Purdue Student Startups Win $50K in 2026 New Venture Challenge

Four teams of Purdue student entrepreneurs won a combined $50,000 at the finals of the 2026 New Venture Challenge, held at the Purdue Innovates Startup and Technology Expo (April 22–24, 2026). echoSURE took First Place and Crowd Favorite ($22,500); VitaWave Tech placed Second ($15,000); CalcGPT and Kova Group also won prizes.

• echoSURE Inc. won First Place + Crowd Favorite ($22,500) — pediatric feeding tube placement device.
• VitaWave Tech Inc. won Second Place ($15,000).
• CalcGPT and Kova Group were prize winners.
• 25 teams participated; 10 finalists; top 5 pitched to judges.
• NVC finals were held at the Startup and Technology Expo, April 22–24, 2026.
• Submissions for the 2027 NVC will be solicited in January 2027.

Cash amounts for CalcGPT and Kova Group were not individually itemized in coverage; the combined pool was $50,000.

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