This April, three teams with ties to Missouri S&T will participate in InvestMidwest, the largest venture capital conference in the Midwest. This is the first time any S&T-affiliated teams have pitched at this event.

The three startups and their founders are:

• Infinity Miles: founded by Pourya Shamsi, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering
• PulsePointTech: founded by Bo Mahaney, a Missouri S&T Trustee and director of the S&T Policy and Armed Forces Research and Development Institute; Avery Lyons, Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering; and Janae Dill, sophomore in electrical engineering
• FarmVates: founded by Vishesh Tanwar, senior research associate in computer science; and Amit Jha, Ph.D. candidate in computer science.

“These three teams represent the first-ever Missouri S&T-affiliated startups to pitch at InvestMidwest,” says Christine Karslake, associate vice chancellor for innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization, and InvestMidwest board member. “This is a tremendous opportunity for them to network, gain visibility and carry the S&T flag into the Midwest entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

InvestMidwest is a platform for emerging companies. While investors don’t make instant funding decisions at the event, many startups go on to secure significant investments afterward. 

Over its 26-year history, companies that pitched at Invest Midwest have raised more than $4 billion in capital, and some have gone on to successful acquisitions. Taking place April 21–22, InvestMidwest draws about 100 investors and features multiple tracks including agri-food, digital and medical.

Tanwar and Jha’s startup, FarmVates, is in the agri-food track. Their company focuses on agricultural technology, using AI to detect insect infestations and deploy drones for targeted treatments, reducing unnecessary pesticide use.

PulsePointTech with Dill, Lyons and Mahini are in the digital track. Their company develops AI-driven solutions to detect energy supply breaks, prevent cyberattacks and reroute power to keep customers online. 

Infinity Miles with Shamsi is in the digital track as well. His company works on innovative technologies to improve data center operations, with partnerships that extend into local wineries.

“I’m just so thrilled that three of our teams made it. These entrepreneurs have worked so hard and have accomplished so much in such a short amount of time,” Karslake says. “We have some fantastic startups here on campus.”

Dill, with PulsePointTech, says InvestMidwest will be an exciting way to get the company’s name out there and to learn about how other companies do their pitches.

“I also hope we can get funding for our product and get to learn more about potential companies we can partner with,” Dill says. “I feel so proud of all that we have done, and I am so excited to represent S&T and show other students that anything is possible.”

Mahaney, with PulsePointTech, says pitching at InvestMidwest is a great opportunity to attract investors who understand national security and critical infrastructure challenges.

“We seek to secure seed funding to accelerate prototyping and our first pilot. We also want to build strong relationships with investors, utilities and defense partners that can help us scale quickly after our formal launch in late spring,” he says. “As an alum, I’m proud to work alongside two amazing student co-founders representing the university’s rising innovation ecosystem and commitment to deep-tech commercialization.”

The Early Stage Accelerator at S&T supports emerging startups with guidance and resources needed to grow. Open to students, faculty and staff, the program offers mentorship, seed funding and hands-on experience pitching to investors. 

Through the accelerator, these three startups were mentored by Karslake and went on to apply for InvestMidwest. To learn more about the accelerator program and how to grow your startup, go to ecodevo.mst.edu or email Karslake at ckarslake@mst.edu.