High school grads competing on world stage with health care startup

Two collaborators who just graduated from different Lake County high schools are among the finalists in an international business startup competition for entrepreneurs.

Johanna Hart from Wauconda High School and Jason Sun from Carmel Catholic High School are one of two U.S. teams among global college-aged finalists in Alibaba Group’s CoCreate 2026 Work AI Youth Challenge.

They are developing a biomedical startup called Intrea, a name that reflects the mission of bridging science and skincare to support the skin’s natural healing process, according to Hart.

Their product uses a biomimetic material designed to help acne heal more effectively while reducing the likelihood of lingering discoloration or scarring, she said.

The pair met through a physician shadowing program at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where they discovered a common passion for medicine and entrepreneurship, Hart explained.

“We learned about the competition through Alibaba CoCreate and recognized it aligned will with our goal of developing an innovative health care startup while connecting with manufacturers, mentors and investors,” she said.

According to its website, CoCreate is one of the world’s leading sourcing events, connecting global e-commerce sellers, retailers, and wholesalers with top manufacturers and industry experts.

Hart will be studying neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University and Sun will be studying biomedical engineering at Duke University. They’ve spent the past several months developing Intrea.

Finalists in the competition are evaluated through private judging to determine which teams advance to the global finals this fall in London or Los Angeles, Hart said.

Those who advance to that point will pitch startups to judges, investors, mentors and industry leaders for a share of a $1 million-plus global prize pool.

While college-aged participants are encouraged to use its AI platform throughout the application process, the competition is centered around real-world startups and products, not AI-generated ideas, she added.

“Intrea is an independent biomedical startup developing a physical product, and we use many tools to support research, product development and business planning,” Hart said.

Public voting, which ended Wednesday, determines the amount of cash grants awarded to student startups, Hart said.

The Accio Work AI Youth Challenge is the official student track of CoCreate Pitch, the world’s largest product-based startup competition, according to the website.

So what happens if their company takes off?

“We both really want to be doctors,” Hart explained.

“This venture is exciting and something we find passion in,” she added. “We hope to develop the company enough to pay for medical school.”