On August 4, 2015, President Obama hosted the first-ever White House Demo Day, which “”focused on inclusive entrepreneurship, welcoming startup founders from diverse walks of life and from across the country to showcase their innovations.”” Christopher Ategeka, who graduated with a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley, was one of the lucky entrepreneurs that had an exhibit at the event.
 
The official White House press release states, “”After losing his parents to HIV/AIDS, entrepreneur founds HIV testing company Christopher Ategeka and Anwaar Al-Zireeni, San Francisco, California Ugandan-born Christopher Ategeka, who lost both of his parents to HIV/AIDS, has dedicated his life to improving healthcare for those suffering from the disease. For his work, Ategeka earned a U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PEPFAR award. In 2013, Ategeka teamed up with fellow University of California—Berkeley graduate Anwaar Al-Zireeni to co-found Privail, a company that is commercializing low-cost, early HIV detection technology developed by Al-Zireeni. The technology is a portable, easy to use testing device that can directly detect HIV virus in the bloodstream faster than antibody or antigen based tests, and for a fraction of the cost of traditional RNA detection techniques.””
 
Congratulations, Christopher!
 
To read the full press release on White House Demo Day, click here.
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