The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation is thrilled to congratulate our internal partner, Neurodiverse Technologies, along with co-founders Jan Schlueter and Principal Investigator Dr. Nilanjan Sarkar, on receiving a $70,000 award through Vanderbilt’s Innovation Catalyst Fund.
This significant funding will advance NAVIS (Advancement of Neurodivergent-Aware VR Interview Simulator) through its final stages toward go-to-market productization. NAVIS is designed to help neurodivergent individuals build critical interview skills and prepare for workforce entry through immersive virtual reality technology. The platform addresses a critical need, with the ability to serve the approximately 100,000 neurodivergent individuals entering the workforce annually.
The grant will support software development, pilot testing, and infrastructure needed to consolidate NAVIS into a deployable commercial product. With a funding period beginning February 1, 2026, and a target completion date at the end of Q2 2026, NAVIS hopes to follow a proven commercialization pathway similar to the successful deployment of SANDI.
This milestone directly aligns with the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation’s mission of building real-world life skills that enable greater independence and workforce participation for neurodivergent individuals.
We are incredibly proud of the Neurodiverse Technologies team and excited to see NAVIS move toward launch in the coming months.