McCloskey New Venture Competition 2026 Winners

The 2026 McCloskey New Venture Competition (26th annual) closed at Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on April 24, 2026. Five finalists competed for $100K+ in prizes. RETRN Bioworks won the $50,000 Grand Prize (plus the Wray-O'Brien Innovation Prize and Most Innovative Venture – Marmon Prize).

• RETRN Bioworks won the Grand Prize ($50,000), Wray-O'Brien Innovation Prize ($5,000), and Marmon Most Innovative Venture Prize ($10,000). Founder/COO Kristin Mannion '12.
• Anaphero won Best Graduate Student-Led Venture ($10,000) and the Overcoming Adversity Award (Tiarnan O'Rourke, ESTEEM).
• Geddit won Best Undergraduate Student-Led Venture ($10,000) (Akhente Borotho).
• Lantern Network LLC won the Defense Tech Prize ($5,000) (Joseph Pugsley).
• Accedar Salud won the People's Choice Award ($2,500).
• Petrine Properties won the Catholic Mission Award; Azam Health won the Community Impact Award; Nullpoint won Most Innovative Venture.
• Next cycle: April 21–25, 2027.

Some award cash values (Catholic Mission, Community Impact, Most Innovative Venture) were not itemized in coverage.

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