Startup to Standout: The Corporate-Sponsored Competition Leading the AI Revolution in Aggieland

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly expands, Deloitte is using its role as a leading professional services organization to help companies recognize the technology’s transformative potential for positive impact. However, reaching these new heights requires a deeper understanding of how to meaningfully integrate AI into business.  

That realization led Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation to expand its long-standing relationship with Texas A&M University through a gift to sponsor Mays Business School’s two new “Building a Better Future Through Business and AI” competitions. This gift, which was made possible through individual contributions from Deloitte professionals and a Deloitte Foundation match, supports both Texas A&M’s and Mays Business School’s vision concerning AI and the future of the business environment.

“Deloitte is on the leading edge of utilizing AI to transform our profession and the way we deliver professional services, internally investing time and money to explore the ‘art of the possible’ when it comes to the opportunities and enhancements the technology can deliver,” said Brian Pinto ’93, a partner with Deloitte Tax LLP — one of Deloitte’s Texas A&M executive sponsors — and a 2022 recipient of the Mays Outstanding Alumni Award. “So, it makes sense for us to also collaborate with programs at Mays to help enable graduating students to have knowledge and skills to succeed.”

“We are very excited that this program highlights Mays Business School’s commitment to advancing AI through exploration and diverse thought, serving not only Aggies but also students from across the nation and many leading universities,” said CJ Brennan ’02, a partner with Deloitte Audit & Assurance and one of Deloitte’s Texas A&M executive sponsors. “The exposure of Mays’ programs and capabilities can provide a national platform to demonstrate its commitment to serving as a place where leaders thrive.”

One competition, which is open to U.S. doctoral students, will reward groundbreaking dissertation research on AI use in accounting, finance, information systems, management, marketing and supply chain management on Oct. 17. The winner will receive a $10,000 cash prize and an opportunity to present their research at Mays.
 

Yet, it’s the second competition — a national undergraduate pitch competition with a grand prize of $100,000 — that is generating buzz and raising the bar in helping college students understand AI’s role in business solutions and entrepreneurial possibilities. 

Mays Business School Dean Nate Y. Sharp said the investment from Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation underscores their belief in higher education and their deep commitment to helping prepare students for the future of work. “Our national competition for undergraduate AI business founders showcased the creativity and ingenuity of some of the brightest young minds in the nation. Artificial intelligence is opening an entirely new frontier of entrepreneurial possibilities. We are excited to see the entrepreneurial spirit that takes hold of an increasing number of students who are striving to build a better future through business and AI.” 

The inaugural event, organized by Mays with support from the College of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Architecture, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Texas A&M Innovation, drew 103 entries from 37 universities across the nation. “The judges evaluated these business plans to determine the feasibility of the business, whether the use of AI was realistic, and if there was a minimal viable product and working prototype,” said Arnold Castro ’17 ’22, Mays assistant dean for artificial intelligence.
 

After a winnowing process, 12 teams — including five from Texas A&M — were selected as finalists. These teams’ business plans span a variety of industries. After the final, which involved an in-person pitch to a panel of top industry and academic business leaders on Sept. 20, SomaTech from Texas A&M University was selected as the winner with Import Intel, another Texas A&M team, following as runner-up in second place.  

“These competitions are about so much more than building technical skills — they can spark entrepreneurial thinking, foster teamwork and build resilience,” said Lou DiLorenzo, principal and US Tech, AI and Data Strategy practice leader for Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Through hands-on experience, students can learn how to turn bold ideas into actionable solutions, which is exactly what’s needed to lead in an AI-driven world.” 

Curious to learn what kind of solutions these finalists presented? Meet three Aggie teams whose innovative uses of AI represented Texas A&M in this highly competitive contest. 

SomaTech: Growing Benefits 
First place

SomaTech is designed to solve one of agriculture’s biggest challenges: more frequent and severe droughts. To help farmers navigate these conditions, Kshiti Kangovi ’26 and Ananya Das ’26 developed an AI platform to tailor irrigation recommendations based on an analysis of various key factors, including the specific acreage’s soil pH levels, planting calendars, a crop’s specific water needs, and weather patterns and predictions.  

SomaTech’s use of AI to target irrigation also has the capacity to improve farmers’ financial positions. “In our initial research, one farmer in Lubbock, Texas, told us that despite receiving rain in June and irrigating daily, their soil — which holds three inches of water — was still losing six inches of water each day,” Das said. “That resulted in a loss of $100 per acre per day, so it’s a problem they are very actively trying to solve. Otherwise, this disparity can hinder farmers from putting food on their tables — or on ours.” 
 

The Aggies, both of whom are multidisciplinary engineering technology majors, are being exposed to business and entrepreneurship concepts through this competition. Ultimately, they want to use what they’re learning and developing to create a broader impact on global agriculture, especially in areas struggling with food production.  

“Having the support of Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation to sponsor the competition, the participation of industry leaders who are actively involved with AI as judges, and the engagement of business mentors gives additional credence to the quality of this competition,” Kangovi said. “Participating in this contest opened doors in places that we never knew existed and connected us to even bigger networks.” 

Import Intel: Enhancing Small Business 
Second place

Shifts in trade policy have introduced new challenges for small businesses trying to manage costs and supply chains in the United States. Realizing these implications, Ian Schandlbauer ’27, Arjun Madana ’27 and Tejas Kalpathi ’27 developed Import Intel. “Our business utilizes AI in a way that makes it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to do research and automate many tasks associated with navigating through tariffs,” said Kalpathi, a computer science major. 

In addition to calculating tariffs, Import Intel’s dashboard streamlines decision-making by removing language barriers, rapidly updating changing variables such as the impact of natural disasters on supply chains, and analyzing import lead time. As a result, small business owners — including Madana’s father, who runs an import business and is already a fan of Import Intel — can identify cost-effective purchasing decisions in real time.
 

“A lot of small businesses don’t have the margins or the money. If one shipment gets messed up, they’re tanked, so they need something very reliable,” said Schandlbauer, a business honors major. “Import Intel’s AI agents have the potential to remove human error and make this whole process more predictable.” 

Now, thanks to this competition, the team is looking forward to bringing Import Intel to a wider audience. “This competition allows us to validate our idea by having the judges look at what we’re building and provide industry feedback and advice,” said Madana, a computer science major. 

Novation: Closing Cases  
Eighth place

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office currently has more than 785,000 unexamined applications, resulting in a year-long backlog for trademark decisions and a two-year delay for patent approvals. To streamline these types of processes, Aditya Gollamudi ’26 and Pranav Krishnan ’26 developed Novation, a subscription-based service for law firms that can efficiently comb through multiple legal databases.  

The Aggies initially noticed this issue while checking trademarks for other potential startups they were brainstorming. “It was just very annoying,” said Gollamudi, a computer science major. “We realized that this problem doesn’t just apply to one niche; it applies to law as a whole.”
 

Once they developed the original concept, the pair quickly identified additional services in the legal arena that could be added to Novation. “This is maybe our 15th iteration of the original idea, but it’s the biggest thing we can think of, and it keeps getting bigger every day,” said Krishnan, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree after completing his undergraduate degree in management information systems.  

Both Aggies credit the national scope of this competition, made possible with support from Deloitte and the Deloitte Foundation, and the involvement of top leaders in AI with serving as incentive to help them hone their business idea. “Many previous competitions at Texas A&M have been focused on recognizing an idea’s merit, rather than as an incubator designed to bring the idea to fruition,” Gollamudi said. “This one is different because it focuses on supporting ideas that have the potential to be operationalized and transformational, instead of simply recognizing ideas that are just sound.”