A Florida Atlantic University engineering student recently won first place for his artificial intelligence code at the Roundtable of Entrepreneurship Educators of Florida’s (REEF) 2025 Governor’s Cup Entrepreneurship Competition, Florida’s premier collegiate pitch competition.

A Florida Atlantic University engineering student recently won first place for his artificial intelligence code at the Roundtable of Entrepreneurship Educators of Florida’s (REEF) 2025 Governor’s Cup Entrepreneurship Competition, Florida’s premier collegiate pitch competition.

Daniel Guido earned the top spot for his business concept, FireCodes AI, an AI system that eliminates manual fire code searching. FireCodes AI, co-founded with Krish Malhotra, helps fire protection engineers and inspectors search for the necessary codes in a system, eliminating the need to manually search through code books.

A mechanical engineering student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Guido is also a participant in the College of Business’s Entrepreneur Bootcamp and grew the company concept under the guidance of Kevin Cox, Ph.D., director of the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and senior instructor.

“I’m really grateful for all of the support, investment and mentorship I received from the College of Business and its entrepreneurship programs,” Guido said. “Our university provides so many opportunities to students, and it felt wonderful to represent FAU at the competition.”

Hosted this year by the University of South Florida’s Nault Center for Entrepreneurship, students from 10 Florida universities competed with their business concepts at for a chance to win, including the University of Miami, University of Florida and University of Central Florida, among others.

“This win from a Florida Atlantic University student further solidifies the strength and continuous evolution of our entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Cox said. “We are fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs through our various bootcamps, pathways and mentorship programs.”

The win marks the second time an FAU student has won the Governor’s Cup. In 2022, John Thomerson, a dual-major in mathematics and neuroscience and behavior, won for his Pet HealthCare Innovations, a mobility device for pets, against five other contestants.

“We are pleased with the entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated by our students at Florida Atlantic University and displayed in full force at the Governor’s Cup Statewide Pitch Competition,” said Daniel Gropper, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business and Kaye Family professor. “Daniel Guido’s win is a testament to the strength of the overall FAU entrepreneurship education system, including the Adams Center, the mentorship programs and commitment to fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

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