Student entrepreneurs presented their business ventures at Arizona State University’s SkySong campus during the second annual 2026 Inferno Invitational Startup Cup, held on May 26. The event featured student-led startups from Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona competing for up to $100,000 in funding from the ASU eSeed Challenge and the Prescott Student Venture Fund.
Regent Gregg Brewster served as a judge alongside Daniela Santangelo, founder of Freeway, and Tony Wells, venture partner at Copper Sky Capital. Brewster said, “What makes this competition so powerful is not just the ideas, but the level of execution these students bring. You’re seeing founders who understand their markets, their technology and their impact. It’s very clear many of these ventures won’t stop at the classroom. They’re real companies in the making.”
Logan Milano, an ASU student and founder of Amryth, won the top prize of $100,000. Rowan Brandenburg and Jaya Wartson from Northern Arizona University received the $2,500 Audience Spark Award for their startup Fude Dude.
The competition reflects broader efforts by Arizona’s public universities to provide innovation resources to students early in their academic careers. At ASU, programs like Venture Devils offer mentorship and funding opportunities; more than 1,000 venture teams have participated annually with over $450,000 awarded each year. NAU supports entrepreneurship through its NAU Innovations program and has produced over 100 patents via its cybersecurity lab. The University of Arizona’s Tech Launch Arizona generates nearly $460 million in annual economic impact statewide and has issued over 800 patents since inception.
University-driven startups are contributing to economic growth across Arizona by aligning resources among all three institutions to help students launch businesses locally.
