Big Victories for a Breakthrough Idea

A Florida Atlantic University undergraduate is gaining headlines as an entrepreneur and innovator for his business concept FireCodes AI.

Daniel Guido, a mechanical engineering student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, recently took home his third business pitch competition win at Florida Venture Forum’s Early Stage Venture Conference in Orlando, Fla., earning a Collegiate Award and a $5,000 prize.

Florida Venture Forum is the state’s largest support organization for investors and entrepreneurs. FireCodes AI was one of six winners out of the 29 selected companies featured at the event. Winners were chosen by a panel of judges based on criteria including innovation, market opportunity and alignment with Florida’s targeted high-growth sectors.

This accolade came fresh off a first-place finish in FAU’s annual Business Pitch Competition and first place at the Roundtable of Entrepreneurship Educators of Florida’s 2025 Governor’s Cup Entrepreneurship Competition – Florida’s premier collegiate pitch competition.

“Although we have a long and exciting road ahead, it feels extremely rewarding to finally see so much hard work pay off," Guido said. “We are especially grateful to Dr. Cox and the Adams Center team, who go above and beyond to support students with a level of attention many institutions simply cannot offer."

FireCodes AI is an artificial intelligence system that eliminates manual fire code searching. Co-founded with University of Massachusetts at Amherst graduate Krish Malhotra, the system helps fire protection engineers and inspectors search for the necessary codes in a system, eliminating the need to manually search through code books.

After winning the FAU Business Pitch Competition, FireCodes AI was selected for The Runway at Florida Atlantic’s Venture Class 15. One of The Runway’s flagship programs, the Venture Class is a business accelerator that provides a suite of resources, services and guidance to help forward-thinking entrepreneurs build and scale their startups.

“Daniel’s success illustrates what happens when a driven student engages with a supportive university ecosystem," said Jessica Beaver, associate director of The Runway at Florida Atlantic. “His progression from the Adams Center into the Venture Program shows what’s possible when students fully take advantage of FAU’s entrepreneurial resources."

Guido is also a participant in the College of Business’s Entrepreneur Bootcamp and grew his 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 FAU and its entrepreneurship programs," Guido said. “Our university provides so many opportunities to students, and it has been an honor representing FAU in pitch competitions throughout the state."

Learn more about FireCodes AI at https://firecodes.ai/.