Health Monitoring Made Simple

UL Lafayette's Hritika Pandey and Colin Dupuis created "RespirAPPtion" a health monitoring app that uses your phone camera, smartwatch, and a QR-coded shirt to track respiratory function. Perfect for people with breathing conditions who'd rather monitor their health at home than risk a doctor's visit.

Fighting Fake News with AI

LSU's Mehrasa Amiri Besheli built an AI system that scans news articles and presents them objectively, cutting through media bias to deliver straight facts. In today's information chaos, that's game-changing.

The Unexpected Stars

Students also presented an AI emcee capable of hosting events and other breakthrough projects that caught judges' attention across three intense days of competition.

Statewide Talent

Teams came from LSU, ULM, UL Lafayette, UNO, and Grambling State proving innovation isn't limited to one campus. More than 60 students, researchers, and entrepreneurs gathered at the Water Campus, creating the kind of energy that gets people excited about Louisiana tech.

"These teams have worked not only so hard to build what they have built, but to prepare for today. There's a lot that goes into it," said Tony Zanders, Nexus Louisiana President and CEO speaking with The Advocate. 

The Overall Champions

Encore CO2, founded by Jordan Losavio, William McGehee and John Flake, earned first place in the open track and was also honored with the Most Innovative Award. The company, which recently received a $275,000 National Science Foundation grant and $200,000 from Louisiana's FUEL fund, represents the kind of deep-tech innovation that can scale globally.

Other open track winners included Unknown Cyber, a Lafayette-based team comprising UL Lafayette professors focused on AI-driven genomic threat detection, and MilestoneMate, founded by Shay Claiborne of New Orleans, which supports early childhood development tracking.

Louisiana innovators aren't just building cool tech, they're solving problems that matter, from carbon capture to child development. Nexus is where it's all happening.

The Proof is in the Inc 5000

At a recent Nexus fireside chat, Casey O'Banion, president of Young Entrepreneurs Academy, interviewed Craig Gehring, founder of MasteryPrep, about his entrepreneurial journey. The conversation highlighted how Louisiana's startup ecosystem works—from high schoolers like 17-year-old Joanna Fang, who built the Movement app to connect Baton Rouge's breakdancing community, to established founders sharing their wisdom.

"Our students aren't doing class projects," explains O'Banion. "They're creating companies based on their passions," working with mentors who've advised Shaq and LSU athletes.

Gehring's credits Nexus for the success of MasteryPrep, which has become one of the nation's leading education tech companies and has secured a spot on the Inc 5000 for the past seven years. 

“We would not be here today without being Nexus members," Gehring says. "Nexus lets founders know they're not alone."

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