ChatGPT who? From nuclear fusion to fixing your fridge, students...
What is the ‘next big thing’ that is not AI? “Aging technology, genetic engineering,” said George Chiriac ’25, Managing Director of Investments at Prospect Student Ventures (PSV). “Nuclear fusion,” he added. “I don’t know if I agree with it, but the vibe that I’ve gotten from some of my classes [are] these autonomous humans, like Tesla’s Optimus,” said Nick Aronow ’25, co-founder of RePaired, a customer relationship management platform connecting homeowners and repair contractors.
Technological Innovations Beyond AI
Some students pointed to particular fields. 
“The startups are going to go where the money is, and I genuinely believe that there's eventually going to be money in pro-environment things,” noted Jack Prewitt ’27, Director of TigerLaunch, a student-run entrepreneurship competition under Princeton’s Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club). “I don’t even think AI is the next big thing,” said Nathan Myers ’28, founder of Precision Metrics, an affordable, high-precision GPS device for crew boats. Ultimately, “you can [choose the ‘next big thing’] a thousand times and be wrong a thousand times,” he explained.
The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem at Princeton
Though the national conversation around technology has been laden with buzzwords like “AI-powered” or “AI-driven solutions,” these students believe that the future of tech may lie in more concrete technological innovations. In recent years, the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Princeton has flourished through students applying their technological expertise across a range of disciplines to address societal issues.
In 2005, the University founded the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education, its first formal institution for innovation and entrepreneurship, to prepare students for an increasingly technology-driven world. As the Keller Center approaches its 20th anniversary, it now offers over a dozen entrepreneurship courses every semester, as well as summer initiatives like the Princeton Startup Immersion Program and the eLab incubators and accelerators for student founders.
Challenges and Growth in Entrepreneurship
One group on campus has been watching the bonfire of entrepreneurship grow throughout the years: Prospect Student Ventures (PSV), a student-run venture capital group that provides VC education to its members and equity-free grants to founders. It has witnessed the growth of campus entrepreneurship from the investing side — in particular, a 
increase in funding applications since 2020.
According to Elise Kait ’25, one of the PSV’s biggest challenges is raising enough funds to keep pace with the growing number of applicants. According to Jason Bohner ’25, PSV funds both for-profit and nonprofit companies, spanning fields from hardware to educational technology.
Innovative Solutions by Students
Every month, female athletes push through intense training sessions, often ignoring the silent rhythms of their menstrual cycles. This gave Katherine Kalap ’25, Sterling Hall ’25, Shelby Fulton ’25, and Nina Weeldreyer ’26 the inspiration to create Eir, a solution based on hardware and software.
Eir develops athletic wearables that help female athletes optimize training based on their menstrual cycle. According to Hall, the hardware consists of a device that tracks biomarkers during workouts, while the software is an app that analyzes this data alongside menstrual cycle records to monitor symptoms and provide recovery and nutrition insights. Eir also intends to create a coaches’ dashboard, where they can access the data and inform training adjustments.
Practical Solutions from Personal Experiences
Sometimes, a refrigerator breaks down in June and remains broken three months later. This was the case for Nick Aronow ’25. He and Chase Magnano ’25 then came up with the idea for RePaired, a platform connecting homeowners and repair contractors. On the homeowner side, it helps them gather information and optimize scheduling. For the repair professionals, it helps them generate and manage leads.
In rowing, a cox box provides the team with data like stroke rate and elapsed time, and helps amplify the voice of the coxswain, who steers the boat and directs the team. However, each cox box costs around a thousand dollars for what Nathan Myers ’28 believes to be very old technology. Frustrated by both the high price and frequent malfunctions, Myers decided to take one apart. Inside, he found components that were not only obsolete but also worth a fraction of the price.
Realizing Entrepreneurial Dreams
Another expansion in entrepreneurship is TigerLaunch, an E-Club subteam that hosts some of the largest student-run entrepreneurship competitions in the world. Founded in 2014, its regional events span not just the U.S. coasts, but Europe, Asia, and Africa.
