Milestone ·
Loratone places 3rd at Tulane's Open Season pitch competition
Out of ten finalists, Loratone took third place at the Tulane Innovation Institute's Fall 2026 Open Season.
On September 15, co-founders Shivang Thakor and Akintunde Pounds pitched Loratone on stage at The Josephine at the Tulane Innovation Institute's Fall 2026 Open Season pitch competition. Loratone took 3rd place and a $750 prize out of ten finalists.
We pitched Loratone as a sensory-regulation platform synced to story: narration, word-by-word highlighting, and soundscapes that make reading more accessible, especially for neurodivergent learners.
This was the first Open Season open to the wider New Orleans community. Congratulations to OralExam.ai on first place and Usufruct on second, and thanks to the judges and the Tulane Innovation Institute team.
Shivang and Akintunde are also part of the Institute's year-long Startup Team Mentoring program. The prize goes straight back into more stories and more readers.