Penn Startup Showcase 2025 Recap

Nearly 200 people gathered at the Pennovation Center on November 6 for the inaugural Penn Startup Showcase, an evening dedicated to celebrating early-stage ventures emerging from across the University.

While the event featured two dozen startups from thirteen Penn partners, several of the night’s highlights underscored the central role of Penn Engineering faculty, founders and technologies in driving real-world impact.

“The startups you’ll hear from tonight [are] tackling challenges across different sectors, building businesses that can transform industries and improve lives,” said Denita Henderson, Pennovation Works Managing Director. “They’re the reason we do what we do and they’re proof that when you create the right environment and bring the right people together, incredible things happen.”

The audience heard from two Penn Engineering-connected startups: Serpent Robotics, the Overall Winner of the Pennovation Accelerator, and Sync Labs, winner of the Penn President’s Innovation Prize.

Serpent Robotics’ co-founder Yiran (Kevin) Xuan (IPD’26) shared how the team is translating decades of modular robotics expertise into a commercial system capable of operating in environments too hazardous for human arborists.

Sync Labs founder and CEO Melanie Herbert (ESE’25) highlighted how the system leverages proprietary computer-vision techniques — designed to function without capturing video — to detect resident behaviors, automate routine checks, and meaningfully reduce caregiver workloads.

Chief Innovation Officer John Swartley closed the evening by praising the “unbelievable ideas and projects” coming to life across Penn’s innovation ecosystem.

Together, the Showcase demonstrated how engineering-driven technologies continue to advance Penn’s mission and fuel a growing pipeline of solutions at the intersection of robotics, AI, health care and safety.

Read More at Pennovation Works