2025 Prototyping Cohort Launches with Momentum

Rev: Ithaca Startup Works is excited to welcome the newest entrepreneurs joining this summer’s Prototyping Hardware Accelerator. Over 10 weeks, Rev’s Prototyping Hardware Accelerator guides product teams from a “back of the napkin idea” to a fully-fledged startup. Teams participate in either the Classic, ClimateTech, AgTech, or MedTech tracks, where they gain access to experts in their industry’s field. Throughout the process, teams determine if their concept is commercially desirable, technologically feasible, and economically viable. All tracks and teams receive a stipend of up to $2,000 to advance their prototype throughout the course of the program. Upon completion, participants are positioned to recruit team members, bring on partners, initiate work with contract manufacturers, and pitch to investors.  

“We’re seeing increasingly ambitious and innovative products with this year’s cohort. And – perhaps more than in other years – everyone is already up to their elbows bringing the first iteration of their prototypes to life,” said Deanna Kocher, Assistant Director of Hardware Programs.  

23 teams will explore the fundamentals of early-stage startup development, from customer discovery to formal pitch training. Cohort members gain access to a series of speakers, workshops, and field trips to help them grow their network of thought leaders, industry experts, and successful startups. Each startup in the Prototyping Hardware Accelerator has been paired with an experienced entrepreneur and gain access to a team of hardware engineers to assist with developing physical products.  

“Perhaps more than any previous year, this cohort has hit the ground running; they are eager to learn and try new ideas. Every day, including weekends, Rev is buzzing with activity as participants have begun the prototyping process. To a tee, they have embraced the customer discovery process and already have insights that drive their thinking,” said Ken Rother, Director of Rev: Ithaca Startup Works. 

Classic Track Hardware Accelerator 

Open to all innovators in any field since 2014, Rev’s classic track provides foundational training across industries.  

Meet the startup teams from the Classic Track:   

• Cerebrush: Megan Guturi, MBA ‘26 is developing a smart toothbrush that transforms brushing into an engaging micro-experience that promotes daily consistency, mood-boosting rituals, and better oral health habits. 

• Cuav: Founder John Hohm is creating a device that utilizes passive sensors to triangulate active Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in a small and affordable platform. 

• GO2: Founder Christopher Archer ‘26 and Thomas Knoepffler are creating a product that combines at-home-soda-making, with a mobile delivery device. It will keep your hot drinks hot, your cold drinks cold, but also allow you the ability to ‘ FIZZ-UP’ your beverage. 

• Lexi-Tiles: Angela Martinez is combining interactive learning tiles with a structured curriculum, students will engage in meaningful opportunities to recognize and hear the phonemes of the English language, strengthening their foundational literacy skills. 

“Attending an event at Rev three years ago was a defining moment—I immediately knew I wanted to apply to the program. The atmosphere and inspiring participants created an energy that was both dynamic and unforgettable,” said founder Angela Martinez.  

• Little Oxford: Kelly Northridge is creating fabric books that introduce babies and toddlers to classic literature.  Our durable, sensory-rich editions make reading more fun for parents and completely safe for little book lovers—whether they’re turning pages or tasting them. 

“Parents are told their babies need 21,000 words a day for success, so sleep-deprived parents grab a book—but here’s the absurd reality: fabric books, perfect for chew-happy toddlers, barely have any words,” says Dr. Kelly Northridge, founder of Little Oxford. 

• Machado Roadsafe: Founded by Michael Machado his product addresses the “One-lane traffic control” or “one-lane alternating traffic” problem. The product idea is an innovative Automatic Flagger Assistance Device that addresses the labor intensive, risky, and expensive setups that exist today. 

• MotionX: Founder Allan Zhou is building the future of fashion by integrating digital components to your everyday items! 

• Pourtrait: Lauren Greene ‘25 and Marina Rosolem are using AI to analyze a quick photo of you and generate a custom cocktail recipe, printed on a thermal slip as a fun keepsake to remember the night. 

• SilkSpout: Ruth Ogbemudia, BME ’25 is building a mechanically-based solution to detrimental water quality issues in temporary living conditions.

• SonicAI Labs: Cornell alum Dylan Lee is creating wearable technology that can understand the wearer more than any other option available on the market by using active acoustic sensing. We are currently focused on creating smart glasses that can recognize the activities of the wearer without the need for a camera. 

• The Deticktives: Sahana Vrinda Kakarla, Ehlaam Imran, Nilabha Mukherjea, Amy Salim, and Vivian Hu are developing a hardware-based tick detection tool for animals that helps owners and vets spot ticks early, before they cause infections or diseases. 

ClimateTech Prototyping Hardware Accelerator  

After three successful years of ClimateTech Tracks, Rev is looking forward to supporting another batch of clean energy startups. The ClimateTech Prototyping accelerator trains innovators working to support the decarbonization of the economy. ClimateTech startups are matched with experienced clean energy and clean tech mentors and provided access to industry-leading guest speakers.   

Meet the startup teams from the Climate Track:   

• Amphitrite Robotics: Founders Newt Powers, Noah Rizika, Neehal Haque are building an AI-powered autonomous underwater vehicles that restore marine ecosystems. 

• Ask Querida: Querida E. Thomas-Walker is creating technology that reduces the carbon footprint in households by reducing radon exposure and dust mites to help reduce allergies, symptoms, and to improve the air quality inside and outside. 

• MicroCycle: Izzy Cohen ‘29, Jennifer Zhao, and Alex Elia ‘29 are creating a cheaper, smaller, consumer-scale 3D print filament recycler, that utilizes new techniques to reduce cost without compromising on precision. 

Despite the fact that 3D print materials like PLA are moldable and reusable by nature, a very small percentage of waste material is ever recycled. We hope to create an alternative to the material recyclers that are current available, which are too large and expensive for most people,” said Alex Elia co-founder of MicroCycle.  

• Strange Plant People: Mamiko Morishita is using ocean plastic waste to create planter pots and composters that suit urban lifestyles to make it desirable and fun.  

AgTech Prototyping Hardware Accelerator  

Rev: Ithaca Startup Works is excited to introduce the third annual AgTech track cohort. Supported by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s University Center program, these entrepreneurs are immersed in specialized training and connected to experts within the agriculture industry.   

Following the completion of the accelerator, these AgTech entrepreneurs have the opportunity participate in the Grow-NY Food and Ag Business Competition, in which startups can win up to $1 million and further contribute to the regional agrifood system.    

Meet the startup teams participating in the AgTech Track: 

• BuzzSense: Daniel Baldeo-Thorne ‘25 is developing an autonomous drone built specifically for large-scale indoor hydroponic farms, targeting the critical challenges of pollination and pest/disease detection. 

• PYRO: Emma Doherty is creating a machine that takes food waste from restaurants and turns it into biochar. This biochar can directly replace wood or charcoal in live-fire cooking operations, making it a source of renewable energy. 

“I hope to begin and make progress on a physical prototype. We have had a lot of good reactions to PYRO, and a physical prototype demonstrating the technical viability has been the main barrier between us and the next steps as a business,” said founder Emma Doherty of PYRO. 

• Verdus Labs: Om Kamat and Rishi Gurjar are developing a drone service to monitor disease and yield projection for grape vineyards. 

 

MedTech Prototyping Hardware Accelerator 

Welcoming medical device startups this track was funded by the $2 million “Build to Scale” grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and a local matching fund of $2 million, including $1 million from Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). The MedTech track participants will have access to design resources, equipment, and faculty in the university’s Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering and College of Human Ecology; Weill Cornell Medicine will serve as a source of applicants and industry expertise for the track. 

Meet the startup teams participating in the MedTech Track:  

• EnSoar: Founded by David Gow is developing a product that addresses the safety concerns surrounding epileptics who experience nighttime seizures and can not be reached by a caretaker. 

• mPulse-O2: Founded by Victor Ochoa-Gutierrez is creating a platform that enables accurate measurement of blood oxygen level and aims to transform the pulse oximetry technology, avoiding the loss of lives when it comes hidden hypoxia due to high skin pigmentation, changing the lack of inclusivity in design and validation of biomedical devices. 

• Polar Hockey: Liala Cryer is addressing the lack of properly fitting ice hockey equipment for female players, which compromises both comfort and safety. 

“We have a conceptual prototype and business model. We’re hoping to get a better sense of whether our product and company is viable, and to gain more technical/engineering direction and support, especially when it comes to both physical prototyping and creating digital 3D models. We want to learn as much as we can to help move our designs forward,” said Liala Cryer founder of Polar Hockey. 

• TailHeart Technologies: Founded by Kathy Le ‘24 & Alexandra Tarzanin ‘25 are developing a minimally invasive cardiac implant to treat canine mitral valve disease (or MVD) — the most common heart disease in dogs, affecting over 6 million in the U.S. and causing nearly 1 million deaths each year. 

• Unicorn AI: Current Cornell students Nathan Briard, Priya Chokshi, Harsha Kavuri, Jackie Wang, and Annie Chen are developing a wrist worn strap that uses piezoelectric technology to emit ultrasonic waves through the surrounding tissue of the bone. 

The Prototyping Hardware Accelerator culminates in Networking@Rev: Hardware Demo Day, a networking event where each team will have the chance to demonstrate their progress and pitch their product to community members, potential investors, and partners. This event is free and open to the public, and takes place on July 31st at Rev: Ithaca Startup Works. Tickets can be reserved here. This is one you won’t want to miss!   

Get to know the teams more and follow along with their prototyping journeys on Rev’s Instagram and LinkedIn channels.