While live streaming has gained popularity and turned gamers into celebrities, viewers still see a 2D screen depicting the video game and the streamer’s face in the corner. Jeremy Hartmann (above), an avid gamer, says streams sometimes are impersonal, static, and flat — and there’s opportunities for more immersive interaction people crave. That’s why he launched mtion interactive, a startup offering broadcasting tools and virtual spaces where streamers can interact with fans.

After researching the problem at Columbia University, Payman Samadi launched eino, an artificial intelligence (AI) powered network resource planning and optimization tool. The technology analyzes data about how people have historically used wireless networks and uses proprietary algorithms to forecast the network’s future load, predict network quality, and optimize the buildout of 4G upgrades and 5G rollouts. This helps network operators accurately predict, plan, and manage capacity. And, Samadi says, it increases return on capital investments like equipment, maintenance, and overhead by 35%.