Fearless Terps,
Funded Ventures

Learn how UMD students are participating in xFoundry programs that give student teams a year of real-world experience.

All

12

Schools & colleges engaged

702

student competitors

5

competitions so far

65

+

degree programs represented

$

575

K

Investment raised

19

mentors

Built from UMD’s entrepreneurship foundation

To give students an incredible edge in their future careers, xFoundry was founded at the University of Maryland, to create programs built entirely around action. Over the course of our programs, students from different majors form diverse teams and build solutions for real-world challenges.

Our students graduate with a unique professional network, undeniable work experience, and real-world solutions they built from scratch.

Programs at UMD

Horizons Challenge
Xperience
Xpand
Xcelerate

Horizons Challenge

Students identify and pitch innovative, grand challenges based on set focus areas. Finalists pitch live at the NEXPLORE Summit, competing for a $2,040 prize and the chance to to set the target for the following Xperience competition.
What's next
Registration opens Sep 01, 2026. Sign up on the ConneXions platform to get notified when registration opens.

52

UMD Participants

Tackled NASA-approved focus areas in 2025

2

Terp teams

Pitched live at Amazon HQ2
All figures reflect participation and outcomes as of May 2026.

Xperience

Student teams tackle grand challenges by building investment-grade MVPs, competing for the chance to launch their venture and secure up to $2M in investment.
What's next
302 UMD students are currently competing in the Mental Health Xperience and creating their 3 year financial models after testing their solution concepts against stakeholder interviews.

392

Terp Participants

Have competed to launch funded ventures

$250k

SAFE investment

Secured for School Safety Xperience (2025)
All figures reflect participation and outcomes as of May 2026.

Xpand

Xpand connects student and faculty teams directly with industry-sponsored challenges. Teams tackle highly specific problems alongside corporate partners, offering a fast-paced, focused path to building solutions with real commercial outcomes.
What's next
New UMD Xpand challenges will be announced in the fall.  We're also actively engaging with partners across a range of industries with multiple agreements currently in development. Check back soon!

22

Terp participants

Competed in Xpand challenges

$325K

in funding

In support of Crossfire
All figures reflect participation and outcomes as of May 2026.

Xcelerate

We give winning teams the operational support, R&D resources, and investor networks they need to transform their ideas into market-ready, funded ventures.
What's next
Winners of the UMD Xpand challenges and Mental Health Xperience will enter Xcelerate in the spring of 2027.

2

Terp teams

Currently scaling their ventures

$575K

Investment raised

In support of new UMD ventures
All figures reflect participation and outcomes as of May 2026.

Spotlight on some of our Fearless Terps

Xperience
Xcelerate
Team DefenX
Won the School Safety Xperience and entered Xcelerate to secure investment and scale their venture.
Xpand
Xcelerate
Team Crossfire
Reached the XPRIZE Wildfire semifinals and advanced to Xcelerate to power their launch.
Xperience
Team Weapon Watch
Claimed second place in the School Safety Xperience.
Horizons challenge
Team Phylon
Took the finals stage at the Horizons Challenge to pitch their bold ideas to industry leaders.
Horizons challenge
Team SpaceCoders
Stepped up as Horizons Challenge finalists, pitching their innovative challenges live on stage.
Xpand
Team Mosaic Garden
Won the Smart Living Canopy competition to secure the top spot.
We wanted to bring students from every discipline together, to create a 'disruptive collision'. xFoundry is the embodiment of that vision, where different perspectives come together to solve meaningful problems.
Darryll Pines, Ph.D.
President, University of Maryland
The xFoundry experience is about bringing people together across campus to develop transformational solutions to society's biggest problems.
Jennifer Rice, Ph.D.
Provost, University of Maryland, College Park

Student experience

Hear directly from the students who built, tested, and launched real-world solutions through the program.

In the media

The groundbreaking work of University of Maryland students is turning heads and making headlines across major media outlets.

UMD students use AI to detect weapons in schools

For students born after the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, active shooter drills have become a routine part of growing up.
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UMD students create firefighting drone as part of contest to end destructive wildfires

The team of engineers designed a flying firefighter, a drone that can both detect and suppress wildfires before they get out of control.
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Student Entrepreneurs Win $250K to Develop Tech to Detect Guns, Track Suspects in Schools

DefenX’s win was announced during a gathering of investors, panelists and UMD stakeholders, at NEXPLORE 2040 future technology summit.
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