions of unfilled jobs hampering the growth of companies and economies at large. Demographic declines in developed regions of the world like North America and Europe will only exacerbate the problem in the coming decades. We urgently need to find a way to enable talent to “digitally migrate” across borders.
Enter Simply. Simply is a future-of-work start-up that connects companies to vetted and trained remote team members in emerging markets. We’re uniquely focused on overlooked markets that can provide excellent talent at a fraction of the cost. You can think of us as helping employers tap into the next India of global talent – before everyone else gets there. We’re starting in Kenya, one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa and an emerging tech hub, with pipelines out of top-tier universities.
Unlike bootcamps or talent marketplaces that frustrate employers with the hit-or-miss quality of talent, Simply provides a premium, end-to-end service that guarantees employees who are vetted and properly trained. Our proprietary assessment tool identifies the top 2% of applicants, who are then tailor-matched with employers based on their skill profile and cultural fit. Once selected, our training platform combines effective online learning with hands-on practice and targeted coaching to deliver talent that’s ready to go in a matter of weeks. Simply is the no-hassle, radically affordable new way to hire."
"Lockbox streamlines managing shared funds. DAO treasuries, investing syndicates, VC firms with token portfolios, etc. all involve multiple individuals managing a shared pool of funds. Too often, these groups resort to disorganized spreadsheets (obviously insecure) or multi sigs (that can get locked out) to keep track of spending requests, approvals, and wallet permissions. We wanted to build software that was intuitive, secure, and flexible enough as organizations change (their membership, hierarchy, etc.).
Setting up a Lockbox is simple: the address creating the contract (first to interact with Lockbox) is automatically made admin. From that point forward, those with admin roles can add/remove regular members from the organization. Any member or admin can deposit funds for a category or submit proposals that either 1) modify admin privileges (promote a member or demote an admin) or 2) propose spending decisions. Proposals require a simple majority from admins to be passed, with each admin provided 1 vote per proposal (can be withdrawn before approval). Regardless of how decentralized your organization is, we believe that this structure of admins and proposals is the most fundamental way of making decisions."
"400M people use informal saving groups as an alternative to banks since many don’t have access to them. These groups can have tens of thousands of transactions from a decade of saving but their financial lives are invisible outside of their group.
Saving groups are global: known as Chit Funds, Tandas and Susus. They save small amounts weekly, into a cash box, borrow from that pool, and earn interest when others borrow. Yet, their impact has been limited by paper ledgers, which are hard to manage and siloed. Their community powers their financial lives, but banks don’t see these communities.
MiKashBoks brings these groups online, harnessing the power of community and making transactions easier and safer. We enable them to build financial profiles and be connected to formal finance. We are the only end-to-end solution for savings groups. We not only remove the pain points involved with manual record-keeping, but also enable users to build a financial profile that was previously unobtainable. This allows for access to better financial products, like lower interest loans, bespoke insurance and lines of credit."
Zeph assesses lung health and creates highly personalized and precise training exercises that strengthen and improve lung fitness for people responding to a respiratory dysfunction or hoping to optimize their breathing behavior. Our Zeph system captures respiratory biomarkers and use that as a unique baseline. From there, our platform uses AI to design the most effective therapy plan and provides feedback along the way to ensure better training adherence and personalized attention. Unlike other RMT devices, Zeph’s combination of a smart Bluetooth enabled device, AI and mobile app promotes longer usage time and offers precise longitudinal data to help users understand their health and create sustainable habits for their long-term lung health and recovery.
"basys.ai is a SaaS platform for both hospitals and payers. We use proprietary AI technology (patent pending) to track, predict, and intervene to improve health outcomes for patients with cardio-metabolic conditions. We were recently covered in Forbes.
Within a year of inception, we have achieved unparalleled tractions. We already obtained a 5-year partnership with Joslin Diabetes Center (the largest diabetes institute in the world) with recuring revenue ($172K for year 1), along with a pilot with the cardiology department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. We are also establishing a partnership with a MI-based payor (Beaumont Health Spectrum Health System and Priority Health) in order to scale the business further.
We are uniquely positioned as the autoML for cardiometabolic health, providing predictions on diagnosis and treatment using AI 3-6 months before doctors normally do. We have access to the largest diabetes dataset in the world (300K patients), and have also filed a patent on our technology."
"Tetrix is a SaaS platform that small-medium enterprises can leverage to manage and improve their upstream/downstream supply chains. We provide a host of data integration capabilities, user actions and automations that enable supply chain practitioners to operate their supply chains with ease. By taking on much of the heavy lifting, Tetrix also frees up time for these practitioners to focus their efforts on business-critical and value-added tasks. We offer an intuitive UI dashboard, as well as API interfaces that allow for further extensibility.
Having interviewed over 100 supply chain officers, attended over 10 supply chain conferences and events as well as recruited 4 pilot customers with whom we are iterating the product with, we have a solid understanding of customer pain points, and are well-positioned to capture the market. We also have done in-depth competitor analysis and have found our solution to be more affordable, easy to implement, tailored and comprehensive given its plug-and-play and all-in-one nature. We are gaining traction and would like to keep building momentum."
Sylphi is an early-stage healthtech company developing software and hardware products to improve medication adherence. We are seeking to revolutionize the way patients take their meds by tapping into social forces.
Candelytics is a LIDAR & 3D analytics startup founded by a team of engineers, military veterans, and graduate students from Harvard & MIT. We're building the digital tools to make complex 3D data accessible, intelligent, and impactful for operators at the tactical point of need. Starting with a beachhead market in maritime law enforcement, Candelytics is transforming the way agencies like the U.S. Coast Guard leverage technology and harness 3D data to conduct operations.
Tekal is applying artificial intelligence and diverse data sources to transform the transportation infrastructure industry. The firm is applying new models to predict mobility and enable high ROI infrastructure investments. Also incubated at MIT's Sandbox, Tekal brings together specialists in deep learning, networks and development.
Hive Health is determined to solve the lack of accessible and quality healthcare in the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia. As a digital healthcare insurer, Hive Health provides employees and their loved ones with easy, affordable, and quality health insurance through a user-centric, data-science powered technology platform.
ShoulderTap is skills and expertise indexing for teams, to help businesses know what they know. Interact with your colleagues, ask questions, and get matched with workspace members based on their expertise — all within the productivity apps your team already know s and loves.
Alloy Financial is a leading cloud-based wealth experience platform making it easy for everyone to compare financial products and services, all while building their own personalized fintech app. The Alloy Onboarding process connects users with a human financial expert, providing them with everything they need to create a fully personalized pathway to growing their money. The platform was founded in 2020 by Jordan Topoleski and Marwan Refaat, inspired by their difficulties navigating the overly-complex financial products and services landscape.
Almond Finance makes financial inclusion possible for entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Traditional banks fail to serve approximately 2B people worldwide, hindering economic development in rural communities. In much of the developing world, mobile phone connectivity has far surpassed banking coverage. Leveraging emerging technologies, Almond brings financial services, fueled by novel data science, to the fingertips of the underserved. We empower local entrepreneurs to combat global poverty using a platform that offers micro loans, marketplace mapping, and digital transactions.
Barakat Bundle is a nonprofit that believes it is unacceptable that mothers and their children continue to die from causes the world has already solved. Through the use of relatively inexpensive and feasible public health interventions around the time of birth, more than 80% of maternal and infant deaths are completely preventable with appropriate care and education. Barakat Bundle creates lifesaving bundles of health and education to support mothers and newborns in need for the first year of their child's life. Each Bundle includes proven health items, health education, and our patented safe-sleep Giving Cradle. The Giving Cradle is also available for purchase in North America and with each purchase, an entire Barakat Bundle will be donated to a mother and newborn in need in South Asia.
Bodhi Parts is an Asian American streetwear brand inspired by culturally Buddhist iconography. Follow us on instagram @bodhiparts and visit our new collection on www.bodhiparts.com.
Congregate is an online events platform for social, business, and classroom gatherings. Congregate brings in-person event experiences online through creating virtual spaces which users fluidly move between. Congregate is used by over 20,000 users across business schools, K-12 classrooms, and university social spaces.
DiDact is a virtual platform, website and app, that harnesses natural language processing and machine learning to help users get the most out of their meetings via “smart” note-taking. DiDact transcribes conversations, identifying recurring thoughts and topics, as well as allows users to easily search and sort all other discussed content. Using an interactive and manipulative user interface, DiDact helps to make meeting content more concise, comparable and easy to recall.
Finary is an investing discussion site where millennials can interact with other investors over the latest market events, join forums on a wide range of investing topics, and make trades. Think Reddit + Robinhood.
Oak is a company that is devoted to delivering Black people the best Black-owned products for their specific hair. We have created an algorithm that utilizes chemical research to match users to Black-owned products best fit for them.
Bonzai is on demand out of home advertising with a simple goal: to make it as easy to get an ad in Times Square as it is online. We combine state of the art data analytics with exceptional customer service, which allows companies to effectively quantify the impact of an OOH ad and better target campaigns. We do this through integration with analytic engines such as Google Analytics and AdWords and development of image recognition software to track when pictures of the ad are shared on social media. Furthermore, we are establishing a gamified Pokemon-Go style reward system to encourage direct interaction with ads, which will lead to a better understanding of which and to what degree individuals engage with OOH ads.
My Dental Key is an online educational platform that transforms clinical dental learning through original video demonstrations, innovative illustrations, and step-by-step procedural guidelines to advance the quality of oral health care worldwide. Our team of future dentists is proud to lead the charge of integrating modern technology into clinical dental education. As current students, we are intimately familiar with the pain points in dental education and see tremendous opportunity to improve the educational experience of tomorrow’s oral health practitioners. We’ve made this passion our mission and are excited to launch My Dental Key to better prepare dental learners to address the world’s growing oral health needs.
ShelfLife, founded in 2020, is a Boston-based company building a software-enabled marketplace for specialty food and beverage manufacturers. From craft beer to breakfast bar producers, we design communication and ordering tools that enable small-batch manufacturers to discover, track, and receive raw materials through a single user-friendly platform. Lillian Cartwright (HBS ’20) founded ShelfLife after learning of the constant difficulties food and beverage entrepreneurs face to procure the inputs for their products.
HiHome is illuminating the path to homeownership by untangling the homebuying process. We are developing the "TurboTax" of homebuying, the first workflow management tool that guides a buyer from budgeting to move-in and assists homebuyers, their agents, and other 3rd parties manage tasks, paperwork, and communication. HiHome was founded by Tony Shu, a junior at Harvard College and a licensed real estate agent, and James Parker, an MS/MBA dual degree student at SEAS and Harvard Business School.
Gryps was founded in 2020 by Dareen Salama and Amir Tasbihi, inspired by their own careers in construction technology and the challenges they faced in scaling their consulting work. Gryps is an AI powered document data extraction and analysis platform for building and infrastructure owners and operators.
Perigee extends the life of legacy devices connected to critical infrastructure. It is a security tool used by Chief Information Security Officers to increase visibility and reliability across their network operations. It was started by Mollie Breen, Harvard Business School MS/MBA 2020, after her time in the Department of Defense. The company is based out of Boston. The company is one of 20 startups that was selected for TechCrunch’s 2020 Startup Battlefield.
Troav is a company that provides its users with a library of things. One membership can give you access to the latest, coolest technology, and the best part? There is no charge per checkout. Explore anything your heart desires, and embrace the new access based economy. Troav is run by Harshal Singh and George Moe, two undergrads at Harvard that are passionate about building things, and want to revolutionize the way we own products.
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