The UNSW Computer Science Pitch Competition

Where Code Meets Conviction

28 April, 2026

Some of the most exciting UNSW student-built startups are coming from lecture theatres, late-night coding sessions, and group project of tenacious students refusing to accept that their version isn’t a better option for a global market.

That was on full display earlier this year at the inaugural UNSW Computer Science student dedicated Pitch Night where the top 10 teams competed for prize funds of $10,000 and the opportunity to pitch for $100,000 investment from the official UNSW Investment Committee.

But How Did We Get Here?

Jamie Conyngham, UNSW’s Director of Commercialisation, saw a pattern emerging across the computer science community: students weren’t just learning to code, they were already building. Real businesses were being created.

Jamie backed that momentum and ambition he saw within the Engineering faculty and partnered with UNSW Founders to bring his idea to life. Together we developed and delivered a dedicated pitch competition for UNSW computer science students to help them scale.

Providing significant funds on offer, access to dedicated industry mentors and the ability to unlock further funds from the university. An opportunity usually reserved for full university academics–showcasing the real commitment UNSW is taking to supporting the emerging founders and innovators. Because that's what being Australia's #1 entrepreneurial university actually looks like.

How It Worked - The Bee’s Knees 🐝

Before hitting the stage, founders went through a series of hands-on workshops led by UNSW Founder alumni who’ve built and scaled startups helping them refine, stretch and build their networks across the ecosystem:

Howjer Gu, CEO & Founder of Planoverse, shared an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at startup building – what it really takes beyond the polished version people usually see.

Sam Brew, founder of Resdemou, challenged founders to become truly customer-obsessed, pushing them to step outside their own assumptions and focus on whether they were solving the right problem.

Andre Dean Smith, CEO & Founder of ScreenApp, broke down how to build products that scale, growing to over 2 million users through strong product thinking and data-driven growth.

And Pasha Rayan, co-founder of A1Base (YC W25), focused on what it takes to turn an MVP into an investable product + a second workshop on the mechanics of delivering a pitch that actually lands.

By the time the top 10 teams from the competition took to the stage to pitch they were presenting with clarity, intention, and real-world insight.

The Top 10 Startups

The finalists for the top 10 teams who were invited to pitch ranged from medtech products, a wearable for cardiac health, to immigration automation to a consumer product to make music lessons more accessible. Every founder brought a real problem, an active product and the conviction to defend it in front of a live audience and a panel of judges.

Edify (Evan Liao) Making lecture learning 10x easier. Edify is tackling one of the most universal pain points in university life - the gap between sitting in a lecture and actually retaining what was taught.

Everywhere Health (Joseph Zhu) Smartwatch ECG monitoring that's actually affordable and accessible. Everywhere Health is bringing accurate cardiac health tracking out of the clinic and into everyday life, without the price tag.

Glancio (Declan Jacques Curran) Eye-tracking wearables that reveal how shoppers really behave in-store - so brands can finally win “at shelf”. Glancio is bringing a higher level of behavioural data to an in person industry that is being challenged daily by online retail.

Kairo AI (Guanyu Yan) A Chrome extension that auto-fills immigration forms from documents in seconds. Anyone who has navigated the immigration system knows how painful the paperwork is. Kairo AI is making that process disappear.

Merit (Om Patel) A missed-call receptionist for tradies that texts a structured summary, so no job goes to voicemail. For sole traders and small operators, a missed call is a missed job. Merit makes sure that it never happens again.

Moat (Max Davison) Financial planning and analysis for the 99% of companies that enterprise software ignores. The tools that help big companies make smart financial decisions have never been built for everyone else. Moat is changing that.

Myodot (Kanishk Aggarwal) A coin-sized wearable fusing sEMG and NIRS technology to revolutionise outpatient rehabilitation. Myodot is bringing clinical-grade muscle and oxygen monitoring into a device small enough to wear anywhere.

SaxApp (Jesaiah Creek) Play the saxophone on your phone - no $3,000 instrument required. SaxApp is lowering the barrier to music in the most delightful way possible. They have a global user base across 6 continents and a downloadable app in the app store.

Vocare (Jason Ye) Operational intelligence for voice AI - so it knows your problem before you even call. Vocare is making voice AI actually useful by giving it the context it needs before the conversation even starts.

Zenith Hosting (Josh Mitchell & Liam Leadbetter) is removing the infrastructure headache for developers who just want to ship. It’s a one-click deployment turning open-source projects into hosted services with built-in revenue.

The Judging Panel

Three exceptional people sat on the panel, bringing a rare mix of operator experience, commercialisation depth, and roots in the UNSW ecosystem.

Jamie Conyngham is UNSW's Director of Commercialisation and a seasoned international executive with a track record spanning deep tech. Jamie has spent his career helping fast-growth companies scale globally.

Sasha Whittle is the Program Manager of the UNSW Founders 10x Accelerator. Sasha is an early stage startup expert launching startups within this dedicated accelerator with investment, Sasha knows exactly what it takes to go from idea to execution.

Pasha Ryan is the co-founder of A1Zap by A1Base (YC W25) and co-founded Forage (YC W19, acquired). A two-time Y Combinator founder with a successful exit under his belt, bringing real operator experience.

And when the votes were counted...
The judges deliberated and the audience voted. Here's who walked away with the prizes – and the bragging rights.

🏆 Judges' Award

1st place ($3,000): SaxApp - Jesaiah Creek
2nd place ($2,500): Zenith Hosting - Josh Mitchell & Liam Leadbetter

💛 People's Choice

1st place ($2,500): Myodot -Kanishk Aggarwal
2nd place ($2,000): Zenith Hosting - Josh Mitchell & Liam Leadbetter

Zenith Hosting placed in both categories on the night - a rare outcome that reflected just how clearly their pitch landed with both the panel and the crowd.

Winning is Great But Showing Up is Everything.

Every one of these ten founders built something and had the courage to stand up and defend it publicly. That's exactly the kind of founder mindset that turns an idea into a company, and a side project into something that changes an industry.

The quality of thinking in that room was genuinely impressive. We're proud of every single one of you. And we're watching closely 👀

Your Idea is Worth More Than You Think.

Whether you've started thinking about an idea that could simplify an everyday challenge, have a uni project you're quietly turning into something more, or are just curious about how to start a company, UNSW Founders is here to help you turn that idea into a venture.