Join us for the Purdue Innovates and Purdue Alumni Entrepreneurship Network Startup and Technology Expo 2026 on April 22-24. The event will highlight and showcase Purdue’s finest innovators and entrepreneurs including students, faculty, staff, alumni, startups and issued patent recipients.
Celebrate Purdue’s innovative spirit with three days of sessions by and for entrepreneurs and innovators, pitches, and networking opportunities.
About This Event
April 22
Join us in the afternoon for IP and startup workshops designed to equip innovators with the tools to advance and commercialize their ideas. The evening concludes with an invite only reception recognizing Purdue patent recipients.
April 23
Kick off the morning with dynamic presentations from Purdue Innovates Capstone teams and Commercialization Fellows. Midday brings a networking lunch, followed by a full afternoon of events including a student pitch competition, Purdue Alumni Entrepreneur presentations, roundtable discussions, and an inspiring keynote. An evening reception closes day two.
April 24
Begin the morning with breakfast networking before diving into a full slate of presentations, startup pitches, keynotes, and alumni entrepreneur sessions. The afternoon continues with additional company showcases, alumni spotlights, open networking, and opportunities for guided tours.
Location
- There will be several locations
schedule
See below for a complete schedule, all of which will take place at the Convergence Center unless otherwise noted. All times are Eastern.
*Schedule is subject to change. Please check back for updates.
Wednesday, April 22
1:30 - 1:45 p.m.
Introduction
Abhijit Karve
1:45 - 2 p.m.
Incubator Overview
Justin Renfrow
2 - 2:30 p.m.
Perfecting Your Pitch
Chelsea Linder
2:30 - 3 p.m.
Company Foundation
Audrey Wessel
3 - 3:30 p.m.
Investor Match
Landon Young
3:30 - 4 p.m.
To be Confirmed
4 - 4:15 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Thursday, April 23
9 - 9:15 a.m.
Welcome (PAEN and Innovates Intro)
9:15 - 10 a.m.
Capstone Lightning Round
10 - 10:20 a.m.
Break
10:20 - 11 a.m.
Commercialization Fellows Innovation Stories
Saloni Darji
Teodora Kljaic
Pranshul Sardana
Sunandita Ghosh
11 - 11:45 a.m.
VC Panel Discussion
Tyler Mantel
Toph Day
Gopal Rajarama
Rene Lewin
Moderator: Travis Stegemoller
11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Networking Lunch
1 - 2 p.m.
New Venture Challenge Pitches
2 - 3 p.m.
Information Session: Silicon Catalyst
Don Esses
Foundry Training Room
2:05 - 2:35 p.m.
Keynote: Getting to MVP - Product Innovation in Hard Tech
Grant Chapman
Glassboard
2:35 - 2:45 p.m.
Break
2:45 - 3:15 p.m.
Innovation on Campus
Purdue Entrepreneurial Leaders:
Nathalie Duval
Tim Dixon
Kostas Grigoriou
Brian Spencer
Jessica Jud
Moderator: Doug Applegate
3:15 - 3:30 p.m.
New Venture Challenge Awards
3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Semiconductor Panel
Rouz Jazayeri
Tayo Adesanya
Anand Raghunathan
4:15 - 4:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
5 - 8 p.m.
Reception with PAEN and Purdue Innovates
Friday, April 24
*All Friday's events will be hosted at the Spurgeon Club.
8 - 9 a.m.
Breakfast Networking
9 - 9:30 a.m.
Opening Presentation
Brooke Beier
Senior Vice President, Purdue Innovates
Introduction to Purdue Innovates and PAEN
9:30 a.m.
Innovates Startups
Movwize
Advance Waste Processing
9:50 - 10 a.m.
CCO and Sam Cleveland Presentation
Discover ways for students to get involved in startups
10 - 10:30 a.m.
Keynote: Commercializing AI
Tayo Adesanya
Calvyn Hendryx-Parker
10:30 - 10:40 a.m.
Break
10:40 - 11 a.m.
Keynote: Open Innovation
Sally Kay
Dan DeLaurentis
11 - 11:30 a.m.
Keynote
David Watkins
11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Lunch
12:30 - 1 p.m.
Accelerator Pitches
1 - 2:30 p.m.
Mentorship Networking
PAEN Members
Networking Group by Industry: Jennifer Lopez, Grant Chapman, Mike McCracken
2:30 - 3 p.m.
Keynote: Building Deeptech Startups Like Groq and the Future of Compute in the AI Era
Dinesh Maheshwari
Former CTO of Groq
Interviewed by Tyler Mantel / Roll Tack
3 - 3:30 p.m.
Yet to be confirmed
Details coming soon
3:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Connect w/ university & network
3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Optional Tour
Mackey Arena
Registration required
3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
Optional Tour
DETAILS ON REGISTRATION TICKET
Registration required
4:15 - 5 p.m.
Optional Tour
DETAILS ON REGISTRATION TICKET
Registration required
Make innovation your career
Purdue Innovates can help you find your next job or internship at a Purdue-connected startup.