Jeff Teper and Sandy Teper launch AI-focused Teper Innovation Challenge at NYU Stern, with Microsoft backing

Microsoft leaders Jeff Teper and Alexandra “Sandy” Teper are creating a new AI-themed competition at NYU Stern, the school announced through media coverage on Monday. The Teper Innovation Challenge is designed for both undergraduate students and Stern MBAs, pairing prize-based competition with a stated goal of helping students “unlock innovation” using artificial intelligence.

The initiative was founded by the Stern alumni and Microsoft executives. Jeff Teper is listed as a Stern alumnus with a BS in 1986, while Sandy Teper is listed as a Stern alumnus with a BS in 1985. The program is named for the two founders, and the competition framework focuses on generating and testing AI-enabled approaches.

According to the coverage, the challenge includes prizes for participants, with the competition open to both undergraduates and graduate business students. The coverage also describes the founders’ role in establishing the effort and ties it to their broader interest in applying AI to real-world problem solving.

The announcement ties the student program to Microsoft’s wider push to expand practical AI access and skills. For a technology company, university competitions can function as a pipeline for early talent, but they also provide a platform for exploring how students apply AI concepts in product, operations, and business strategy contexts, areas where enterprise customers increasingly expect usable demonstrations rather than purely academic work.

The coverage characterizes the challenge as having an “anchor” funding level starting at $5, but the amount is truncated in the material provided and is not fully stated. It also does not spell out prize amounts, judging criteria, or whether Microsoft will provide model credits, datasets, faculty mentors, or engineering support to teams.

For now, the public details in the available write-up focus on the existence of the program, who is behind it, and the intended audience and prize structure. The announcement does not clarify how long the challenge will run, whether it will be annual, or what specific AI application areas the organizers will prioritize.

The next question for students and observers will be how the challenge is operationalized. That includes what kinds of submissions will be accepted, whether teams will be required to demonstrate prototypes, and what guidance or resources organizers will provide. Those specifics, along with the final funding and prize details, would determine whether the program becomes a recurring innovation stage or a one-time launch.

Microsoft did not describe the challenge’s program design in the available material beyond the competition and prize framing, and no additional terms were included regarding participation, intellectual property, or data handling for any AI work produced in the competition.