On April 17, three startups from St. Louis were awarded $50,000 each during the WashU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards, marking the initial funds allocated through the WashU Venture Network Follow-on Investments.

This collaborative initiative between WashU’s Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the In St. Louis, For St. Louis program grants up to $150,000 annually to enterprises connected to WashU that have previously received funding from Arch Grants, a local nonprofit providing equity-free financial support to startups.

The objective is to assist startups that are likely to remain in St. Louis once the funding period concludes.

“The Skandalaris Center, via our WashU Venture Network Follow-on Investment and our collaboration with the In St. Louis, For St. Louis initiative, takes pride in supporting enterprises that are poised for growth,” stated II Luscri, managing director of the Skandalaris Center and assistant vice provost for innovation and entrepreneurship. “This partnership supplies our most promising startups with the momentum needed to accelerate their growth — and to keep making a significant impact within the St. Louis area.”

Startups qualified for the funding were encouraged to present their investment proposals, which were subsequently evaluated by Venture Network student analysts alongside Skandalaris Center personnel to determine their feasibility, scalability, and potential impact on the region. The team conducted in-person presentations and session for questions and answers with each enterprise prior to finalizing funding decisions.

The three ventures that each received $50,000 investments are:

• AirSeal: This healthcare technology firm is creating an innovative blood test for peripheral arterial disease, with intellectual property licensing acquired in partnership with WashU. Founders Stephen Wu and Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD, are both graduates of the WashU Executive MBA program.
• uFab: The quick-turn circuit board startup, which emphasizes domestic production, is dedicated to employing graduates from WashU and Ranken Technical College. Tyler Richards, a 2022 engineering alumnus, started the company in 2022.
• WingXpand: A modular drone enterprise with applications in defense, emergency response, and agriculture, WingXpand also maintains strong connections to St. Louis’ geospatial and aerospace industries. Co-founder James Barbieri, a 2018 MBA graduate, hails from St. Louis.

“These follow-on investments exemplify WashU’s dedication to our community,” expressed Lisa Weingarth, senior advisor to the chancellor and executive director of the In St. Louis, For St. Louis initiative. “St. Louis is home to visionary entrepreneurs and remarkable talent, and we aim to keep them in this area. We hope that this financial support enables their businesses to expand, flourish, and remain here to enhance and uplift the local economy.”

Additionally, leaders at the Skandalaris Center disclosed the winners of the 2025 Global Impact Award and the spring 2025 Skandalaris Venture Competition Awards during the event held at Anheuser-Busch Hall. For more information, visit the Skandalaris Center website.

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