Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s Most Fundable Companies of 2026

Congratulations to the 2026 Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s Most Fundable Companies® presented by the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy & Entrepreneurship. In our ninth year, more than 2,100 early-stage US startups from across all 50 states vied for a space on the list. All 14 winners are worthy of serious investor consideration based on several variables, including financial projections, market opportunity, intellectual property, competitive advantage, and team-management expertise. Serving as a free resource for startups looking to source capital and accelerate innovation across industries and communities, our program educates founders on investor diligence and provides critical business assessments. At Pepperdine Graziadio, we believe that developing purpose-driven leaders involves connecting early-stage companies with the resources needed to positively impact the business market. Supporting aspiring entrepreneurs is at the core of Graziadio’s mission, and our Most Fundable Companies assessment provides valuable insights on how businesses will appear to top investors—driving beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders.

The 2027 Most Fundable Companies competition is now open.

The Most Fundable Companies for 2026 are:

Founders: Dori Jones, David Lerner, Rodney Houfburg, John Erb, Michael McCormickLocation: Minneapolis, MN

AcQumen Medical is rewriting the future of pediatric critical care with ultrasound-guided hemodynamic monitoring and analytics to improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

Cerebrum Sensor Technologies, Inc.

Founders: Keith Ferry, Jason BuschLocation: Burbank, CA

Cerebrum transforms tires into intelligent data sources, giving the transportation industry real-time insights to improve safety, efficiency, performance, and sustainability.

Founders: Jon Brewton, Jeff DalglieshLocation: Wilmington, DE

data² delivers the world’s only patented hallucination-resistant, explainable decision intelligence platform. Enterprises and government agencies get auditable decisions they can verify and defend.

Founders: Greg Sturmer, Thomas JenkinsLocation: Hendersonville, TN

Elysium Therapeutics develops proprietary medicines that rescue and protect people from opioid overdose, relieve pain, and control drug exposure to reduce suffering.

Emerging Technology Ventures, Inc.

Founders: Cliff Hudson, Deborah Hudson, Amanda HudsonLocation: Las Cruces, NM

Emerging Technology Ventures’ patent-pending KeenAI® technology delivers edge-autonomous, multi-modal sensing, and AI-driven predictive performance analytics in mission critical, cannot fail environments.

Founder: Lee JestingsLocation: Franklin, TN

Enexor converts organic and plastic waste into clean, reliable, on-site energy through its patented Bio-CHP system, cutting energy and waste disposal costs for customers.

Founder: Michael Van SteenburgLocation: Farmington Hills, MI

Modal Motors builds electric motors with two to four times conventional torque density. Rare-earth optional, patent-pending claw-pole transverse-flux architecture, assembled in a single automated cell.

Founders: David Justus, John Jay GargusLocation: Irvine, CA

NeuroQure’s ASD Insight® is a novel biology-based solution to detect autism as soon as birth, enabling timely intervention, improved outcomes, and future targeted treatments, available in 46 states.

Founders: Mak Grgic, Adithya Bellathur, Yishai PinchoverLocation: Columbia, SC

Notey is a GenAI platform that turns any music content into personalized video games and any musical instrument into a game controller — turning practice into play.

Founders: Blair Blacker, Lisa Chen

SetaTech transforms waste keratin from human hair and poultry feathers into innovative, sustainable biosolutions that enhance crop performance, deter wildlife, and protect the environment.

Founders: David Barbag, Andrew Chin, Jim ContiLocation: Yonkers, NY

4Jacks is a fast-growing beverage company revolutionizing premium draft cold brew through broadline distribution and proprietary nitrogen-from-air dispensers, generating recurring and strong operator margins.

Founders: Matt Jones, Xavier CorreaLocation: Los Angeles, CA

The Crease Beast is an innovative shoe care brand dedicated to developing products that enhance every aspect of the sneakerhead lifestyle.

Founders: Kim Pabla, Tina RajaniLocation: Glenview, IL

Tiny Sprouts is redefining children’s health with functional, real-food nutrition boosters that effortlessly deliver essential nutrients to support daily wellness and gut, brain, and immune health.

Founder: Tushar SharmaLocation: Houston, TX

Vivifi Medical is fixing the root cause of BPH (enlarged prostate) without surgery, implants, or sexual risk.

All startup submissions generate objective, personalized feedback through our scoring system to improve readiness for funding. Approximately 100 companies proceed to the semifinals, completing a more in-depth qualitative assessment to further refine and verify scores. During the finals round, a panel of judges interviews and selects the winners. View all finalists and semifinalists on our website.

Disclaimers: The Pepperdine Most Fundable Companies List does not represent an offer to sell securities. It does not constitute investment advice, nor is it an endorsement of any particular product or service. Pepperdine University is not a broker-dealer and does not perform services provided by a broker-dealer, including but not limited to any financial or investment advising.