Build and test what’s next. With the people who will build it.
The Tech Exploration Lab connects industry partners with cross-disciplinary student teams to explore real problems, prototype solutions, and surface new use cases and venture opportunities using AI and emerging technologies.
We’re early-stage by design. This isn’t advisory or theoretical work — teams are building, testing, and advancing ideas in real time. You don’t have to have it all figured out. We’ll help you shape and guide the process.
Start Here: Join the Technology & Innovation Circle
The Technology & Innovation Circle is the easiest way to plug into the Lab. It’s a warm, on-demand network of industry leaders, founders, and innovation practitioners who stay connected to what the Lab is building and learning.
As a Circle member you’ll hear about Lab programs, emerging needs, and student ventures as they develop. We’ll reach out when there’s something worth sharing or a need you might be able to help fill — a student team that could use your perspective, a challenge in your space, an event worth attending. You choose how and when to engage.
Participation is free, flexible, and designed to fit around your schedule.
→ Complete this form if you are interested in joining the Circle to hear about alumni and industry engagement opportunities
Ways to Engage
Bring a Problem
Partner with a student team to explore a real challenge in your organization — a use case you want to test, a technology you want to understand, or a question you want answered. Student teams apply AI and emerging technologies to generate insight, early prototypes, and evidence that helps you decide whether and how to move forward.
This is structured experimentation — low-risk for your organization, high-learning for the student team. Engagements are scoped and priced based on your requirements and interests.
→ See some of our work and contact us to bring a problem
Anchor a Challenge or Hackathon
From real-world challenges to innovation and ventures — the Lab partners with industry to translate meaningful problems into hands-on experimentation, deployable innovation, and new venture opportunities.
Through challenges, hackathons, and focused sprints, we create structured environments where cross-disciplinary student teams work on real problems using applied AI and emerging technologies — generating fresh ideas, testing solutions, and building momentum. For industry partners, this is a low-risk way to explore what’s possible while building a pipeline of talent and ideas.
How it works:
- Start with a real challenge — bring a problem, opportunity space, or area of interest
- Activate student teams — cross-disciplinary teams explore, build, and prototype solutions
- Test ideas quickly — through short, focused engagements designed for speed and creativity
- Surface outcomes — including early-stage solutions, new use cases, and venture opportunities
Sponsorship levels range from general event support to proposing a specific problem statement for teams to work on. Some example industry projects have included:
- Health & Wellness — How to deliver personalized experiences using AI
- Manufacturing — Using AI to optimize trade programs and improve retailer partnerships
- Retail — Engaging audiences inundated with choices to improve online and in-store experience with AI
- AgTech — Improving producer productivity in horticulture with AI
- Real Estate — Using AR and AI to improve trust and safety in short-term rentals
- Consumer Goods — Creating seamless AI-powered customer experiences to build brand engagement and loyalty
- Education & Training — Leveraging VR and AI to lower cost and increase access to enterprise training
And some examples of challenges that have been sponsored by industry partners:
- Digital Health Challenge — Spring 2026 Focused on brain health, this challenge brought students together to explore how AI and digital technologies can improve quality of life for patients and caregivers. Teams developed solutions ranging from neurological monitoring tools to emotionally intelligent AI companions, with top teams advancing toward continued development and real-world application.
- Xorbix Hackathon — Spring 2026 In partnership with Xorbix, this hands-on hackathon gave students access to real-world data and industry context, challenging them to develop practical solutions using modern tools and platforms. The result: high-quality prototypes, new use cases, and direct exposure for students to real industry problems and expectations.
- Google AI Startup School – Summer 2025 This past summer, Google sponsored an AI Startup School for nearly 60 students — combining live online training, in-lab workshops, and a culminating hackathon with Google representatives on the judging panel. Events like this give students exposure to real startup frameworks and frontier tools while giving sponsors meaningful visibility with some of UW–Madison’s most motivated emerging talent.
- BuildFest — Fall 2025 Sponsored by Cursor, this Lab-led build sprint moved students from early ideas into tangible prototypes. Teams worked across sectors to build AI and blockchain solutions, exploring new concepts and shaping venture opportunities in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
Sponsor Innovation
Support student-led experimentation through funding, tools, or data access. Sponsorship opportunities include Demo Night, Lab programs, and specific initiatives. Sponsorships are scoped based on your interests and the Lab’s current priorities.
→ Contact us about sponsorship and industry projects
Who We Work With
We work with companies of all sizes and sectors — from startups to enterprise. If you’re curious about whether the Lab is the right fit for your organization, reach out. We’re happy to have a conversation before you commit to anything.
About the Tech Exploration Lab
The Lab is a collaboration between the Wisconsin School of Business and the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. We activate early-stage innovation and ventures at UW–Madison, connecting students, industry partners, researchers, and alumni around real problems, applied AI, and emerging technologies.