UPEI students succeed at RBC Student Pitch Competition
UPEI students excelled at the RBC Student Pitch Competition held at the J Herbert Smith Centre for Technology, Management, and Entrepreneurship, University of New Brunswick-Fredericton, on March 16, 2026.
Twelve groups totalling 20 students were accepted into and pitched in the ideas stream, which is intended for undergraduates. In total, 23 teams from across Atlantic Canada pitched their ventures in the ideas stream. The RBC Student Pitch Competition is intended for post-secondary students who are developing or have recently launched start-up ventures.
AquaPath AI, founded by Jonathan Zul Luna (BSc Computer Science), Ana Kwon (BSc Computer Science), Daniel Lopez (BBA), and Camille Neri (BSc Environmental Sciences), finished first in the ideas stream and received $3,000. Currently under development, AquaPath AI is a B2B diagnostic platform that automates the detection of MSX disease in eastern oysters using a novel cascading AI architecture. By pre-screening whole slide images and generating explainable, text-based clinical reports, pathology review time is reduced, which helps to address a critical labour shortage in aquaculture health. Developed in collaboration with the Atlantic Veterinary College, this solution leverages a proprietary dataset to provide a commercially viable, biologically validated triage tool for high-volume diagnostic labs with a focus on explainability and transparency.
Avoxify, founded by Ilyas Aderbaz (BSc Computer Science), finished second in the ideas stream and received $2,000. Avoxify is an AI front-office infrastructure platform that helps service businesses capture more revenue by answering calls, qualifying leads, and automating follow-up 24/7. It is deployed across industries such as construction, med spas, clinics, hospitality groups, and automotive businesses. By replacing missed calls and inconsistent response times with an intelligent, human-sounding voice and workflow automation, Avoxify turns customer interactions into structured, scalable systems that drive measurable growth.
AquaPath AI and Avoxify are finalists in the Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program and will pitch at the Panther Pitch on April 15. All 12 teams were participants in the Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program and saw the competition as an opportunity to practice and prepare for the Panther Pitch.
“Preparing for and participating in the RBC Student Pitch Competition was a great learning experience for our students—one they took to heart and ran with,” said Amy Andrews, manager of entrepreneurship, UPEI Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship. “They worked hard and performed very well. We are so proud of them.”
This was just the second year that teams from UPEI participated in the RBC Student Pitch Competition. In 2025, Purely PEI, a start-up venture that makes healthy pet treats from local products, finished second in the ideas stream, winning $2,000.
The UPEI Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship provided transportation and support for all teams who attended the event.
