Meet a few of the experts who will be judging the semifinals round and determining the final three teams for the 2025 Imagine Cup World Championship.
The Imagine Cup is the premier global technology startup competition for student founders using AI to push the boundaries of innovation. The competition is in full swing with the deadline to submit a minimum viable product (MVP) coming up on January 22, 2025.
Register today to get started!
The competition kicked off with an optional Idea round, inviting teams to submit a Lean Canvas outlining their startup idea. The top five teams earned a mentorship session with an industry expert, providing valuable feedback on their ideas and proposed business models. Explore the winning ideas in the 2025 Imagine Cup Idea Round Winners blog.
Teams that successfully submit their MVP by January 22, 2025 will compete to advance to the semifinals. Semifinalists will receive personalized mentorship and extended access in Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub to help them refine their strategy, demo, and pitch for a live virtual presentation to a panel of judges.
The semifinals judges include AI experts, startup founders, and venture capitalists. These judges will evaluate each team's live pitch and participate in a Q&A session with the team. This unique networking opportunity to interact with seasoned founders, investors, and technologists provides new startups like you the chance to gain invaluable feedback on your business model, technical design and approach, and scaling strategies. The questions and feedback the semifinalists will receive from the judges will offer these teams a new and helpful perspective as they continue to refine their idea and solution.
Semifinals judges (listed in alphabetical order):
Amy Boyd
AI Cloud Advocacy Lead, Microsoft
Amy is an AI Cloud Advocacy Lead at Microsoft, brings a background in Computer Science with a specialization in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning. Her passion for AI has driven her to lead global projects, collaborate with developer communities, and craft strategies to enhance AI developer engagement. In her role, Amy combines her deep expertise to create and deliver impactful content while shaping the product experience for developers worldwide.
Chris Noring
Cloud Advocate
Chris is a Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft specializing in Artificial Intelligence and JavaScript. With an 18-year career in IT, he is a published author in web technologies and Go, an international speaker, and a keynote presenter. Chris has also earned MVP titles from both Google and Progress. In addition, he is the founder of the JavaScript conference ngVikings, a leader of several user groups, and a tutor at the University of Oxford, where he teaches courses on Cloud Computing, Generative AI, and Digital Twins.
Gabriela de Queiro
Director of AI, Microsoft
Gabriela is the Director of AI at Microsoft, where she guides early and growth-stage startups in leveraging AI and Microsoft’s technologies to their full potential. Before joining Microsoft, Gabriela held prominent roles at IBM, including Chief Data Scientist, where she led AI Strategy and Innovation, and Program Director for AI Open-Source Technologies, overseeing various open-source Data & AI initiatives. Earlier in her career, she gained extensive experience across multiple industries, including Software, Finance, Advertising, and Healthcare, through her work with startups in these sectors.
Juliette Souliman
Principal, Portage Ventures
Juliette Souliman is a VC investor specialized in Fintech, Insurtech, and Crypto investments. She serves as a Principal at Sagard, Portage Ventures, one of the largest VC funds in the world focusing exclusively on FinTech early-stage investments, with $2.5bn AUM.
Juliette is a fierce advocate for more diversity in FinTech and especially in FinTech funding. She has been a mentor on various programs including London & Partners and Women in FinTech UK Department for International Trade among others. Juliette was named one of the ten most trailblazing female VCs in London by Business Insider and is listed Forbes 30 under 30 by Forbes magazine in 2020.
Lee Stott
Principal Cloud Advocate Manager, Microsoft
Lee leads a team of talented and passionate advocates within Microsoft’s Developer Relations organization, helping customers maximize their potential and achieve more with less. Developer Relations works closely with customers to guide them through their digital transformation journey, showcasing the power of Microsoft tools, services, and technologies. Lee is deeply involved throughout every stage of a project—from brainstorming architecture and conducting code reviews to pair programming, documenting projects, and creating impactful blog posts.
Mar Velasco
Co-founder, NetaCarbon
Mar Velasco is the co-founder of NetaCarbon, a climate tech startup incubated at MIT and Harvard that focuses on mobilizing investments in projects that protect and preserve our planet. She has been invited to present at international conferences such as COP and NCAPEC. She has extensive experience in venture building, corporate finance, international markets, investor relations, and carbon management. Mar holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, complemented by MIT certificates in Sustainability and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. She is currently an ambassador for Women in Carbon and the Vice-president and Head of Startups & VC’s for the MIT Mexico Club.
Micah Baldwin
Director of Founder Experience, Microsoft
Micah is the Director of Founder Experience at Microsoft, dedicated to ensuring that all founders engage with Microsoft in a supportive, empathetic, and impactful way. A lifelong entrepreneur, Micah launched his first company at just nine years old and successfully exited his most recent venture in 2014. With extensive experience across the startup ecosystem, he has worn many hats, including founder, venture capitalist, and angel investor.
Renee Noble
Sr. Cloud Advocate, Microsoft
Renee is a Microsoft Cloud Advocate on the Python Cloud Advocacy team, dedicated to making it simple and accessible to learn and build cloud and AI solutions using Python. A prominent leader in the tech and education communities, Renee is the CEO and founder of ConnectEd Code, her own startup, and serves as the CEO and Managing Director of a charity that has taught thousands of girls to code through the Girls’ Programming Network.
Vinayak Hegde
Principal AI Advocate, Microsoft
Vinayak is a Principal AI Advocate specializing in Generative AI and Machine Learning, with over 20 years of experience in product development and software architecture. Before stepping into his current role, he was part of the Startups team, where he supported startups in bringing AI products to market and scaling them effectively. Drawing from his extensive expertise, Vinayak now focuses on educating and mentoring startups, students, and enterprises to adopt cutting-edge AI technologies and develop scalable, innovative products.
Up next
The top three teams will advance to the World Championship, competing for the ultimate prize of $100,000 USD1 and a mentorship session with Microsoft Chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella! The two runner-up teams will each receive $25,000 USD1.
Stay tuned and follow us on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for exciting announcements and the latest updates.
Register today to get started and submit your MVP by January 22, 2025, 23:59 UTC.
1Open only to enrolled high-school or college/university students 18+. For additional eligibility criteria, round start/end dates, and detailed instructions on how to participate, see the Imagine Cup Official Rules and Regulations.
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