HONOLULU (KHON2) — For the first time in 21 years, the public is invited to watch and participate in the final event of the University of Hawai‘i Venture Competition (UHVC), as three promising UH startup teams vie for more than $60,000 in cash and in-kind prizes.

The event will be live-streamed on Wednesday, May 5, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The virtual event will also be interactive: Participants may share their comments, respond to polls and vote for their favorite in the wild card round.

Viewers must register to receive the link on the competition website. 

The UHVC is an experiential program that provides a platform for UH students and faculty who seek to learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur and start a business venture. It’s open to all UH students and has grown to become one of their most exciting signature events.

In addition to cash, each winning team will take home a carefully curated prize package of support services. Prize sponsors include Blue Logic Labs, Business Consulting Resources, HiBEAM, Hub Coworking Hawaii, Pineapple Tweed, ProService Hawaii and Vantage Counsel. 

The finalists are: 

  • Nimbus AI LLC: provides machine learning powered solar forecasts for utilities and individual PV customers.
    • Team: Kyle Hart (UH Mānoa computer science graduate student), Peter Sadowski (UH Mānoa information and computer sciences assistant professor) and Giuseppe Torri (UH Mānoa atmospheric sciences assistant professor)
  • Polū Energy: offers reliable renewable ocean energy technology that balances wind and solar while making seawater desalination cheaper and cleaner
    • Team: Tate Castillo (UH Mānoa law and business student) and David Ma (College of Engineering interim associate dean)
  • Pulse Utility, LLC: a utility location service using ground penetration radar with improved location accuracy.
    • Team: Craig Opie (UH Mānoa information and computer sciences student), Yosef Ben Gershom (UH Mānoa executive MBA student), Anthony Lopez (UH Mānoa electrical engineering student), Joshua O’Neill (Honolulu Community College computing, security, and networking technology student), and Isaac Rodrigues (Hawaiʻi Space Flight Laboratory engineer)

The judges are: 

  • Ben Godsey, president and CEO of ProService Hawaii
  • Alvin Miyasato, retired region head, finance leadership development, Intel Asia
  • Tony Mizuno, senior vice president, commercial real estate, American Savings Bank
  • Wendy (Kuwamoto) Peterson, general counsel of Knobbe Martens

The UHVC is one of more than 20 programs offered by PACE. Click here for more information.