Eight University of Toronto (U of T) student teams showcased their innovative solutions to pressing global challenges at the 2025 Hult Prize OnCampus program at U of T held at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus on February 12th.
This prestigious pitch competition, hosted by the Centre for Entrepreneurship, serves as the preliminary round for the Hult Prize, a global competition empowering over 100,000 students to develop startups aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The grand prize is a staggering $1 million USD in funding.
The teams vied for a chance to advance to the Nationals, and ultimately, the Global Finals in September. There, they will have the opportunity to pitch their ventures on a world stage and compete for the funding needed to transform their impactful ideas into reality.
The atmosphere was full of anticipation, with attendees, including faculty, fellow students, and members of the entrepreneurial community, eager to witness the next generation of U of T changemakers in action. Diana Virgovicova, Co-founder of Xatoms and the 2024 Hult Prize OnCampus competition winner and Top 6 Global Finalist, set the stage with inspiring remarks, sharing her experiences and emphasizing the transformative potential of the Hult Prize.
From cyber violence intervention (Empact) to biotech solutions for gum recession and post-cancer recovery (Laetech Corp), this year's contenders showcased a range of impactful ideas. NephroTech's DialySnake offered a non-invasive solution for dialysis patients, while Padua Prosthetics focused on affordable mobility for individuals with amputations. Morphace Skincare Wearables aimed to personalize skincare, Tranquilo tackled mental health with a predictive wearable, Oxygen Footprints championed reforestation and community-empowerment, and Polaris presented an AI-powered sustainable navigation app.
The judges, a distinguished panel including experts in social impact, venture capital, entrepreneurship, and scientific innovation, faced a difficult task evaluating the diverse range of business models and social impact strategies presented by the teams. The panel consisted of Sapna Saleem (Research and Teaching Fellow, Harvard's Center for Public Leadership and Venture Mentoring Service program mentor with the Centre for Entrepreneurship), Jennifer Moles (Assistant Director, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, UTSC), Kayla Sousa (Programs Lead, ICUBE at UTM), and Luca Hategan (2024 Hult Prize OnCampus Competition Participant and Co-founder and Chief Development Officer of Re:Pair Genomics).
After careful deliberation, the judges awarded first prize to Laetech Corp., a biotechnology startup developing innovative solutions for gum recession and post-cancer breast tissue reconstruction. The venture is represented by Biomedical Engineering PhD candidates Brian Webb and Yizhou Chen.
Laetech's technology leverages the regenerative potential of a patient's own fat cells. These readily available cells are added intraoperatively, offering surgeons a more effective and economical approach to soft tissue regeneration. Current treatments for these conditions often suffer from low efficacy, donor tissue shortages, and the need for frequent follow-up visits. Existing competitors often rely on lab-grown tissue, which drives up costs and creates logistical hurdles. In an animal model, Laetech has demonstrated superior efficacy measured by volume retention in breast reconstruction, and have begun larger animal trials, while starting to scale manufacturing towards human trials.
The judges also recognized the potential of the runners-up, NephroTech and Polaris.
NephroTech, represented by Arts & Science alumni and current MSc students at the Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, Ria Khan and Sufyan Shaikh, is developing DialySnake, a non-invasive, rapid solution for blocked peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheters caused by fibrin clots. This addresses a critical need, as 2.5 million people worldwide rely on dialysis, and PD, preferred by many patients, often suffers from catheter blockages requiring costly and risky surgical revisions. DialySnake offers an affordable ($2 CAD/unit) and easy-to-use alternative that mitigates surgical risk, potentially preventing life-threatening emergencies, improving patient quality of life, and reducing healthcare costs.
Polaris, represented by Vikram Narra, Amaan Ali, Asad Hussain and Kody Chik, Computer Science students at the University of Toronto Scarborough, is an AI-powered navigation app designed to revolutionize travel by offering personalized, interactive routing solutions. Leveraging LLMs and action agents, Polaris goes beyond traditional navigation by integrating multi-modal transportation (public and private), environmental impact, health metrics, and cost considerations to create tailored routes. With a user-friendly interface, seamless voice interaction, and Gemini-powered real-time data integration, Polaris aims to make navigation smarter, more sustainable, and seamlessly integrated with modern lifestyles.
Laetech now advances to the Hult Prize Nationals Competition. They will join other top teams from across the country, competing for a spot in the Hult Prize Digital Incubator in June and July, followed by the Global Accelerator in August. The ultimate goal is the Hult Prize Global Finals in September, where they will pitch their vision on a global stage and compete for the $1 million prize.
"We are incredibly inspired by the dedication and ingenuity of all the participating teams," said Tara Etherington, Executive Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship. "We congratulate Laetech on their win and eagerly anticipate their journey to the national competition and beyond."