CSULB Student Entrepreneurs Win Support, Advice At Sunstone Innovation Challenge

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Student entrepreneurs at California State University, Long Beach, got a boost Tuesday, April 21, at the 2026 Sunstone Innovation Challenge presented by the CSULB Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

This was the 14th annual pitch contest at Cal State Long Beach. Sunstone Investment Group, through the nonprofit Sunstone Community Fund, has sponsored the event since 2020.

Tuesday’s event was the grand finale of a year-long journey for the finalists. Four teams presenting in Track 1 are in the process of launching businesses, while the four teams in Track 2 are working to prove the viability of their business concepts.

AuraScan, an AI-powered tool to provide real-time physiological insights about food ingredients, took home the top prize of $15,000 with a presentation by CEO Chris Cabrillo that wowed the judges. Chris has already pitched in two competitions and won $10,500 in the previous competitions.

“This is a very needed resource,” said Walter Larkins, one of the four-member panel. “Everyone is talking about nutrition and health, and no one is exactly sure of the facts.”

Taking home the second place prize of $10,000 was Upgraded, another AI-powered platform. This application provides students with a single, personalized place to research colleges and universities, and track applications. Allison and Ulises pitched in the local DTLB Education Series pitch competition and won $3,000.

The other finalists, NourishU AI and VoiceBridge, were named Honorable Mentions and each received $5,000. NourishU AI helps college students turn campus food pantry items into meals with simple cooking help and they also brought home $2,000 from the SDSU Social Impact Pitch Competition, and VoiceBridge is working on a voice-first computer use tool and have finished first in several hackathons over the last six months.

After each pitch explaining their business, student teams answered questions from the judges and heard tips about how to improve their business models. All of the judges have deep backgrounds as successful entrepreneurs, mentors and teachers. In addition to Larkins, the Track 1 judges were Joe Platnick, Alan Pullman and Venus Jenkins.

Track 2 featured a wide variety of approaches, from an NIL agency specifically for female athletes to a solution for the speech impaired to communicate technology imbedded in a pair of smart eyeglasses. Those eyeglasses, envisioned by a team called Speek, took the top prize of $1,500 in Track 2.

Shoreline, a campus-exclusive site designed to provide student services from the student community, took second place and won $1,000. The honorable mentions, receiving $500 each, were 4HER Sports Agency and MyCycleSync, a platform for women to assist with hormonal health issues.

“This event couldn’t happen without our partners, the College of Engineering, the College of the Arts and the College of Business,” said Dr. Wade Martin, director of the CSULB Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. “We thank Sunstone and our other sponsors for making it happen as well. One notable trend that we’ve seen over the last 5-6 years has been the increased focus on startup ideas with a social impact.”

“This is an important day for these young entrepreneurs in their journey to the future. Thank you all.”

For more information about the CSULB Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, go to www.csulb.edu/institute-for-innovation-entrepreneurship. For more about Sunstone, go to www.sunstoneinvestment.com.