The Department of Computer Science and the Pava Center invite you to an evening at the forefront of AI, software, and entrepreneurship. Whether you’re actively building, looking for your next big idea, or hoping to meet future collaborators, this is where founders and builders connect. Come curious. Leave with connections, insights, and momentum.
Fireside chat with three accomplished founders in the AI/software space—Q&A included
Hear the real stories behind building and scaling from:
- Tito Porras, CEO, Semaphor Surgical
- David Thomas, Software Engineer, Remark
- Tom Jaklitsch, Co-founder & CTO, Order.co
- Andrew Peng, Principal, Collide Capital
Network with peers and current AI & software student teams
Meet the people who are coding, launching, and growing startups right now.
Free buffet dinner from Maiwand Grill!
Founder guests:
Tito Porras is the founder and CEO of Semaphor Surgical, which develops AI infrastructure for surgical systems in Baltimore. Porras earned his MD from Dartmouth College and completed his neurosurgery residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, during which he also completed an MBA at the Carey Business School. Porras is an alum of the Fuel accelerator, where Semaphor got its start before growing into what it is today. The company now includes several other JHU leaders, including professors and PhD students. They’ve raised over $11.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round from firms including General Catalyst, Bison Ventures, J2 Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, and PTX Capital, among others.
David Thomas is a software engineer at Remark in Boston, where he builds and scales modern software solutions. Previously, he co-founded and served as the CEO of Tunnel and completed the Neo Accelerator for that business with other JHU students, raising nearly $1 million. Beyond being a team led by JHU students, they also received investments from A-Level Capital and HopStone Capital. While at JHU, Thomas also completed the Fuel accelerator, and remains passionate about supporting fellow founders.
Tom Jaklitsch is the co-founder and CTO of Order.co, a platform that leverages automation and AI to keep purchasing and payments fast, compliant, and scalable. Since co-founding the company in 2016, he has helped grow it to a team of 150+ employees, processing nearly $1 billion in transaction volume annually and scaling to over $40 million in revenue. Order.co has raised over $80 million in funding and completed multiple acquisitions as part of its growth. Based in New York City, Jaklitsch frequently returns to Baltimore to support JHU founders, serving as a pitch competition judge, mentor, and active member of the entrepreneurial community.
Andrew Peng is a principal at Collide Capital, where he invests in early-stage companies across fintech, applied AI, and supply chain infrastructure. He is passionate about working with founders to revolutionize outdated industries. Peng brings over a decade of experience across strategy and investing. Prior to Collide, he served as principal and head of research at Alpaca VC, where he led investments across early- and growth-stage companies and built the firm’s public research platform. Earlier in his career, Peng worked in urban innovation and real estate private equity, closing over $1 billion in housing and infrastructure transactions. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an MPA from the John F. Kennedy School of Government.