Meet the winners from the 2025 Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge

TechNexus sponsored the inaugural Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge at the TechChicago Capital Summit, with co-founder Fred Hoch serving as a judge. Meet the deep-tech startups that impressed a panel of industry experts and investors.

TechNexus Venture Collaborative was thrilled to sponsor the inaugural Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge, a highlight of the TechChicago Capital Summit on July 22. This event brought together some of the brightest minds in deep tech, and we were especially proud to have our co-founder and general partner, Fred Hoch, serve as a judge, contributing his expertise to identify the next generation of groundbreaking startups. The Grainger Engineering Tech Startup Challenge, presented by The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, featured seven finalist teams vying for $200,000 in prizes. These teams represented a diverse array of technological innovation, spanning quantum computing, AI, healthcare, defense, sustainability, and advanced materials. Dean Rashid Bashir aptly put it, "The caliber of solutions we witnessed was truly exceptional. These breakthrough innovations address critical global challenges and have the potential to transform entire industries." In addition to prize money, each winning team received a one-year membership at TeamWorking by TechNexus, our shared office space at the Civic Opera Building in Chicago. Announcing the Winners The competition was fierce, but ultimately, a few teams stood out with their exceptional vision and potential. We're excited to congratulate the winners: 1st Place: Xatoms (University of Toronto) took home the grand prize of $100,000 for their revolutionary approach to water purification. Xatoms is leveraging AI and quantum chemistry to discover new materials that purify water using just sunlight or LED light. Their novel photocatalytic molecules are set to transform water access for communities and industries alike. 2nd Place: K1 Semiconductor (University of Chicago) secured $50,000 for their game-changing wafer-splitting technology, which enables up to 20x wafer reuse across high-performance materials. Their proprietary platform promises enhanced efficiency and economics across

By Jim Dallke at TechNexus Venture Collaborative