Introducing the 2025 Imagine Cup Finalists

 

Three Teams, One Global Stage: Meet the 2025 Imagine Cup Finalists

The journey to the Imagine Cup World Championship has been nothing short of extraordinary. After months of innovation, problem solving, and competition, three standout teams have emerged, earning their place on the global stage to compete in the finals at Microsoft Build in May. These finalists have demonstrated exceptional creativity, technical expertise, and a commitment to driving real-world impact through their innovative AI-powered solutions. 

We want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the incredible teams who participated in the semifinals. Your dedication, creativity, and passion for innovation are truly inspiring. Every team showcased remarkable potential and ingenuity. 

As these three incredible teams prepare for the Imagine Cup World Championship, they will receive expert mentorship to refine their pitches and enhance their products before showcasing their groundbreaking solutions on the global stage. The winning team will not only take home the prestigious Imagine Cup trophy but also receive a $100,000 USD* and a mentorship session with Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella. Each runner-up team will receive $25,000 USD*. 

Watch the championship at Microsoft Build on May 19!

Let’s meet the teams!

Listed in alphabetical order:

 

Argus: Two-part device empowering individuals with low vision 

From left to right: Daniel Kim, Arjun Oberoi

Stanford University
United States

Argus is a two-part device that empowers individuals with low vision by aiding them in navigating the world. With a camera and compute module, it responds to voice commands and answers questions about a user’s environment, aiding with tasks like object identification, facial recognition, and navigation. The use of Wi R and a combination of edge and cloud AI, including Azure AI Speech for voice recognition and Azure OpenAI Service for image analysis, results in a lightweight device with high performance. 

Over 100 million people worldwide have a vision disability, and many experience a slow loss of independence as their condition progresses. “Both Daniel and I have grandparents with uncorrectable visual impairments, and they’re the inspiration for Argus,” said Arjun Oberoi. Arjun and Daniel understand the profound impact visual impairments have on daily life and overall well-being. “It takes just one idea to make an impact, and we believe Argus will help us make an impact on the lives of our grandparents, [and] the hundreds of millions of others with visual impairments,” said Daniel Kim.

In 2024, Argus won the Red Bull Basement US National Final. 

Meet the team:

Arjun Oberoi – Growing up, one of Arjun’s favorite family activities was building robotics projects for FTC Robotics, which ignited his passion for the intersection of hardware and software. This hands-on experience also honed his ability to think both technically and creatively.

Daniel Kim – As a second-generation American, Daniel's parents instilled in him a strong commitment to helping others while embracing self-expression and creativity. This foundation has inspired him to launch various social good initiatives and projects within his community.

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HairMatch: AI-powered hair analysis

From left to right: Matt Steele, Alycea Adams

Georgia Institute of Technology, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
United States

Finding the right hair products can be a frustrating and costly challenge for women with textured hair. HairMatch, an AI-powered hair scanning mobile application, simplifies this journey by analyzing hair type, porosity, and texture to provide tailored product recommendations, step-by-step hairstyle guides, and expert advice. HairMatch uses Azure AI Foundry to host a Vision Language Model, processing image data and enhancing hair analysis.

Co-founder Alycea Adams, who once struggled to find the right products herself, was inspired to create HairMatch after building a social media following of 1.2M+ and seeing thousands of women share the same struggle. As one of the only AI-driven solutions in the natural hair space, HairMatch empowers women to embrace their curls with confidence. "It's not just hair, embracing your curls is a journey to newfound confidence," said Alycea.

Meet the team:

Alycea Adams – Alycea found inspiration in her older brother, who fueled her ambition and planted the seed for her winner mentality. Her greatest supporter was her grandfather, who was a successful entrepreneur in Information Technology. Alycea embodies his legacy to build her own, and give back to her community, while cheering on the success of others. 

Matt Steele – While growing up, Matt spent much of his focus on swimming, yet did not become clearly talented until high school. This resulted in an appreciation of the impact of small things that build up over time, and the importance of working towards long-term goals. Matt also spent time in rural parts of Pennsylvania, where he observed the disconnect between most of the world and the impact of technology. This sparked his passion for building solutions that reach beyond major tech hubs. 

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Signvrse: Real-time sign language translation with 3D avatars

From left to right: Branice Kazira, Gheida Abdala Al Mashjery, Daniel Phillip, Anthony Marugu

The African Leadership University, Machakos University, Technical University of Mombasa, United States International University - Africa
Rwanda

Millions of individuals who are deaf face communication barriers that limit access to education, healthcare, employment, and mental health support. Traditional solutions, like human interpreters, are costly, geographically limited, and not always available. Signvrse bridges this gap with a platform that enables real-time translation between speech, text, and sign language. Using Azure AI Speech, spoken language is converted into text and translated into sign language using hyper-realistic 3D avatars, making communication more accessible anytime, anywhere.

“Our goal is to create and scale one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive datasets—expanding to 20,000+ words, integrating multiple sign language dialects across the continent, and enhancing the lifelike quality of our avatars. This groundbreaking resource will drive the development of a sign language [large language model] (LLM), unlocking a wide range of applications to empower the Deaf community and bridge critical accessibility gaps, ensuring no one is left behind.” - Branice Kazira

Meet the team:

Anthony Marugu – Growing up in Nairobi, Anthony was a curious explorer, always questioning how things worked. This passion for problem-solving led him to AI. Now, as Signvrse’s Data Scientist, he ensures AI-driven sign language translations are accurate, contextual, and culturally meaningful.

Branice Kazira – Growing up in rural Kenya, Branice saw limited access to information but found a passion for writing and STEM. She founded Weeds4Feeds, won national STEM awards, and later, while teaching robotics, witnessed the struggles of Deaf students—sparking the idea for Signvrse. Now a Mastercard Foundation Scholar and Software Engineering student at ALU, she is committed to building inclusive technology that empowers marginalized communities.

Daniel Phillip – Born in rural Kenya, Daniel lost his hearing at the age of 8 after contracting meningitis, and grew up facing communication barriers, limited resources, and societal stigma. Rooted in his Luo heritage, he champions advocacy and inclusion for the Deaf community. As Signvrse’s Deaf community lead, he ensures cultural and linguistic accuracy, bridging technology with lived experiences.

Gheida Abdala Al Mashjery – Growing up in a traditional Arab community in Kenya, Gheida saw girls’ dreams cut short by early marriage. Determined to break this cycle, she excelled in school, earned a scholarship, and founded Girls I Save, empowering young girls through education and advocacy.

Cheer on the finalists and watch the World Championship

These teams have inspired us, and we hope they inspire you as well! Tune in to see who will win the 2025 Imagine Cup World Championship at Microsoft Build on May 19, when these teams will compete for the grand prize. Who will claim the title? We can't wait to find out! 

Join us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, or Facebook, as we follow their journey to the championship. 

 

*Open only to enrolled high-school or college/university students 18+. For additional eligibility criteria, round start/end dates, and detailed instructions on how to participate, see the Imagine Cup Official Rules and Regulations.