HPU Students’ Business Venture Among Top 12 Finalists in National AI Competition
High Point University sophomores Brianna Stinespring and Evan Taylor co-founded Parkevo, which uses AI vision to give drivers real-time information on parking availability. Their parking evolution business was selected among the 12 finalists in the AI Venture Velocity Challenge, a new national business competition with a $100,000 grand prize to be awarded on Sept. 26 at Texas A&M University.
HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 21, 2026 – An artificial intelligence venture formed by two High Point University business students was selected among the 12 finalists in a new national business competition. The inaugural AI Venture Velocity Challenge (AIVVC), hosted by Texas A&M University, is intended to examine how AI is reshaping entrepreneurship.
Sophomores Evan Taylor and Brianna Stinespring co-founded Parkevo, a parking evolution business that uses AI vision to give drivers and parking administrators real-time information on parking availability. Parkevo was selected from among 531 student-led AI ventures from 160 colleges and universities nationwide.
The dozen finalists will present to a panel of judges and industry leaders as they compete for the $100,000 grand prize on Sept. 26 at Texas A&M’s Mays Business School.
“Being named a Top 12 finalist out of 531 teams is something I am incredibly proud of,” said Taylor, a finance major with a minor in entrepreneurship from Atlanta, Georgia. “This validates the work we have put into Parkevo and the real problem we are solving. We are ready to compete and cannot wait to take the stage at Texas A&M in a few weeks.”
Stinespring, an accounting major with a minor in women’s leadership development, agreed it was an incredible feeling for Parkevo to make the Top 12.
“From day one, Evan and I have believed in what we are building, and to see it recognized on a national stage is deeply meaningful,” said Stinespring, who is from Bel Air, Maryland. “We are grateful for every opportunity that has brought us here, and we are just getting started.”
The AIVVC challenges student entrepreneurs to build and validate AI-powered ventures. Teams are evaluated on learning velocity — how rigorously they tested assumptions, how closely they engaged with real customers and operating environments, and how meaningfully their ventures evolved in response to evidence. Parkevo advanced through a university pilot, production-oriented technical deployment and extensive discovery across several institutional parking markets.
“Our detection model achieved 99.91% benchmark accuracy in testing,” Stinespring said. “Our first pilot is launching at High Point University’s Caffey Hall lot this fall, tracking each individual parking space in real time. We have also held information sessions with parking leaders at 15 institutions across universities, airports, hospitals and venues.”
Taylor and Stinespring won first place and $12,000 in startup funds with their idea for Parkevo at the 16th annual HPU Business Plan Competition on April 8. Taylor, co-founder and CEO, had an overall vision for Parkevo and leads its business strategy, investor relations and go-to market. Stinespring leads Parkevo’s product development, outreach, growth, brand and digital efforts.
The two students also advanced to the semifinal round during e-Fest 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The three-day event brought together the Top 25 student startup teams from a national pool of online business plan submissions.