Summary
Five teams of CMU-Q students presented their technology startups to a panel of 31 industry judges during the Tech Demo Day, the finale of the Tech Startup Launchpad course. The event, sponsored by the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), featured a community-investor judging model. The winning team, CartIQ, pitched a retail tracking solution, while the runner-up, PetQ, presented an AI-powered smart collar for pets.
DOHA, QATAR – Five student teams at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) pitched their original technology startup concepts to a panel of industry experts at Tech Demo Day. The event is the finale of the Tech Startup Launchpad course, a capstone for CMU-Q’s Tech Entrepreneurship minor. The teams presented their concepts, including prototypes and business plans, to a record number of 31 judges.
Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), who signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CMU-Q in June 2025, generously sponsored prizes for the event.
“We’ve seen a growing level of interest from Qatar’s tech startup community to support and nurture the entrepreneurial talent we have at CMU-Q,” said Nui Vatanasakdakul, teaching professor of information systems, who teaches the course and is the faculty advisor for students pursuing the Tech Entrepreneurship minor.
“To reflect this, we transformed the traditional judging panel into a community-based investor model, where investors decided the winning team based on which startup secures the highest investment.”
The judging panel included several alumni from CMU-Q, as well as representatives from key organizations in Qatar’s ecosystem: Behance.net, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Cerebrum, Digital Incubation Center (DIC), Flare Business, Golden Gate Ventures, iHorizons, Keeta, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Communications Information Technology, Ooreedoo, PitchPro, PwC, Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC), Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Museums, QD-SBG Construction, QNB Group, QRDI Council, RFxAI, Risin Venture, SkyStruct, TASMU Smart Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, and WiseHorizon Consulting LLC.
After a competitive session of pitches and deliberations, Nour Alseaf, Mahnoor Sethi, Maryam Khodadadi, and Ruba Mahmoud were named the winners for their idea, CartIQ, that tracks shopper movement and behavior so retailers can make better decisions about store layout. Ashwaq Taib, Ghalya Al-Eshaq, Hend Aldosari, and Maryam Al-Khater took second place for PetQ, a smart collar powered by AI and Internet of Things to track pet health and location.
Students from all majors can pursue a minor in Tech Entrepreneurship, and the coursework emphasizes interdisciplinary cooperation and teamwork.
